By nine-thirty that evening, as she finished her last speech at a Chamber of Commerce dinner, she’d made up her mind. If he thought she was going to let him play cat and mouse with her, he was gravely mistaken.

She broke away from shaking hands with the members of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce and made her way toward him before he could slip away. The photographers who were still following her surged forward to get the first pictures of the two of them together.

She regarded Mat levelly. “I want to see you at my house at ten tomorrow morning.”

He smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”

She barely slept that night, something she could ill afford with a full afternoon of meetings ahead of her. As soon as Tamarah put Andre down for his morning nap, she sent her into town with Button on a series of errands that would keep the baby out of the house until Mat was gone. Then she watched the clock crawl toward ten o’clock.

Squid perked up his ears as the sound of a whimper came over the baby intercom. Andre usually took a long morning nap, but today he’d apparently decided to wake early. Her housekeeper wouldn’t be arriving until noon, so Nealy hurried to get him, the dog following.

The baby lay on his back in the crib. He wore a bright blue Winnie the Pooh sleeper, and his brown eyes were filled with tears that stopped falling as soon as he spotted her. For a few moments Nealy forgot her own troubles as she gazed down at him, so sweet and full of personality.

“What’s the matter, little guy? Have a bad dream?” She scooped her hands beneath his warm body and lifted him to her shoulder. He was a beautiful baby with milk chocolate skin and a studious air, as if he hadn’t yet decided what to make of the world.

The intercom from the front gate buzzed twice, announcing that she had company on the way, and Nealy said one of Button Jorik’s favorite words. “Sit!”

She tucked the baby in the crook of her arm and made her way to the front of the house. “Okay, buddy, it’s just you, me, and the dog.”

The bell rang. She counted to ten, then reached for the knob.

Chapter 23

23

MAT GAZED AT the woman in the doorway and felt everything inside him melt. He’d been able to hold it together yesterday when there’d been cameras around, but now there were none, and she was only a step away.