She lay atop him for several minutes, breathing raggedly, feeling as limp as a rag doll. She had never had sex like this with anyone. Even the always-horny Chandler Wayne. But sex wasn't love. Wasn't a lifetime commitment. But it was becoming more for her than just that, Ashley realized. She was falling in love with him. It wasn't too soon. People fell in love at first sight, didn't they? But how did he feel? She was pretty good at reading people, but while she knew he liked her, she couldn't tell if it was more.

He held her close, feeling her heart beating in time with his. This was so right. Ashley. Kimbrough Hall. Coming home to her. If it got any more perfect he was going to think that he had died and gone to heaven. Just one thing was missing: He wanted kids. Did she want children too? Could he stay married to her if she didn't? Hell, wasn't that why the old man had put that damned clause in his will? He wanted Mulcahy grandchildren to carry on the name. And suddenly Ryan realized that so did he. So the apple didn't fall far from the tree after all, he thought wryly. He kissed the top of her head. "Maybe we ought to think about getting up?" he said.

"I know," she said, and straightened up. "But we have time. We'll have to shower before we get dressed and go down."

"Yeah," he grinned, waggling his eyebrows at her. "Let's shower."

Ashley laughed. "Oh, no," she said. "You'll go to your bathroom and I'll go to mine, darling. That way we'll get down to dinner on time, and Mrs. B.'s roast won't get overdone. Grandfather always said you don't want to shock the help or be late to the table, even if they are your friends. We'll probably eat out on the porch. It's still warm enough." She slipped off of his lap and headed for her bathroom.

He watched her go, appreciating her prettily rounded buttocks. She had a really nice butt, he thought to himself. Most of the women he had slept with looked great in their clothing, but not as good out of it. They had small breasts and virtually no butts. Ashley looked great both in and out of her clothing. He hauled himself out of the chair and headed for his own bathroom. Wild sex in an antique wing chair, he thought with a grin. Now there was something new for him.

Ashley wore a colorful cotton kaftan down to dinner. Taking his lead from her, Ryan had put on a pair of jeans and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. They were both barefooted.

"You don't mind if we're casual at dinner, do you?" she asked him. "Grandfather always wanted us to be formal, but after a long day at the shop I'm happy to be clean and comfortable." She dug into her salad.

"We can be formal when we entertain," he replied. "I like this."

"I have to be in town next week. The contractor is finished, or says he's finished, with both the shop there and at the mall. Could I stay at your apartment?"

"The bed is big enough for both of us," he said, smiling. "The place is small, though. I've never needed a big place, and I don't entertain there. Can I come with you when you see your contractor? I may not be the artisan my dad was, but I know good work."

Her first reaction was to be offended. Did he think she was some ditsy little idiot who didn't know if the contractor was stiffing her? But then, she thought, the truth was that she had never dealt with anyone outside of Egret Pointe until now. Oh, the contractor had come highly recommended, but still, it couldn't hurt to have an expert eye checking everything out. "I would appreciate it," she told him. "I know my own merchandise, but a new shop is a whole other thing. And it's got to be right. I want those stores open by the first week in November. Getting established in a new location for the Christmas trade is very important to my bottom line. But can you spare the time?"

"I can always spare the time for you," he said quietly. He had seen her hesitation, and it hadn't been difficult to imagine what she had been thinking when he made his offer. He was impressed that she had been able to swallow her pride and accept his help. It said a lot about Ashley's character, and the more he saw and learned, the more he realized that he honestly did like her. His mother had always said you should like the person you married as well as love them, because when the passion cooled you would have a best friend as well as a lover. He smiled, thinking his mother was a wise lady.


"Why are you smiling?" she asked him.

"I was thinking about something Ma always said. And I've just discovered that she's right." Then he told her.

"And that made you smile because…?"

Byrnes cleared the salad plates from the table.

"Because I realize that what began for us a few months ago as one thing is, at least for me, morphing into something entirely different," Ryan said softly. And his brown eyes engaged her green ones.

Ashley felt a warm wave of pleasure sweep over her. "For me too," she admitted, ignoring the blush spreading over her cheeks. It had become a fact of life: Ryan Finbar Mulcahy could make her blush.

"I don't want to pressure you into something you don't feel," he continued.

"I didn't say anything because I didn't want to push you either," Ashley replied.

"Then if I said I loved you it wouldn't send you screaming into the night?" His handsome, sexy face was suddenly boyish and hopeful.

"No." Her voice was practically a whisper. "And if I said I loved you, would you feel as if I had trapped you into a corner?" Her beautiful face held an anxious look.

"No, I wouldn't. I'd like to be in a corner with you," he told her. "Putting you right up against the wall, and-" He stopped as Byrnes set a plate before him.

The butler's face was totally impassive, and Ryan might have believed he was both deaf and dumb except that his ears were turning quite a bright red. But without a word the dignified Mr. Byrnes turned and made his way from the porch with his usual grace and decorum.

A fit of giggles overcame Ashley, and Ryan couldn't help chuckling himself.


"Oh, I'll never forgive us for embarrassing him like that," Ashley said.

"Sorry. I forgot myself for a moment," Ryan apologized to her.

"Oh, don't chastise yourself too much," Ashley said. "Once he was out of our sight I'll bet he ran all the way to the kitchen to tell Mrs. B. that we've fallen in love." She stopped, and then continued, "We have fallen in love, haven't we, Ryan? Or did I misunderstand you and make a dope of myself?"

Reaching across the table he took her hand and, raising it to his lips, kissed it. "You didn't misunderstand at all; nor did I. Yeah, I've fallen in love with you, baby. And I've never loved another woman before. Lusted after them, yeah. But never loved."

"And I love you too," Ashley said, tears in her eyes. "But I can't claim to have not said that before, because I have. But now I realize I didn't really know what the devil I was talking about. I didn't feel anything for Carson or Chandler or Derek that I feel for you, Ryan. I never thought about babies with them."

"You're thinking about babies with me?" His mouth turned up in a smile.

"Yeah, I am. A little boy with dark curls and big brown eyes like his daddy," she replied. "Crazy, huh?"

"How many babies?" he asked her.

"How many do you want?" she responded, smiling back at him.

"Three too many?" he said.

"Three's a good number," she agreed.

"Ashley?"

"Yes, Ryan?"

"I really do love you!"


"And I really love you," Ashley answered him. "Now eat your dinner, Ryan. Mrs. B. won't be very happy with us if we let this perfect roast of hers go to waste. And we won't be getting good corn like this much longer now that autumn's coming."

After dinner they made love again, and this time with such tenderness that Ashley cried when she came to climax. She was loved. She loved. Their crazy marriage of convenience had by some miracle turned into a love match. They were even talking about a family. She began to think that they would have to start thinking about a religious ceremony to formalize the love they admitted to having for each other. Lina would be so pleased, but first things first. She had two new shops to staff and open.


***

Ashley drove into town on Tuesday with her husband. They stopped at his apartment first. He introduced her to his doorman, explaining that his wife would be using the apartment now and again. The doorman, he knew, would spread the word to the superintendent and the other help in the building. Ashley already had a key, as they had had one made the previous day in Egret Pointe.

Her appointment for the city store was at eleven in the morning. Their car parked in his building's garage, they hailed a cab and headed back downtown. The contractor was a big, jovial fellow. Ashley had met him only once before. They had conducted most of their business on the telephone once she had hired him. He let them into the store, and Ashley's first reaction was delight. The fresh gray paint with its elegant white trim looked perfect. The pale silver-gray carpeting was plush. The display cases were ebony and glass. The lighting fixtures were discreet but for the elegant gold sconces on the walls. She checked the stockroom, the manager's office, the bathroom, the small lunchroom she had insisted upon for her employees. "What do you think?" she asked Ryan.

"It's good, but has the electric been upgraded to handle the computers, the register, and the security system?" he asked the contractor.

"I got the papers from the city inspector right here, Mr. Mulcahy," came the response. "The security system ain't hooked up yet, but the guy is coming next week."