Dana was too shocked to respond, or even to move. She stood there, frozen between AJ and the counter, gaping up at him.

"Hang on there before you say anything," he ordered. "I'll send our pilot to ready the private jet and have my travel agent reserve a suite at one of those hotels along the strip. We can be in Las Vegas in a couple of hours."

She pushed out of his arms and crossed the kitchen, tempting to gain some protective yardage. The man couldn't be serious. Dana leaned against the doorjamb, watching him and wondering whether she should laugh or call the loony bin patrol.

"Well, what do you think?" AJ seemed determined to keep up the pretense. He moved closer, backing Dana into the solarium. When she sat down on the wicker couch, he joined her, crossing one denim-clad leg atop the other and resting an arm on the chintz cushions behind her. "Will you marry me?" AJ asked tenderly, his hand slipping onto her shoulder to pull her closer.

The warmth of his touch radiated through her and his skin sent off the aroma of now-familiar after-shave. Inviting even more sensory overload, she made the mistake of glancing into those big-brown-puppy-dog eyes. Yes, a breathless voice almost agreed.

Then Dana caught herself. So they'd spent a few pleasant hours together. She couldn't let that cloud her brain. Two days ago, AJ was waiting to wed Sarah and, disclaimers aside, Dana wasn't certain he wasn't still harboring feelings for the woman. Just because he'd said he didn't believe in love didn't mean all caring for Sarah was obliterated.

Dana didn't want a rebound husband. And, even if that stumbling block didn't exist, there were a dozen others. Without considering any of those impediments, a union between her and AJ was beyond the pale. Their brief acquaintance hardly measured up as friendship, much less a basis for escalating that friendship to marriage. To think I'm even having this debate with myself. Now who's ready for the loony bin?

Mockingly she pressed her palm to AJ's forehead. "No, fever, so I suppose we'll have to chalk this lapse up to the champagne. Just in case it's not the champagne, however, let's get something straight right now. I have no intention in participating in this goofy escapade you've dreamed up."

"I realize I've surprised you, but you shouldn't dismiss my proposal out of hand." AJ hadn't really expected her to agree, and was puzzled by his disappointment. Disappointment was an unfamiliar emotion for him. He hadn't felt any regret about Sarah. No, he distinctly remembered his immediate reaction to that – relief. Soul-cleansing relief. So why did he feel let down now?

AJ pressed the veins of his temple. Sure, Dana was pretty, with a soft full mouth and brown velvet eyes you could lose yourself in. A majority of women he knew had beautiful features. Sure, she was intelligent and feisty and fun to be with. So were a lot of the women in his life. Nothing explained his confusion or his desire to crush his lips to hers and kiss away all her hesitation. . .

Rising from the couch, Dana stood to face AJ, her arms crossed defensively. "It boggles my mind we're having this discussion. I know you're joking, but it isn't funny."

"Some things I don't joke about. Proposing marriage is one of those things. Marry me, Dana."

"Why? Is there some reason you need a wife?"

"What makes you think that?"

"What else could have induced such an impetuous proposition? I mean, you just got 'disengaged' and now you're ready to try again. I can't help wondering why me and why the big hurry?"

"Why you?" AJ rose to his feet and faced her, cupping her chin in his hand. "Because you're smart and beautiful. Any man would be proud to have you as his wife."

Why the hurry? she also asked. AJ wasn't sure he understood himself, except to explain when he made up his mind to do something, he acted – unless logic told him to take it slow. Right now, logic be damned. "I can't see any reason for waiting. Just the opposite. The sooner we get it over with, the sooner our lives will return to normal." AJ knew he'd said the wrong thing the instant the words were out of his mouth.

"You make the prospect sound as appealing as a tax audit. The only prayer I have of my life returning to normal is to get you out of it." Dana looked as through she was either going to burst into tears or throw a handy lamp his way. He guessed he'd have to risks lamps or tears or both.

"If you're through stomping all over my ego, how about reconsidering your answer," he said. "You as much as admitted earlier that you've never been in love – and neither have I. So we're perfect for each other. I'm getting long in the tooth for a blushing bridegroom and pretty soon you're going to be branded as an old maid." He hoped the teasing would help override his blunder of a minute ago. "Do you want that to happen?"

"Women's concern about spinsterhood went out with the Ford Edsel. About the time women's liberation came in. Or hadn't you heard?" She didn't sound placated.

"Women still want to get married. No matter how liberated."

"And men–"

AJ's quick kiss stopped the riposte in midsentence. "Men, too. Don't forget Torrence Place and your business," he added, reminding both himself and Dana what his proposal had really been about. He wanted to make amends and this was the best way to do it. "Motive enough for us to speed to the altar. Shall I alert the pilot?"

"A Las Vegas wedding," Dana said, moving towards the windows. "I can see it all now." She gestured expansively. "A garish neon-lit chapel. The two of us dressed in our jeans surrounded by plastic flowers and a group of – a chorus even – of fake Elvises. Just the kind of wedding I've always dreamed of." She slumped down in an armchair, resting her neck against the cushion and shooting him an insolent glare.

"It doesn't have to be that way." He grinned. Dana had a cute tendency to overdramatize. "Unless you're in such a rush to be Mrs. Alex McLean that you can't wait, you can change to a dress before we leave. And no plastic posies, I'll have a florist provide all the real ones you want – roses, carnations, gardenias, orchids. So, again, what do you say?"

"What do I say?" Dana shook her head vigorously. "In plain language, no way. A stupid stunt like that is just what I don't need. Do you really think something this harebrained would solve my problems?"

"Maybe not all of them, but–"

"Forget it. I don't want to elope and I'm not going to listen to another word of this inane conversation." Childishly, Dana covered her ears.

AJ tugged her hands down. "An engagement, then?"

"You're certifiably crazy!"

His patience was waning. He'd tried every tactic he knew to make her agree. Why did the woman have to be so pigheaded? "No, not crazy, practical," he growled, "trying to figure some way out of this mess."

"Practical!" That word again. Dana had had her fill of it. "'Practical' should be your motto. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't want practicality – I want passion!"

The corners of his mouth betrayed a slight twitch. "I promise I can be very passionate in the appropriate setting." The sensuous look he gave her sparked Dana's imagination, raising her temperature to tropical proportions.

Dummy, you walked right into that. No doubt he could deliver on the promise. "I'm sure," she said, fighting off that ever-betraying blush. "The only problem," she added with a trace of bitterness, "is that it doesn't matter who your partner is. Female appears to be the only criterion." She recalled that she was the third woman in AJ's life in about as many days.

"Let me tell you something, AJ McLean. I don't think of marriage as a licensed roll in the hay and I think just anyone will do. When I say yes, it would be because I love the man to distraction – and because he feels the same way about me – and me alone." Love, a word AJ had judiciously avoided in his spur-of-the-moment proposal. "Until then, I'll handle my own problems. I don't need any help from you to extricate myself from this 'mess.'"

"Maybe I need your help."

"Then you're out of luck. If you're so eager to tie the knot, I suggest you search elsewhere for a bride. Surely you can find someone who'll have you. Or has Jenna already turned you down, too?" Dana felt a pang of conscience at her thoughtless remarks, but immediately forgave herself. AJ had brought all this down on his own head. Choosing Sarah was shortsighted in the first place and now he was trying to salvage his self-esteem with another thinly disguised marriage of convenience. How dare he treat something as holy as marriage so lightly?

"Okay, we'll drop the idea for now," AJ conceded. "Maybe tomorrow you can discuss it more rationally."

"Me? I'm the one being irrational. Let's clear something up – we're not discussing anything tomorrow. I want you out of my house – preferably right now."

"Are we riding that dead horse again?" He patted a hand over his mouth, feigning a yawn. "I'm not leaving."

"We'll see about that," she threatened lamely as she stormed off to her suite.

Tomorrow. Steph and Jay are back from their trip. As soon as they're up. . . Oh, it was useless and Dana knew it. AJ had insisted on putting down a hefty deposit for his there, thereby preventing any legal recourse. She'd simply have to persevere until he became too bored to stick around any longer. She couldn't see Steph's husband trying to throw him out. For one thing, AJ was at least a half of foot taller. For another, Jay was preparing to become a surgeon. He wouldn't risk injuring his hands in a stupid brawl, something that just might result if AJ was pushed into defending himself.

She pulled a pair of pajamas from her antique armoire. Elope. Of all the outlandish. . . The absurd part of it was the way her heart actually skipped a beat when he'd suggested it. If she gave vent to her fantasies, Dana could picture herself hopping on that jet with AJ. She could close her eyes and envisioned that outrageous wedding – right down to the Elvis impersonators.

What was wrong with her? It was as if some alien presence had subverted her thought process. With AJ on the scene, nothing was close to ordinary. She had to be free of him – her emotional well-being depended on it.

Chapter 10
Chapter 8
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