“So I can touch you whenever and wherever I want in public, but it’s hands-off in the confines of our own home, right?” She pushed her hair out of her face, tucking one strand behind her ear.

“It’s a little backward, I know, but we’ve never managed a normal relationship yet, so why should we start now?”

“Why indeed?” She pulled away and took his hand in hers. “Well, Mr. Blackmore, what would you like to see tonight?”

What he really wanted to see couldn’t be viewed on a public street, so he directed his attention to the job of convincing the world they were married. Lifting her hand, he kissed the backs of her fingers. “I think a wedding ring is in order, Mrs. Blackmore. Are there any jewelry stores nearby?”

“Oh, no. That’s too expensive. I’ll just pick something out of my jewelry box and put it on my left hand. No one will know the difference.”

“I’ll know.”

“Cole, neither of us has any money to waste right now. The company needs every penny.”

His teeth clenched, and he forced himself not to think of the stack of medical bills still waiting to be paid. “My wife will have a proper ring. End of discussion.”

Silence greeted his words, and he waited for the explosion.

“You’re not going to get away with that every time,” she finally said.

“Get away with what?”

“The ‘Me Tarzan, You Jane’ act. I will be an equal partner in this arrangement, and I will take an active part in all decisions.” She turned and walked backward in front of him, laughter lighting her eyes. “But I’ll give in just this once, because. I really would like a wedding ring.”

The little girl was there again, peeking out, desperately asking for approval, love and acceptance. He only hoped he didn’t manage to crush the last of her innocence in his desperate bid to save himself.

He tried twice before he could get out his next sentence in the lighthearted vein he knew was necessary right now. “Lead me to a jewelry store and we’ll find a rock the size of Gibraltar for you. Something big enough that we’ll need to buy a little horse for you to rest your hand on.”

She turned to walk beside him again, both hands wrapped around his work-roughened fingers.. “The cleaning service at the office will never put up with that. Can you imagine the damage even a little horse would do to the beige carpet?”

Unable to resist, he bent and pressed a quick kiss on her smiling lips—trying to absorb her laughter and warmth, to draw it deep into the cold places around his heart. A flash of heat darted through him, but as soon as he pulled away from her, the cold returned, settling in deeper than before.