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put it into words." "Give it a shot."
    She took a moment, then said, "It would feel awkward to have sex so soon after the procedure."
    "I read that they encourage couples to have sex afterward."
    She was surprised that he knew what the experts recommended. He must have been doing his own research on the subject. "That's true. Intimacy soon afterward is encouraged for couples—"
    "We're a couple."
    "Not a couple who have tried for years to conceive."
    "So, we're fudging." Smiling engagingly, he placed his hands at her waist.
    "It's a personal thing, Jem," she said, worming free of his hands. "My heart and mind wouldn't be in it tonight, and that wouldn't be fair to you or enjoyable for either of us." When she saw that he was about to offer another argument , she laid her fingers against his lips. "Please? I need you to understand. Indulge me. Let me have a headache tonight."
    Grudgingly he kissed her fingertips, then the tip of her nose.
    "All right. I'd be a heel not to. I'll go home and take a cold shower. Maybe two. I guess I'll have to get accustomed to these hormonal inconsistencies, won't I?"
    "I suppose you will," she replied, smiling with him. "We can see each other tomorrow."
    "Lunch?"
    "Call me in the morning. I'll check my schedule for lunch. But definitely sometime tomorrow."
    She saw him to the door, where he kissed her again lightly on the lips. "The pendant is truly beautiful," she told him as she fingered it where it lay against her throat.
    "You're beautiful. I love you."
    "I love you, too."
     

CHAPTER 4
    " Tacos?"
    The picture of innocence, Chief said, "What'd you think I was going to ask you for, Melina?"
    She could tell that he was trying hard to contain a wicked smile. "Not tacos."
    "I'm a junk-food junkie. Besides, I'm starving."
    "You didn't like your dinner?"
    "I couldn't eat it for all the people talking to me and the autographs I ended up signing. Would it be out of our way to stop?"
    "Tacos are easy to come by."
    "Can you find a place open this late?"
    "It's not even ten o'clock."
    "You sure?" He checked his wristwatch to confirm the time. "Huh. It seemed like the banquet dragged on forever."
    A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of a fast-food chain restaurant. Although it was past the normal dinner hour, it was doing a brisk business. "Do you want to drive through or go inside?"
    A long line of cars was wrapped around the building awaiting their turn at the window . Inside, the restaurant didn't appear to be as crowded. He said, "I've got nothing to hide, do you?"
    She pulled into a vacant parking space. They alighted, and as they moved toward the door, she remarked, "I've got nothing to hide, but we're a little overdressed. I'm sure we'll be gawked at."
    "Safety in numbers."
    With that he slid his arm around her waist and drew her up against him, so that they were walking hip to hip. Lord, it felt good! Never one to simper and play coy and helpless around men, she now delighted in feeling small, delicate, and intensely feminine. From the instant he stepped through the door of the hotel, she'd been wondering how it would feel to be this close to him. It surpassed her expectations. He was so wonderfully masculine.
    Extending the joke, he nuzzled her hair. "I dare anybody to mess with the two of us."
    By now they had almost reached the door. At the same time, a man approached it from inside, a take-out order in his free hand. He reached the door first and politely pulled it open for them and stood aside. Chief was still nuzzling her and playfully making aggressive growling noises. Absently, he thanked the man for holding the door.
    They had almost moved past when the man suddenly blurted out, "Ms. Lloyd? Gillian Lloyd?" She stopped and turned toward him.
    He was dressed in baggy khakis, a sad T-shirt, and rubber flip-flops. His thinning hair was fair and stringy. He pushed a slipping pair of eyeglasses higher onto the bridge of his nose.
    He said, "I thought it was you."
    Chief