The mystery of her harassment had been solved. Just as they’d all suspected, it hadn’t been the Roach. It had been the work of a rival drug dealer who’d hoped to pin additional charges on the Roach and get him off the street for good. Elsie’s Cadillac had finally been returned, but that, too, was missing from the lot. Elsie had gone home. She was no longer on twenty-four-hour duty. At least she would see Elsie on Monday, Daisy thought. Steve had decided that she and Elsie made a good traffic team and had changed Elsie’s job description to temporary assistant traffic reporter.

The town house was silent behind her. No stereo blasting away, no television, no refrigerator door opening and closing. Her parents had come home from Texas and collected Kevin. She was alone, and her life was tidy again, she told herself. The realization provoked a flutter of excitement in her chest. Even if she never used her degree in geriatric counseling, she was determined to finish her thesis and defend it. She needed two months of hard work to get the job done, she’d decided.

Steve rested his back against a wooden tub of geraniums and looked at Daisy. “You’re getting ready to kick me out of your life, aren’t you?”

“I need two months to myself.”

“And then?”

“I don’t know.” It wasn’t an entirely honest answer. True, she didn’t know for sure how she’d feel in two months when the burden of her doctorate degree was lifted from her shoulders, but she suspected she’d buy a can of furniture polish for his kitchen table and beg him to marry her immediately. She glanced down at the ring on her finger and when she spoke her voice was low. “I’d like to keep the ring.”

A smile softened his mouth. “I suppose that’s a good sign.”

He stayed very still against the geraniums, but it was a relaxed, contented sort of stillness, Daisy thought. Their eyes locked, and a visual caress passed between them. “I love you,” she told him.

“There’s all kinds of love,” he teased. “Am I going to have to wait two months before I find out what kind of love we’re talking about?”

“You could spend the night with me and in the morning you can draw your own conclusions.”

It was much more than he’d expected, and he had no intention of wasting his opportunity. The kitchen table had been exciting, but this was what he’d really wanted. He’d wanted the chance to make love to her. He wanted soft lights, candles, lots of time, lots of privacy, and a comfortable bed where they could spend the night locked in each other’s arms.

He leaned forward to kiss her, but she pulled back. “There’s a catch,” she said.

“I’m not surprised.”