“No, I didn’t know that.” He turned, cautiously, until he was facing her.

“They were cold and hungry and frightened. And when they came to America, a strange country with a strange language and strange customs, they were poor and they were alone. But they wanted something enough to fight for it, to make it work. I’ve heard the story dozens of times. It always makes me cry. It always makes me proud.”

She turned away to stack dishes.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Courage comes in different forms, Brody. There’s strength—that’s the muscle. But love’s the heart. When you put them together, you can do anything. That’s worth a few sentimental tears.”

“You know, I figured this was the kind of day you just crossed off your list, but you’ve changed that.”

“Well, thank you. Tell you what. We’ll deal with these dishes, then you can dance with me.” Time to lighten things up, she decided. “The way a man dances tells me a lot, and I haven’t tested you out in that area yet.”

He took the dishes out of her hands. “Let’s dance now.”

“Can’t. Call it a character flaw, but if I don’t tidy up first, I’ll keep seeing unwashed dishes in my head.”

He set them aside, took her hands to draw her out of the room. “That’s anal.”

“No, it’s organized. Organized people get more done and have less headaches.” She looked over her shoulder as he tugged her toward the living room. “Really, it’ll only take a few minutes.”

“It’ll only take a few minutes later, too.” Maybe he was rusty in the romance department, but he still remembered a few moves.

“Here’s what we’ll do. You pick out the music while I clear up the dishes.”

He laughed and pulled her into the living room. “You really are compulsive.” He switched the stereo to CD. “Funny, I was listening to this last night. And thinking about you.”

“Oh?” The music flowed out, slow and sultry. A sexy little shuffle that spoke to the blood.

“Must’ve been fate,” he said and slid her into his arms.

Her heart jerked once. “I’m a strong believer in fate.” She ordered herself to relax, then realized she already was. Snugged up against him, moving with him, her heels making it easy—almost mandatory—to rest her cheek on his.

“Very smooth, O’Connell,” she murmured. “Major points for smooth.”

“Like you said, some things come back to you.” He spun her out, made her laugh. Spun her back and had her breath catching.

“Nice move.” Oh-oh. Oh-oh. It was getting hard to think. She’d come to the conclusion when she’d dealt with her tears that she really needed to do some serious thinking about Brody, and where this was all going.

She couldn’t drive this train if she didn’t have her wits about her.

She hadn’t expected him to dance quite so well. If he’d fumbled a bit, she could have taken charge. Kept her balance. There were entirely too many things that were unexpected about him. And fascinating. And oh, it felt wonderful to glide around the room in his arms.