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down?" She tried wriggling, but he only tightened his grip and kept walking. "You're not carrying me into the dining room."
    "No?" For him it was a direct challenge, and he accepted it with a grin. She was light and carried the scent of snow. Her eyes held an indignant laughter that appealed to him. Caine decided then and there to put that expression on her face more often. She had a mouth that was meant to smile, and he had an urge to show her just how little effort fun could be.
    "Caine." Diana lowered her voice as she caught a few interested glances. "Stop this nonsense. People are staring."
    "It's all right, I'm used to it" Twisting his head, he kissed her briefly. "Your mouth's very tempting in a pout." As she made a frustrated sound in her throat, Caine stopped to give the dining room hostess a smile. "Table for two?"
    "Of course, Mr. MacGregor." Her eyes swept up to Diana for only a moment. "Right this way."
    Diana clicked her teeth shut as he carried her around tables scattered with breakfast customers. She watched a middle-aged woman tug on her husband's sleeve and point.
    "Your waitress will be right with you," the hostess told Caine as she stopped by a comer table. "Enjoy your breakfast."
    "Thanks." With a great deal of style, he deposited Diana in a chair, then sat opposite her.
    "You," Diana began in a low voice, "are going to pay for that."
    "It was worth it" Caine unzipped his coat and shrugged out of it. He'd already decided she needed to be hit with the unexpected from time to time. In his opinion, she'd been pampered, sheltered and restricted. As a MacGregor, he thought they were all one and the same. Absently, he combed his fingers through his hair, scattering already melting snow. "Are you sure you won't have something more than coffee, love?"
    "Quite sure." Watching him, she began unbuttoning her coat. "Do you always get away with the outrageous?"
    "Mostly. Are you always so beautiful in the morning?"
    "Don't waste your charm." Diana slipped out of her coat to reveal a pumpkin-coloured angora sweater.
    "It's all right, I have more." While Diana gave a disgusted sigh, he smiled at their waitress, who returned his smile and offered them menus. "I'll have the pancakes," he told her immediately. "With a side order of bacon, crisp, and eggs over easy. The lady only wants coffee."
    "Is that a normal breakfast for you?" Diana asked when the waitress bustled off.
    Caine leaned back, observing she'd already forgotten to pretend she was angry. "I enjoy eating when I get the chance. There are days when I'm lucky to get more than a few gallons of coffee and a dried-out sandwich."
    "Is your private caseload as heavy as it was when you were state's attorney?"
    "Heavy enough, and I don't have a staff of assistants." He watched as she added a miserly drop of cream to her coffee. "That's one of the things I wanted to break away from."
    "No law clerk?"
    She had hands made for rings, he thought, but wore none. Caine had to force his attention back to her question. "Not at the moment. My secretary is disorganized, untidy and addicted to soap operas."
    Diana gave him a mild smile as she lifted her cup. "She must have… other virtues."
    Caine laid his elbows on the table and leaned toward her. "She's fifty-seven, sturdy as a rock and a hell of a typist."
    "I stand chastised," Diana murmured. "Still, I'd think with your reputation and background, you'd have one of the slickest firms in Boston."
    "I leave that for Barclay, Stevens and Fitz. Don't you like to get your hands dirty occasionally, Diana?"
    "Yes." With a sigh, she set down her cup again. "Yes, damn it. I'd work for nothing if I could dig my teeth into something that wasn't cut straight out of a textbook. Traffic violations and property settlements," she muttered. "I'm not going to get anything else if I don't stick with the establishment for a while longer. The world of law wouldn't give me a standing ovation if I opened an office tomorrow."
    "Is that what you want?