"This isn't about me," Dana said, the color in her cheeks revealing that he'd flustered her, just as he aimed to. And AJ wasn't about to let her wriggle off his hook.

"You talk like an expert." He picked up a sponge, watching her as he swiped at the table. "Experienced gained, I guess."

"One can learn a lot from observation."

"In this arena, observation is a poor second to the real thing. Tell me, Dana, do you have any of your own experiences to defend those naive theories about love? Has you heart ever beat like a tom-tom over some man? Have you had palpitations the instant a certain guy walked into the room?"

"You're unreal," Dana scolded.

"Me? You're the one living in a fantasy. I bet hidden under all those bride magazines in your office is a stack of romance novels to feed that fanciful streak of yours. What book were you reading the other night?" He hoped to disconcert her further with their reference to their midnight encounter. If she were human, the recollection would heat her blood just as it did his.

Dana giggled, showing his ploy had failed. "A Dean Koontz thriller. Not exactly a romance."

"Okay, so you win that one. But, Dana. . ." His eyes were impish again. "Regardless of what you profess to believe, I'll also wager a hundred bucks that you've never been in love, either."

She turned back to the dishwasher and AJ assumed she was going to leave this bet unanswered. But then what could she say, he thought smugly, when he was dead right?

Dana finished her work in silence, and once the kitchen was clean, she made a beeline for sweet, however, she paused, eyeing him levelly. "I'm not like you. Just because I haven't fallen heads over heels yet doesn't mean that I've lost my faith in it happening someday." Having said that, Dana opened the door and slammed it behind her. 'Well, McLean, she told you.' He heard the lock click. 'Second message received. She definitely doesn't want your company.'

After a series of channel changes, from an old movie to a World War II documentary to a wildlife special, Dana gave up on television. Her suite felt like as confining as a jail cell, yet she wasn't ready for another face-off with AJ. She listened. There were no sounds from the rest of the house; apparently he taken her hint and gone to bed. Dana unlocked her door and peeked out. All was silent. The coast was clear.

She ventured into the solarium, her favorite room at Torrence Place. The space had once been a huge screened porch and as a child she'd sat there with her grandparents on hot summer evenings, entranced with their stories of early Houston and the "good old days."

The porch was given priority when she'd begun renovating. Dana had it air-conditioned and enclosed with glass, transforming the area into a multipurpose room. The decorators had out done themselves, using an abundant of plants to take advantage of the daytime sun, bringing a bit of the outdoors inside.

Darkness had fallen and the room lay in shadows. Comforted by the pleasant stillness, Dana didn't bother with a light. She gazed out the wall of windows, only the faint white outline of the gazebo easily detectable in the night.

"Couldn't sleep?" AJ's voice startled her.

She switched on a lamp. "I thought you'd gone upstairs."

"Yeah." He grinned. "Otherwise, you'll still be hiding out behind locked doors. Since you've resurfaced through, let's talk some more."

"I have no interest in hearing any more of your disparaging remarks about an emotion I venerate," Dana said, wishing she was still hiding out.

"Turnabout's fair play. You want to poke into my affairs, but slam on the brakes as far as your own." AJ patted the sofa cushion next to him. "Stay and chat. I promise not to mention your love life again. On my oath of a former Boy Scout." He gave the three-fingered salute before adding, "Since it bothers you so much."

"The Scouts would probably accuse you of sacrilege," Dana said, choosing another chair. "Hiding behind their oath and continuing your needling. If you want me to stay, I suggest you don't talk about anything more controversial then the weather."

"Okay. Think we'll have snow tonight?"

Dana laughed in spite of herself. In all her descriptions of AJ, she'd omitted a sense of humor, but clearly he had one. Snow in Houston during the middle of winter was uncommon – any of the white stuff falling in April was as likely as her winning the Texas lottery. "If I say no, you'll probably purchase a snowmaking machine and have my front lawn covered by morning."

"We could build a snowman together."

"Of course. The media could than announce, 'Sarah Martin sunbathes in Mexico while Backstreet Boy AJ McLean frolics in the snow on Heights Boulevard.'"

AJ's eyes closed as through envisioning the scene. "So no more weather talk. Let's see. . . safe subject. . .I know, 'Arrangements by Dana'. You told me how you acquired Torrence Place, but not how it led into the wedding business."

"Strictly by accident," she answered. "I'd been in so many ceremonies – twenty-three stints as a bridesmaid to be exact – that I reasoned I should become a pro."

"Twenty-three's an impressive figure," he said. "But only a bridesmaid – never a bride?"

"Never a bride," she echoed warily. "All I've got to show for those weddings in twenty-three dresses hanging in my closet, each worn only once." Dana shook her head. "There's just something about bridesmaid dresses. They don't recycle well."

AJ grinned. "With so many friends, it would have been tricky to narrow the attendants if you've been my bride."

"It wouldn't have been so hard. Just Steph. We've known each other only a couple of years, but she's become like a sister to me. She. . ." Dana's voice trailed off. If you've been my bride, he'd said.

"I can see why you have lots of friends," AJ interjected. "You're a sensitive woman. . .nice enough to even put up with me. Do you realize–" he checked his watch "–you haven't suggested I leave for over five hours? You're warming to me, Dana. I can tell."

The ringing telephone broke off Dana's rebuttal. She ran to the kitchen to answer. "It seems I'm serving as your switchboard operator now," she told AJ, handing him the cordless receiver. Warming to him, ha!

"Hello." AJ cupped his hand over the mouthpiece. "Do you mind? It's important?"

"Then I'll give you some privacy. Good night," she said, feeling as if she'd been literally saved by the bell. AJ's playful mood and his comment about her being his bride hung in her mind and she didn't know what to make it of it all. He was a master at confusing and riling her, only this time she was simply confused.

She slept in Saturday morning. Amazingly, her concerns over the potential damage to 'Arrangements by Dana' hadn't followed her to bed. Even having AJ upstairs hadn't bothered her. Quite the contrary, she felt secure knowing there was a man in the house. 'Quit being dumb,' she chided. 'Don't get used to this, because it's going to end as soon as you can manage it.'

She was having her first cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. AJ must have already been on his way downstairs. He was opening the door and she entered the foyer.

"Have you seen this?" Without any word of greeting, Jenna shoved a newspaper in his hand. She rested a palm on his waist, hovering close while AJ scanned the article.

From three feet away, Dana could tell the picture was of Sarah, in a bikini. The accompanying headline read: "Don't Cry For Me AJ McLean."

"Damn!" AJ said. Then he, Jenna and the newspaper disappeared upstairs, Jenna's arm entwined with one of AJ's. Dana went to retrieve her morning paper and carried it into her kitchen. The publicity had gone from bad to worse. Torrence Place was once again mentioned in the article, reinforcing the implication that the wedding site was somehow responsible for what had transpired. If the people yet to be married here weren't already spooked, then this latest article ought to do it.

Tossing the paper aside, Dana resolved to get to work. She'd barely sat down at her desk when the phone starting ringing. The first calls were from sympathetic girlfriends, their encouragement quickly dashed by two more cancellations. Exasperated and seeking a physical outlet, Dana headed to the kitchen. She'd clean cabinets or something, anything to control her troubled mind.

The coffee carafe and some pastries were missing. AJ must have come down and carried them to his room. Jenna was still up there with him, making Dana wonder anew what was going on between the two of them. "It doesn't take half the morning to read a newspaper article," she said aloud. Could it be that the article was long forgotten and they'd digressed to more intimate discussions? Dana tried to comfort herself with that notion. If AJ were taking a liking to Jenna, then maybe he would pursue her and out the door. But the idea didn't make Dana feel better.

She heard AJ and his guest stirring just as the phone summoned her again. It was Marie Howard calling off her Christmas wedding. Dana could tell from her flimsy excuse that Marie was reacting to the current Torrence Place notoriety.

"It's too bad the date didn't work out," Dana said, "but if you decide on another, I can reschedule you in the next few days. Yes. Yes. I see. . ." Dana switched off the cordless phone and dropped it back in her apron pocket as she sank into her chair. "A pox on you," she muttered aloud, then glanced up to see AJ watching her from the doorway.

"Trouble?"

She nodded.

"Because of me?"

"She blamed it on her job – a conflicting conference."

"And you don't buy that?"

"No. Christmas isn't a popular season for company conferences. Then she balked when I suggested picking another date."

He came over and joined Dana at the kitchen table. "I'm sorry. I'll make–"

"It's not your problem," Dana interrupted. "I'll handle it myself. I don't need your sympathy or your help. Go entertain your little friend."

"You mean Jenna?"

"Who else?" It wasn't like Dana to be so testy, but she simply couldn't control her tongue. She was being buffeted from all sides.

"Jenna left. She just came over to warn me about the article, then we talked a bit." He smiled. "She's really a nice person. Why does her coming here annoy you so much?"

"Don't be silly. She doesn't annoy me at all." Dana rose from her chair. "Now if you're excuse me, I have work stacked up in my office."

"Okay," he said agreeably. "By the way, Jenna brought my lap top and cellular phone over. Now I can conduct a bit of business and not interfere with yours." He trotted upstairs, leaving a shamefaced Dana standing alone.

She hadn't meant to be so crabby and unreasonable about her telephone, nor to behave so shrewishly about Jenna. AJ must think she was a nutcase. And rightly so. Since the moment he'd became part of her existence, she became erratic and irrational.

AJ's footfalls had no sooner hit the top of the stairs before she heard him retracing his steps. "Listen," he said to her, grabbing Dana and massaging her shoulders, "I'm bored stiff."

Dana tried to shrug free – his touches were occurring too frequently – but he held on. "I'm sorry the entertainment at Torrence Place isn't more exciting," she snapped. "Why don't I invite a squad of comedians to help you while away the hours? Or would you prefer the 'Baywatch' women or the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders?"

AJ ignored the jabs. "I'd rather while away the hours with you."

"I'm busy." She hadn't AJ to use the opportunity to fold her in his arms. Dana braced her hands against his chest. "Please leave me alone," she pleaded.

"Only if you agree to take me for a drive. . .a long one." AJ loosened his hold and stepped back to leaned against the table, giving her space to make a decision.

"I'm getting positively claustrophobic hunkered down alone in the Hearts and Flowers. It's not doing a lot for my manly image, either. Can you see the write-up – 'Missing groom AJ McLean finally discovered hiding among the eyelet pillows and the potpourri.' Worse than that snow scene you conjured up."

Dana patted his shoulder. "Poor baby."

"That's right. Poor me. Have you no mercy for a lonely man."

"Why didn't you have Jenna rescue you?"

"Couldn't. She was expected at her hair salon."

"The way the woman was fawning over you, I'm certain she'd have broken the appointment if only you crooked your little finger."

"But I didn't."

Was AJ indicating he hadn't wanted to be with Jenna, that he preferred her company instead? Dana began to wonder if she misinterpreted AJ's interest in his early morning visitor. But Jenna or no Jenna, all logic said an outing with AJ could lead to complications. She'd have to say no.

Chapter 8
Chapter 6
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