He came around to help her out, and when they reached her door, he kissed her temple, then her lips. Long minutes passed before they drew apart. “I’m going to miss you.”

“We see each other every day.”

“I know, but it’s not the same.” He brushed a lock of hair back from her cheek with his thumb. “I’ll be pretty busy the rest of the week getting ready for the Bills’ game, so don’t read anything into it if I don’t stop by here.”

She smiled. “I won’t.”

“You keep your chin up this week, hear?” He stroked her hair and gave her a gaze so tender she felt as if he were making love to her all over again. “Honey, I understand how much you’ve got riding on Saturday. We’re gonna do our best.”

“I know that.”

For a moment she thought he was going to say more. Instead, he squeezed her hand, kissed her again, and began to walk away.

“Dan?” As he turned back, her voice dropped to a gentle whisper. “Kick some Buffalo butt for me, will you?”

His response was as soft as an Alabama breeze. “Sure enough, sweetheart.”

Even though the pace was unbelievably hectic, Phoebe felt as if she danced through the rest of the week. She found herself laughing for no reason at all and flirting with everyone—male, female, young, old, it made no difference. She sailed through her interviews with the press and even managed to be polite to Reed when he called with good luck wishes that rang hollow because he couldn’t quite hide his frustration at how long it was taking him to get his hands on the Stars.

The more she mulled over Dan’s revelations about his childhood, the more she wanted to believe that he had been sounding her out to discover her feelings about having a family. His disclosures allowed her to unearth all those precious dreams she had kept locked away for years, dreams of a husband who loved her and of a house filled with children who would never know what it was like to grow up unloved.

The few times she and Dan passed each other in the hallway, she felt something warm and wonderful travel between them. Still, her love for him frightened her. How was she going to put herself back together if he didn’t return that love? For so long she had lived in the shadows. Was it possible that she could finally walk in the sunshine?

The Stars-Bills game was scoreless at the end of the first quarter, and as Phoebe left the field and entered the skybox, she was so tense she wished she could spend the next three quarters hiding out with a VCR and an old Doris Day movie. She took a glass of tomato juice from the bartender and watched as the skybox’s two television sets faded to a Nike commercial.

“You’re always complaining about having to watch the game with men, so I’ve brought you a companion.”