Had he planned the encounter? It hardly seemed possible. But he had to have gone to considerable trouble to find her a ruby strawberry after the engagement party. To think that he’d never seen her before that night, let alone given her the nickname—every time he said it in that low voice of his, Mary Beth felt a thrill.

Bobby Joe never addressed her by anything other than her full name. That wasn’t quite true. He did call her baby sometimes. It was just a word. It didn’t register as an endearment.

Mary Beth turned the key in the ignition and started the engine. It usually took a little while before the air-conditioning got going, and the warmth inside her car was making her a little breathless. Unless that was her memory of Parr’s sensual embrace and hot kisses kicking in, she thought, rolling down the window. She held a hand in front of the dashboard vents, feeling the first faint stirrings of cool air.

It’s been months since I’ve had a woman. How could she have taken a line like that seriously? Far from flattering, when she thought about it. But then Parr had said something else first. You’re so damn beautiful.

Was she really that hungry for masculine attention? Apparently so.

Bobby Joe had come over in the morning and taken her out for an early breakfast. The subject of his unexpected absence had been studiously avoided by them both. Why fight, she had thought—and still thought. She couldn’t take the moral high ground, not after that encounter with Parr. Today it seemed like a dream. She rolled up the window and leafed through a manila folder, briefing herself before her next stop, a meeting with the principal of one of the local elementary schools.

Mary Beth was making the rounds of the county while Teacher Days were in progress. Thousands of kids had most of the week off while teachers and staff from principals on down brushed up their skills in workshops and conferences. Part of her job as a social worker was to track various initiatives put in place by the state and community boards, and Teacher Days were ideal for that purpose. Plus it was an opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues that she looked forward to each year.

There were bound to be curious questions from some about her wedding plans, now that the engagement party had happened. But Mary Beth had always preferred to keep her personal life separate from her professional aspirations.

Good luck with that in the South. She closed the folder. There was only one other stop she had to make in her hometown and then she could drive off to other assigned areas, where no one really knew her.