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alphabet ad?"
    Gabe chuckled. "That one was a surprise. I have to admit I was beat when I arrived at her house, but at least I'd saved a couple of kids from the streets. When we finally found the junkie, he had two boys about fourteen working for him."
    "And you helped them?"
    Gabe nodded. "They're back with their families now."
    Casey's anger wavered. How could he be all bad? He saved kids.
    Maybe she should cut him some slack. After all, he was exhausted because he'd been out all night playing Superman.
    Hadn't she made mistakes when she lived with her stepfather and asked for forgiveness only to be given a harsh no? She'd promised herself never to be like him. And she had to admit she had looked like hell the night before.
    "Anyway, from the time I walked into that woman's house, I felt like I'd been swept up by a tornado."
    Casey gritted her teeth. "What about her ad? Didn't you think it was... um, kind of clever?"
    Gabe's eyes narrowed. "Clever? It didn't make sense. Just a random list of words. It didn't tell me anything about the woman."
    Anger rolled through Casey, but she forced her voice to remain soft and seductive. "Oh? I thought it was creative. Each word described something the woman liked. Take the letter "a." The woman obviously loves antiques."
    Gabe's wine glass paused in midair, hovering near his mouth as if he was thinking about what she'd said. Then he took a long slow slip, his lips working as he savored the drink, and she had an insane urge to reach her tongue out and lick the wine from his lips.
    "You know you're right. I was so tired I didn't even see it."
    A small triumphant feeling drummed through her. "Maybe this woman is the creative type," Casey offered. "You know the theories of right-brained people."
    Gabe nodded. "Maybe. She certainly was creative with her hair color and her make up. And right brained? If she had a brain, then I guess it would be called right-brained." He chuckled at his own humor, and Casey bit the inside of her cheek to keep from telling him off.
    "Would you like dessert now?" the waiter asked.
    "I'll have the strawberries and cream," Casey said. While listening to Gabe's barbs, she'd worked a knot in her napkin.
    "The fudgecake," Gabe said. "We can share, or we could order it to go."
    Casey forced a coy smile. "You know a dessert like this is meant to be savored. Besides, it's very sexy watching you eat."
    Gabe squeezed Casey's hand. "You're the sexy one, lady. Now, tell me your name. The suspense is killing me."
    The waiter interrupted, bringing their desserts. Casey groaned at the oodles of whipped cream. If she wasn't so angry at Gabe, she could think of all kinds of places to put it. And lick it off.
    Still prolonging his torture was fun, so she sucked the tip of a strawberry and watched as Gabe squirmed in his seat. "I'd rather tell you about my dream instead."
    Gabe arched an eyebrow.
    Casey offered him a strawberry and watched him lick the whip cream off the top, then he sucked the ripe berry inside his mouth. It was the most seductive movement she'd ever seen.
    "I had a dream last night," she said, her voice husky. "It was a fantasy come true."
    He leaned forward on the edge of his seat, his interest obviously piqued.
    Underneath the table, she uncrossed her leg, kicked off her shoe and rubbed her foot against his calf.
    Gabe's smoldering look sent a sharp pain of desire through Casey. She wanted it to be real.
    She wanted to forget the hurtful things he'd written about her. She wanted to forget his father was a Pulitzer Prize winner and that he might be put off by her past. She wanted to forget the fact that he'd called her a loser and that he didn't think she had a brain, right side or otherwise.
    But she had to follow through.
    "Last night I dreamed about a man who looked like you," she murmured. "In fact he was you. Oh, you were a little rougher looking, you know unshaven, tough looking. You undressed me in the moonlight, and I peeled off your clothes, layer