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store."
    A couple of kids. That's all that got through to Tess. She could see Dan's children. Too clearly. One boy. One girl. Both with their daddy's thick auburn hair and a devilish gleam in their brown eyes.
    Wait. Her eyes were brown. Dan's were that bold shade of green that made her think of—
    She pushed away the image of lying naked upon a thick nest of fern leaves, Dan's soft mustache feathering over her sun-flushed skin. The audacity of her imagination left her shaken and hot all the way down her body to her toes. The most lurid fantasies had taken over her mind since this man kissed her this afternoon. She never—well, almost never—thought of sex, and she'd always kept her fantasies under a tight rein.
    At least, she had...until Dan came into her life and made her go crazy.

Chapter Three
    Tess blinked back all the hot, fuzzy feelings blanketing her judgment to focus on the gloomy count of fingers Dan held up. "That's not by order of importance. Business doesn't come fourth, does it?"
    "I still dip my hand into investments when the spirit moves me, and I won't let my family down, but I'm searching for a more equitable balance in my life now."
    His answer was as bad – no, worse – than she'd expected. That kind of balance was a mirage. There were always tradeoffs. She’d learned that the hard way.
    "No comment?"
    "No comment." It was pointless to argue such basic philosophical differences.
    Not that it mattered. One deliciously potent kiss notwithstanding, the only relationship the two of them could have was a business one. It was almost a relief to discover Dan was a merchant in her mall. She was a businesswoman first, a woman...well, never. Not since Evan. She'd come within a gnat's eyebrow of losing herself then, of destroying her father's chances of ever regaining his mobility. She’d thought she loved Evan so much she’d be willing to give in to his demand she choose between his needs and her father’s. Never again.
    Guilt prodded her to her feet. "I have to return to work."
    Dan frowned. "The doctor said to take it easy. It's after eight o'clock. Why don't you call it a day? I need to swing by the store to check on Aunt Mary. Then I can follow you home."
    "I promised Harry—"
    "Who's Harry?"
    The edge on the two words startled her into resuming her seat. If she didn't know better, she'd say Dan sounded jealous. And she felt a twinge, just a twinge, mind you, of feminine satisfaction at the thought this man might be as attracted to her as she was to him. "Harry Rollens is my boss, Thorgram Group's west coast regional manager."
    "Is he tall, with thick, white hair? Shrewd blue eyes and a quick wit?"
    "You met?"
    "Before I left Chicago, we signed the lease on this store. Rollens took us to dinner afterward." His gaze pinned her in place. "The man didn't strike me as the slave-driver type."
    Her fingers fiddled with her soft drink cup. "Look, Dan, I want you to understand my position so I'm going to tell you something that isn't general knowledge on the mall grapevine."
    For some reason, she trusted him to keep the confidence, yet she chose her words with care. "Shortly after that trip last year, Harry's wife became ill. She's been stabilized, but needs lots of care."
    Tess shrugged. "Anyway, Harry's winding things up at Thorgram Group so he can stay with her full-time. Problem is he won't go anywhere until his successor is chosen."
    "He wants you."
    "He's groomed me for the job. The directors are a tough bunch though."
    "Meaning?"
    "Let's say they're resistant to changing their way of doing things." She lobbed her crushed napkin into the empty food basket. She sighed. "The truth is my competition for the job is related to Thorgram's president." She hated the lack of control she had over her career. Too much of her personal life depended on her professional success.
    "Uh-oh."
    "Right. Trouble in paradise." Tess wasn't free to reveal the significance of today's meeting with Dan because he was one of her