Tension filled her. Every place they pressed together made her want more. She felt the hardness of his erection and longed to slip her hand between them so she could touch him. She wanted to be naked, in bed, making love. She wanted the night to never end.

“So,” he said, cupping her face in his hands and staring at her with his deep, dark blue eyes. “This is where I stop so you can tell me you’re too tired?”

She kept her gaze on him. “I’m not wearing any underwear.”

Instantly his pupils dilated and his breath caught in his throat.

“Just checking,” she said casually, pulling free of his embrace and heading for her bedroom. “Actually I am wearing underwear, but I trust you’ll know what to do with it.”

Katie rolled over and blinked at the clock. Her eyes focused, but her brain was a little more reluctant to believe. One-thirty?

She glanced at the window, only to see bright sunshine. She’d slept until one-thirty in the afternoon?

She flopped on her back and stared at the ceiling. Considering she didn’t get to sleep until close to three, she was actually still pretty tired. But in a good way. In a talk-about-a-couple-of-hours-of-incredible-lovemaking kind of way.

A smile tugged on her mouth. She turned over and placed her hand on the empty side of the bed, where Zach had been. His body heat had long since faded from the sheets, but his scent lingered. She glanced at his pillow and saw a piece of paper there. She grabbed it and quickly read.

“Hey, gorgeous. You needed the rest, so I didn’t want to wake you when I snuck out this morning. Call me at the office when you wake up. Thanks for last night. I’m going to have a hell of a time concentrating today. Instead of clients, I’ll be thinking about you.”

She laughed softly, contentment filling her. Back when she’d first met Zach, she’d thought he was a player. A heartless, egocentric, all-around slimy guy. She couldn’t have been more wrong about him.

He was everything she’d ever wanted. He was-

Katie sat up and gasped. Everything she’d ever wanted? As in…as in…She flopped back on the bed and pulled the covers up over her head. No way. She could not possibly have fallen in love with Zach. It was impossible. It was crazy.

She was the closet romantic who had once kissed a frog in the hopes of attracting a prince on a white horse. She still had the very first Valentine she’d ever received from a boy. She was hearts and flowers and Zach was anything but.

Except when her entire family had turned their collective back on her, he’d been there for her. She might not agree with his tactics, but he was determined to keep his son from making what he saw as a mistake. He was ruthless, yes, but also giving and kind and holy shit, she had it bad.

All these years of waiting for “the one.” The right guy. The man who made her hear bells. Last night she’d heard at least a tinkle or two.

Katie pushed down the covers and studied the note. She had to call him and she certainly wasn’t going to say anything. What was there to say? “Hi Zach. Last night was great, by the way, I’m in love with you.” Yeah, right. Hardly a well-conceived plan.

She would say nothing, she told herself. She would act completely normal and keep her personal information to herself.

She supposed a case could be made for telling him the truth and giving him the chance to respond in kind. That was probably really mature. Except she wasn’t feeling especially grown-up and strong right now.

Four months ago she would have said that Zach Stryker had the emotional attention span of a gnat, that he wasn’t interested in anyone but himself, and that she would never fall for a guy like him. She’d been wrong on every count. But was she wrong about him wanting what she wanted? Could the cynical divorce lawyer ever find a way to believe in happily-ever-after, marriage, and kids? Was she more to him than just a flavor of the week, or would he walk away from her the way he’d walked away from everyone else?

Too many questions, she thought, and not an answer in sight.

After sitting up, she pulled on her robe and glanced back at his note. She rubbed her finger over his signature, then reached for the phone.

Dora picked up on the first ring. “Zach Stryker’s office.”

“Hi, Dora. It’s Katie.”

“Hi! How are you doing? You won’t believe what’s happening here. The phones are going crazy. Everybody’s calling. They loved the party and the food and your grandmothers. In Style magazine wants to get the ravioli recipe for a spread they’re doing. The partners are thrilled about the proceeds, and I’ve been fielding calls from dozens of people who are trying to get in touch with you so you can plan their next event.”

Katie’s head spun. “I can’t believe it.”

“You’d better start. I think you’re going to need a bigger staff. So, is working for an event planner more interesting than working for a lawyer?”

Katie laughed. “Zach would kill me if I stole you away.”

“Just between you and me, I wouldn’t leave, but I may hint a bit. Just to keep him humble.” Dora chuckled. “Speaking of His Nibs, he’s waiting for your call. I’ll put you through.”

“Thanks.”

There was a click, then Zach came on the phone.

“So you’re finally up?”

“Sort of. I’m awake, but still tired.”

“It’ll take you a couple of days to get back to normal.” His voice lowered a little. “How are you feeling?”

“Good.” She smiled. “Great. I got your note.”

“I didn’t want to just head out without saying something, but I hated to wake you. We have that history of running out on each other after sex. Oh, wait. Only you did that.”

She laughed. “Thanks for the reminder. So you’re not a forgive-and-forget kind of guy. That surprises me.”

“Oh, I forgive, but I don’t forget until I’ve gotten all the mileage I can out of it.”

“How like you.”

“Resourceful? I know.”

“Impossible was more what I was thinking. How’s work?”

He chuckled. “I have no idea. I should have stayed in bed with you. I’m not getting anything done.”

His confession made her feel all shivery inside. “Really?”

“Absolutely. You’re a distraction.”

The same could be said about him. Katie’s body still hummed with pleasure, even several hours after the lovemaking. Zach had done things to her and with her that had left her feeling more like his sexual slave than a bed partner.

“Instead of trying to function on zero sleep, I gave myself and my staff the day off,” she said. “As this is my first free weekend in weeks, I’m heading up to the hacienda this afternoon. We’re having a beading fest. Want to come along? You don’t have to actually bead if you don’t want to.”

“You read my mind,” he teased. “Not about the beading, but about the weekend. I have an official invitation for David and myself. We’re coming up first thing in the morning.”

“Great. I look forward to seeing you.”

“Me, too. And if you look out front, you’ll find your car waiting there. The keys are under the mat by your front door.”

She clutched the phone more tightly as her heart gave a little ping of pleasure. “You went to all that trouble for me?”

“Absolutely. I took the keys when I left this morning and had it delivered. Hey, this is L.A. You can’t not have wheels.”

Katie sighed. Zach might not have a white stallion, but he was still pretty decent prince material.

“I need to let you get back to work,” she said.

“Sure. I can read this file for the third time and see if my powers of concentration have returned, now that I’ve heard your voice. And Katie?”

“Yeah?”

“Last night was really special for me.”

Oddly enough, her eyes began to burn. “For me, too. Not just making love, but the way you looked out for me. It meant a lot.”

“I wanted to take care of you. Scary, huh?”

“You bet. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

David overslept the following morning, which wasn’t unusual but, for the first time in years, annoyed Zach. He sat on his son’s too-small bed in the dorm room he shared with another freshman and waited while David had his twenty-minute shower. Finally he was ready, with his overnight bag and a backpack full of textbooks.

“I have a lot of homework,” David grumbled as he slid into the front seat of Zach’s BMW. “I have this project due next week and finals are in three weeks.”

Zach pulled out of the parking lot. “I’m sure Mia has the same pressure. You can study together.”

David didn’t say anything. Instead he stared out the front window, looking sullen.

Zach frowned. “Look, if you don’t want to go up to the hacienda, you don’t have to.” He would be happy to return David to the dorm and continue on his own.

“It’s not that,” David said, slumping down in his seat. “There’s just a lot of stuff going on.”

“Want to talk about it?”

David shrugged, which could mean yes, no, or maybe.

“It is school?”

Another shrug.

“Mia?”

“We’re fine.”

David spoke the right words, but his flat tone said otherwise. Was it the redhead? Were David and Mia fighting?

“Is there a reason Mia didn’t want to drive up with us?”