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the same question he'd asked her earlier when they'd entered the apartment. But the words were out and Devon had to know the truth.
    "No," he said simply and went back to his noodles.
    Devon stared at him. "No? Garth, what I meant was have you dated? Seen anyone else?''
    "What you're asking is if I've been to bed with anyone else," he said bluntly. "And the answer is no. For the same reason your answer was no. We had an understanding, didn't we, Devon?"
    She was still feeling slightly stunned. "We talked about getting married in a year's time, but I certainly never expected you to... to stay celibate for all that time."
    "Why not?"
    Devon waved a hand weakly. "Well, you're a man and I just assumed you'd need or at least want... That is, I was sure you'd get involved with someone this past year."
    Understanding abruptly lit his eyes and his mouth hardened. "You thought I'd find someone else and let you off the hook, is that it?"
    "I thought you might realize that another woman might make you a better wife, Garth," Devon said with cautious dignity.
    "Ah, Devon," he murmured. "What am I going to do with you? You're going to hunt for any available loophole, aren't you? Don't you know it's time to stop running?"
    She couldn't take her eyes off him. "A whole year, Garth? You haven't been with another woman for a whole year?"
    Garth poured the last of the wine into his glass. "I told you, it's been a long twelve months," he said calmly.

 
     
     
    Three
     
     
    " I assume you've made plans to give the furniture away to charity?" Garth stood in the center of the black and white living room, surveying the sleek, sophisticated love seat, lacquer tables and assorted chairs. He hadn't wasted any time after dinner. As soon as the dishes were done he'd begun organizing the packing.
    Devon, who had been trailing helplessly around behind him while he took inventory and gave instructions, finally dug in her heels. She loved her furniture. "Give it away? Are you crazy, Garth? This furniture is beautiful. I love it. I handpicked every piece and I'm not about to give it away. It took me weeks to make my decisions on the coffee table and the love seat. I had to wait for the chairs to be shipped from Italy."
    His brows rose at the unexpected outburst. He seemed to realize this wasn't going to be the minor issue he had assumed. "Devon, this stuff isn't exactly the kind of thing we can use at Hawk's Flight. Besides, we've already got enough furniture there."
    "I've seen your furniture," she retorted, remembering the solid, uninteresting pieces that filled his home. "Early American Ordinary. Not even good examples of the type. No style and no interest."
    "It was in the house when I bought the place. It's held up well for years and will probably last for another decade."
    "A truly chilling thought."
    "I never realized you took furniture so personally," he muttered dryly.
    "I couldn't afford to take it personally until this past year when I finally had the freedom and the money to buy what I wanted."
    Garth walked over to the love seat and examined a cushion. "This stuff cost a lot?"
    Devon nearly choked and then her sense of humor came to her aid. "Oh, yes, Garth, it cost a lot. But that's not the worst part."
    He frowned at her, letting the cushion drop back into place. "What's the worst part?"
    "I'm still making payments on it," she informed him sweetly.
    He looked scandalized. "Payments? On furniture? You bought it on time?"
    Devon crossed her arms under her breasts and regarded him with amused defiance. She knew perfectly well Garth wouldn't think of going into debt for anything except land, and the only reason he occasionally took out loans for property was because he was businessman enough to know it made more sense than buying land outright. "I'll be finished paying for it in three months."
    "I can't believe it. Why didn't you just get some stuff at yard sales or secondhand stores? Or you could have used some of the stuff you had in Hawk