“When pigs learn to fly,” she retorted, irritated beyond belief that mere hours after they’d made love he was going on the prowl again. “Get out, Cody.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Cody Adams, do not make me march back into that house so I can borrow a shotgun from Harlan.”

He chuckled. “I’m not real worried about that, darlin’. You’d never shoot a man in plain view of his daughter.”

He was right, of course. But, lordy, how she was tempted. “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she muttered, flinging open the back door. “If you want to behave like a horse’s behind, go right ahead.”

“Thank you,” he said, and turned the key in the ignition.

Cody was the kind of driver who liked to tempt fate. Melissa clung to the door handle, while Sharon Lynn squealed with excitement as they sped around curves. She knew they were perfectly safe. Cody never tried anything unless he was confident of his control of the road, the car, or the situation. In fact, she suspected that was exactly the point he was trying to make.

Even so, she was pale by the time he finally pulled to a stop in front of Rosa’s Mexican Café. She was faintly puzzled by his choice. It was hardly a singles hangout.

“This is where you intend to spend your night on the town?”

He shrugged. “I thought we could grab a bite to eat first.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, regarding him skeptically.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“Not really, I suppose, but you could have asked.”

“I just did.”

“Funny, it didn’t sound much like a question to me. Maybe I already have plans for the night.”

His expression turned dark. “Do you?” he demanded, his voice tight.

She let him wonder for the space of a heartbeat, then shrugged. “No, but I could have.”

“Melissa, I swear...”

“Tsk-tsk,” she warned, enjoying turning the tables on him, albeit briefly. “Not in front of the baby.”

He scowled at her, scooped Sharon Lynn out of her car seat and headed inside, leaving Melissa to make up her own mind about whether to join them or remain in the car and quibble over semantics. Sighing over this latest test of her patience, she reluctantly followed him inside.

On a Saturday night, Rosa’s was crowded with families. Melissa spotted Jordan and Kelly with their kids right off. Cody apparently did not, because he was making a beeline for an empty table on the opposite side of the restaurant. He picked up a booster seat en route and was already putting Sharon Lynn into it by the time Melissa joined him.

“Didn’t you see Jordan and Kelly?” she asked. “They were trying to wave us over. There’s room at their table.”

“I saw them,” Cody said tersely.

Melissa studied the set of his jaw. “Okay, what’s wrong?”