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sell—”
    “It’s still a business. You obviously have a talent for knowing what will sell in what market. It doesn’t matter whether it’s ball bearings or microchips; the appeal of each is only to a particular market. I know what I’m talking about, Cass. It’s what I do for a living. I’ve worked for a computer manufacturer, a foreign-car builder, a major restaurant chain, and now a lingerie company. Strip any business down to the fundamentals, and it’s the same as the next.”
    “How long is your vacation?” she asked.
    He frowned at the sudden question. “I have to be back a few days before the board meeting on the fifteenth. I’d like you to go with me, Cass.”
    “But …” It was her turn to frown. She could have sworn Ned had said it was on the twentieth. She made a mental note to double-check the date when she received the notices.
    “I’ll make you a deal, Dallas. You say selling is the same thing, no matter what it is or how big. Work in my store for the rest of your vacation. Prove to me that you can put a fish in another pond and he won’t know the difference. If you can do that, I’ll go up to New York and look over M & L.”
    He narrowed his eyes at her, clearly considering what her offer meant. She mustered an innocent smile and added, “I bet you can’t.”
    He gazed at her for one moment longer, then thrust out his hand. “Done. And I’ll outsell your other employees.”
    He had taken the bait. Cass grinned and shook his hand. She instantly realized that touching him was a big mistake. His hand was warm and strong and very masculine. To her relief, the door to the store opened and a young couple walked in.
    “I believe, Mr. Carter,” she said, “that you have customers to wait on.”
    And that, she decided, made them almost even.

Four

 
    He must have been crazy.
    As Dallas pushed his way through the aisle to ring up his third sale of the day, he wondered why he had ever agreed to Cass’s deal. At the time it had seemed like a perfect opportunity to nurture the seeds he had planted with her. They’d be working together for long periods of time. He could talk in detail about what was happening at Marks & Lindley, bring more logical argument to his case. Instead, everything seemed to be conspiring against him.
    First the heavens had split apart at the seams, and heavy rains were drenching the entire shoreline. WinterLand had been mobbed since it opened that morning. If Noah’s Ark had pulled up outside, he wouldn’t have been surprised. Hell, he thought, everybody else was here. The only good thing was that he couldn’t help but sell something. It was frustrating to admit, though, thathe wasn’t outselling the regular employees. Jean mothered people into buying. Mary, with her round-eyed madonna look and eager-to-please attitude, made people feel guilty if they didn’t buy. And Joe, the part-timer, called in for the heavy traffic, acted as if every customer were an unpardonable interruption. Somehow, people couldn’t resist forcing him to sell them something. But the big-shot president could barely give away the damn stuff compared to them, Dallas acknowledged grimly. So much for putting fish in different ponds. If it weren’t for the rain, he’d be in big trouble as far as the terms of the deal were concerned. And Cass, with the constant gleam of triumph in her eyes, knew it.
    “How about some postcards?” he asked his two women customers when he reached the register.
    “No,” said one. “Just the doll.”
    “A hand-carved wooden ornament? It would look terrific on your tree.”
    “I don’t bother with a tree.”
    “We have some beautiful glass candle holders—”
    “Just the doll,” snapped the other. “And hurry it up—it’s hot in here.”
    “Right,” Dallas said flatly. “Cash or charge?”
    He jabbed out the amount on the register buttons and practically slapped the change into their hands.
    Jean appeared and, with her hip, nudged him away so she