“Are we going to dinner, or are we going to stand around and stare at each other all evening?” Heather asked bluntly, looking from her father to Sherry and back again.

“By all means, let’s eat,” Cody said.

“Yes, let’s.” Sherry was shocked by how thin and wavery her voice sounded. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who noticed, because Heather sent her a curious look, then grinned broadly.

Dinner truly was an elegant affair. The small dining room was beautifully decorated with antique fixtures and furnishings. The tables were covered with white linen tablecloths, and the lights were muted. Both Heather and Sherry ordered the lobster-tail dinner, while Cody chose a thick T-bone steak. When a three-piece musical ensemble started to play, Heather glanced pointedly at both her father and Sherry.

“You’re going to dance, aren’t you?” she said.

“The music is more for mood than dancing,” Sherry explained, although she wouldn’t have refused if Cody had offered. But she knew he didn’t much care for dancing, so an offer wasn’t likely.

Their salads arrived, all Caesars with garlicky croutons. Heather gobbled hers, and when Sherry turned to her, silently suggesting she eat more slowly, the girl wiped the dressing from the corner of her mouth and shrugged. “I’m too hungry to linger over my food like you and Dad are.”

Sherry’s appetite was almost nil, a stark contrast to an hour earlier—before Cody had returned to the suite. She was almost sorry he was with them, because she couldn’t enjoy her food. But although she was uncomfortably aware of his presence, she was still glad to be sharing this time with him and Heather.

Their entrées were served, and Sherry was grateful to Heather, who single-handedly carried the conversation. She chattered nonstop between bites of lobster, relating the details of the afternoon. Cody concentrated on his food, occasionally murmuring a brief response to his daughter’s comments.

But whatever was happening between Cody and her, if indeed anything was, felt strange to Sherry. Cody seemed withdrawn from her both physically and emotionally. A sort of sultry tension suffused the air about them, as if they were waging battles against themselves, against the strong pull of the attraction they shared. Thank goodness, she thought, for Heather’s easy banter.

Sherry hardly touched her meal, but nothing went to waste, because after Heather finished her own dinner, she polished off what remained of Sherry’s.

When their dinner plates had been taken away and Heather was waiting for the blueberry-swirl cheesecake she’d ordered, Sherry excused herself and retreated to the ladies’ room. She applied fresh lipstick, taking her time, not ready to go back to the table yet. She was uncertain of so many things. Cody had told her how much he didn’t want to be attracted to her, and she’d found his words somewhat insulting. Now she understood. She was attracted to him, and she didn’t like it, either, didn’t know how to deal with it. What troubled her most was that she seemed to be weakening toward him. She’d always thought of herself as strong-willed, but now her defenses were crumbling. She was afraid that, as the evening progressed, it would become increasingly difficult to hide her feelings—and that could be disastrous.