“He’s a puppy,” Steve said, throwing a black look at Bob.

Daisy added oil to the wok. “I hope he hasn’t ruined his appetite.”

Kevin looked at Bob sprawled across the kitchen floor. “I don’t think this house is big enough for the two of us. He’s a nice dog, Steve, but he’s moving in on my territory.”

Steve could appreciate Kevin’s point of view. Bob was getting more than his share of attention from Daisy. He was getting hugs and kisses and tasty morsels of food. When they got home tonight, Steve was going to have a long talk with Bob. He was going to tell him about hogging the chips and moving in on a budding relationship.

Daisy dumped the meat and vegetables into the wok and stirred.

Bob was on his feet beside her. His tail was swishing back and forth, his ears were perked up, his mouth was open in joyous expectation.

“He sure gets excited about food,” Daisy said.

“So do I,” Kevin told her. “I get excited about food. Doesn’t anyone want to feed me?”

“We’re going out to eat,” Steve said. “I was supposed to bring the people food, but things got sort of hectic, and I didn’t get a chance to shop.”

Daisy scooped the stir-fry into a heavy ceramic bowl, blew on it, and when it was cool, she said to Bob, “Bon appétit.” She set the bowl on the floor.

Bob made a few loud grunting, slurping, snorting noises, and the food was gone. He sat back and studied the bowl, as if more food might suddenly appear. He had a slim scrap of sautéed pepper stuck in his chin whiskers. Steve thought Kevin looked like he was thinking about eating it, but Bob sniffed, located the pepper slice with his tongue, and swallowed it before Kevin had a chance to snatch it away.

Daisy still had the fork in her hand. “I thought you said this dog was finicky.”

“Probably he draws the line at table legs,” Kevin said.

Steve picked the bowl up off the floor. It was licked so clean it looked like it had just come out of the dishwasher. “I guess my food isn’t as good as your food.”

Daisy smiled. “This is one recipe that will definitely get included in my next book.”

Steve put a friendly arm around Daisy. “Now for my part of the bargain. I’m going to take you guys to a first-class restaurant.”

“Excellent,” Kevin said, already at the door. “Do I get to ride in the car from hell?”

“Afraid not. I don’t have the car from hell today. Today I have the Ford SUV,” Steve said.

“That’s okay,” Kevin said. “SUVs are cool.”

Daisy slung her purse over her shoulder. “What’ll we do about Bob?”

The question took Steve by surprise. He wasn’t used to worrying about dogs. “Could we leave him in your backyard?”

“Fang ate a hole through my privacy fence. Bob would be able to escape. I suppose we could leave him in the house, though.”

“You be a good dog,” Steve told Bob. “Don’t do anything rude in the house, and I’ll take you for a walk when we come back.”

Daisy closed and locked the door and was halfway to the car when an unearthly sound stopped her in her tracks. “My Lord, what is that?”

Everyone listened. The pitch rose. Bob was howling for all he was worth.

“He’s lonely,” Daisy said, returning to the house. “We’ll have to take him with us.” She unlocked the door and snapped Bob’s leash on his choke collar. “We can go to one of those fast-food drive-throughs. Then we won’t have to leave Bob home alone.”

Bob galloped to the car and jumped onto the backseat beside Kevin.

When everyone ordered at the drive-through, Bob got two burgers and a vanilla shake. He was vastly subdued on the way home, and by the time Daisy and Steve had cleaned the kitchen and were ready to settle themselves in front of the TV to hear the eleven o’clock news, Bob was sound asleep on the couch.

Steve liked Bob a lot when he was sleeping. Not only was Bob adorable, but he was also taking up most of the couch, making it necessary for everyone else to sit pressed together, squeezed into the remaining few inches. Since Kevin had gone to his room to avoid drying dishes, the squeezing was left to Steve and Daisy. Steve sat down and waited for Daisy to sit beside him.

She stood with hands on hips, surveying the space left available to her. All right! This was her chance to snuggle next to Steve Crow. She felt giddy with anticipation, but she didn’t want to seem too eager, so she pretended there wasn’t enough room for her. “Your dog is a couch hog.” God bless him.

“I could move him,” Steve offered. He didn’t mean it, of course. He wouldn’t move that dog if the house was on fire. Good old Bob had finally done something right.

“He looks so comfy.”

As if on cue Bob rolled over, feet in the air, looking twice as comfy as before.

“That settles it,” Daisy said, wedging herself next to Steve. “He’s really a sweetie-pie.”

Steve put his arm around her, and everywhere their bodies met he felt warmth. It crept through his shirt and the fabric of his gray slacks and heated his blood. He realized it had been a long time since he’d been this easily aroused. Probably not since ninth grade when he’d felt a girl’s breast for the first time. Mary Lou Resnick, he thought fondly. He could still remember the look in her eyes. At the time he’d thought it was unbridled passion; now he recognized it as pure terror.

Daisy was experiencing a lot of both. The touch of his hand at her shoulder sent a shock of desire. The intensity of the desire prompted a wave of apprehension. If she had any sense, she’d be sitting in the club chair on the other side of the room, she thought. He was going to kiss her, and she was going to respond by tearing his clothes off and embarrassing herself. She turned toward him and heard him suck in his breath when her breast flattened against the wall of his chest. “Oops,” she said, “maybe we’re sitting too close.”

His answer was a kiss that made her toes curl.

As far as he was concerned they weren’t nearly close enough. He kissed her again and wondered what it was about this woman that had him constantly wanting. Just the thought of her drove all logic from his mind. He’d adopted a dog because of her! He’d bought a new car. Since she’d walked into his office yesterday, he’d instantly turned into a scheming juvenile. Must be a midlife crisis, he decided, although thirty-two seemed a little young. He felt her move against him, and thought was pushed aside.

They would never have heard Kevin if it hadn’t been for his size-fourteen feet. He thundered down the stairs with the speed he usually reserved for locating a refrigerator. “Hey, you guys, do you have the TV on? Daisy made the news!”

Daisy sat up and blinked, embarrassed. She’d forgotten about Kevin being in the house. She made a fast check of her clothes and was relieved to find them all in order. “What do you mean, I made the news?”

“Look,” Kevin said, sitting in front of the television, “it’s you!”

The camera focused on Daisy being interviewed by the woman reporter, then panned to the gunman, swearing and threatening to get even.

Steve was stunned. “He threatened you!”

“He got excited. He didn’t mean it,” Daisy said.

“How do you know? How can you be sure?”

“For goodness sake, he doesn’t even know me.”

“He does now,” Steve said. “You’ve just been on national television.”

“He’s been arrested,” Daisy insisted. “He’s locked up. He couldn’t hurt me even if he wanted to.”

“That guy is one of the biggest dope dealers in Washington. He was out on bail before you even arrived home tonight. And he has friends. Lots of ugly friends.”

“I’ll be careful. I’ll be especially careful if I see any ugly people who look like dope dealers.”

“Damn right you’ll be careful. You’ll stay here in this house until that guy comes to trial. I’ll hire a bodyguard, I’ll buy an attack dog, I’ll install an alarm system.”

Daisy put her hand to his forehead. The kiss had gotten pretty hot, but she didn’t think it was enough to make him delirious. “Maybe you need some fresh air.”

“I don’t need fresh air. I need peace of mind. I’m not going to have you cruising the city in the newscar when some maniacal dope dealer is out to get you.”

Daisy narrowed her eyes at him. “Exactly what are you saying?”

“I’m saying you’re fired. You’re grounded. You’re confined to quarters.”

“You can’t do that to me! I need the money, and I like the job. I was beginning to get good at it.”

“I’ll give you the money. I’ll pay you to stay home.”

“It’s not the same.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Kevin said. “Take the money.”

Chapter 4

Daisy pulled into the ShulsterBuilding underground garage and was relieved to find the newscar still in its parking space. Steve had left in a huff last night. Actually, she’d sort of kicked him out. He’d insisted she didn’t have a job, and she’d threatened a lawsuit. She was sure she’d been discriminated against, but she wasn’t sure exactly how. This morning she’d woken filled with resolve to do the traffic report. She figured she was on the winning side. If Steve knew anyone else who could do the traffic report, he would never have given the job to her in the first place.

Her optimism vanished when she saw him lounging against his Explorer four cars down. He had his arms loosely crossed over his chest, his mouth was firm and unsmiling, his eyes were dark and brooding. If she’d run across him looking like this three days ago, she’d have panicked. Today she stiffened her spine, tipped her nose up a fraction of an inch, and told herself he was a man like any other man. She knew it wasn’t completely true. But for her purposes this morning she preferred to delude herself into thinking he was average and manageable.

She parked her car and left it unlocked. The locks were rusted out, and besides, as far as she was concerned, if anyone was dumb enough to steal her wreck, then he deserved to have to drive it. She walked over to Steve and stood toe to toe with him.