He went to the sideboard in the dining room and poured brandy into two crystal goblets. He handed one to Daisy and hooked an arm around her shoulders. “I’m going to invite you into my room for an hour of television and conversation. We’ll leave the door open so no one under the age of fifteen gets the wrong idea, and we’ll get quietly snockered.”

Bob followed them up the stairs, and the three of them climbed onto Steve’s bed. Steve zapped the television on with the remote and lifted his glass. “We need a toast. To a day well done.”

“To fun.”

“To soft ice cream.”

“To roller coasters in the dark.”

He patted Bob on the head. “To man’s best friend.”

“To toasters, flush toilets, adhesive tape, and the electric light.”

They clinked glasses and sipped their brandy.

“I’m not much of a drinker,” Daisy said. “This stuff is scalding my stomach and making me feel very friendly.”

“It’s supposed to relax you.”

“It’s making the backs of my knees sweat.”

His gaze moved to the open door. He could have it closed and locked and be back on the bed in less than five seconds. If he ran downstairs to get more brandy, he could be back on the bed in fifteen seconds, twenty tops. He wondered if her knees would cool off in twenty seconds. Probably not. He watched her take another sip and knew he was going to leave the door open.

The first time they’d made love it was a groping match on the family room floor, the second time he’d hauled her onto the kitchen table. He wanted to do better for her. He wanted soft lights, lots of time, and he wanted to wake up next to her in the morning.

She moved closer, snuggling into the circle of his arms, and his heart ached with longing, not just to make love to her, but to care for her, share with her, to link his life permanently with hers. He closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair, thinking that being in love was downright painful. And to make matters worse, someone was trying to kill Daisy.

Actually, he still wasn’t completely convinced the man was trying to kill her. It seemed to Steve that the guy was trying to scare her and didn’t mind hurting her, or anyone else, in the process. In his own mind he’d ruled out the Roach. The Roach was a businessman. He wasn’t crazy, and he had nothing to gain by terrorizing Daisy. In fact, he had a lot to lose. His trial was coming up. The kind of press he was getting wasn’t going to help his cause. He’d threatened Daisy in a moment of anger, but there was no good reason to carry out that threat.