"Yes, of course I do. Every woman does."
"Then make her stop crying."
"What do you suggest?"
"Maybe she's wet."
"Thad already took the diapers to the car."
"Maybe she's hungry."
"She's out of luck there too. I'm not properly equipped."
"You're equipped."
Their eyes met. For a moment a soft, melting look replaced the antagonistic ones they'd been exchanging. They recalled the times when his mouth had tugged fervently at her breasts.
Lilah forced herself to look away, fearing that if she didn't, she would collapse against him and beg him to hold her and never let go.
"She's quieting down," she needlessly observed.
"Yeah."
When Milly's fussing subsided, Lilah studied his face closely. "You look tired."
"I've seen you look better too."
"Thanks." She smiled crookedly. "I can't even take umbrage because I know you're right. The last few days have been hectic. I've been running errands for Lizzie and trying to keep Thad anchored to earth and relieving Mrs Alder, their sitter. Megan and Matt have been as wild as Indians, feeling threatened by the new baby, I'm sure. They're making certain they retain everybody's attention by behaving like hellions."
"You're into all that psychology, aren't you?"
Something in the way he asked it immediately set her teeth on edge. "Sometimes," she answered evenly.
"But especially with your patients. You figure out what they need and you give it to them, whether it be humor or scolding or … anything."
"If you have something on your mind, Cavanaugh, why don't you just come right out and say it?"
"All right. Why did you run out on me?"
"I had accomplished what I set out to."
"Seduce me?"
Her eyes got stormy. "Get you to walk."
"I wasn't walking yet."
"But you were close. The morning I left you said yourself that you could do anything. You didn't need me anymore."
"Wasn't that for the doctors to decide? Or me? Or are you just naturally smarter than everybody else?"
"I wasn't going to stick around just to get canned."
"At a thousand bucks a day!?" he cried incredulously. "You must have had a good reason to give that up."
"I was tired of so much bloody good weather."
"Why did you go to bed with me, Lilah?" he asked abruptly. "Going-away present? Were you a merit badge I earned? Or was I one you had earned?"
She reacted as though he'd slapped her. "How dare you say something like that."
"Then why? Tell me."
"I knew you needed proof that you were a whole man."
He laughed, but it was a humorless noise. "Isn't that going above and beyond the call? All young male patients are worried about that. And we both know you haven't provided them with proof. What made me different? Why did you sleep with me?"
"Because I wanted to," she shouted. Baby Milly flinched at the sudden noise.
"Why?"
"Curiosity," she said breezily. "It was long overdue. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about."
"Liar." Her jaw dropped open. "You were responding to the chemistry that has arced between us since the first time we met," Adam said, moving his face closer to hers. "Ever since you said, 'How do I do what?' I've wanted to take you to bed and find out. You were attracted to me, too, even though both of us refused to admit it.
"But it finally happened. We surrendered to it, and it was great, but it scared the hell out of you. Because you've successfully bluffed your way through every other relationship in your life, you couldn't handle the real thing. When you discovered what all your sexy back talk was really about, you tucked tail and ran."
"You're full of crap, Cavanaugh."
"You're a coward. You ran out before something could go wrong."
"And why not? I wasn't about to stick around, nursing you along until you could go running back to Snow White von Elsinghouse — "
"Hauer. Von Elsinghauer."
"Whatever. I wasn't going to watch you go running back to her on winged feet!" To her acute mortification, Lilah realized she was crying. She angrily rubbed the tears off her face. "Damn you, you Irish idiot! You know why I went to bed with you. I fell in love with you. And yes, I would have done anything, anything, to give you back the use of your legs and the lifestyle you had before.
"More than I wanted my next breath, I wanted to watch you take your first steps to me. But I didn't want to watch you walk away. I was not going to stay with you and be disposed of when you didn't need me any longer. I wasn't going to let you go on making love to me, mistaking gratitude for grand passion and honing skills to be used on other women. And finally, I don't think you're ready for crutches yet. Don't you know the damage you could be — "
"Lilah."
" — doing to yourself? You fool. And that — "
"Lilah."
" — therapist who replaced me must be a fool too. Because any expert would agree that you're rushing it."
"Lilah."
"Another thing," she said, taking a swipe at her flooding eyes, "I knew something would go wrong if I ever slept with a man. Sure enough something has. My period is already a week late. I could kill you, Cavanaugh!"
He squeezed her jaw between his fingers. "Dammit, I've only found one means of effectively shutting you up."
He pressed his mouth against hers. That's all it took. A heartbeat later they were arcing over baby Milly to kiss each other ravenously. Finally tearing his mouth away, Adam snarled, "I should strangle you for putting me through such hell. Don't you ever leave me like that again. Never."
"Did you miss me?"
"Hell, no. I missed the clutter and the noise and the absolute chaos that surrounds you."
"You missed having someone around to fight with."
"Hmm. I like fighting with you."
"Really? Why?"
"Because when you get mad, your breasts jiggle." He reached around the baby and beneath her sweater to press the raised center of her breast with his palm. "It's enough to give a dead man a — "
"Are we interrupting?"
Lilah and Adam turned toward the door. The Randolphs were standing there. Elizabeth was staring at them wide-eyed and flabbergasted. Thad was trying to contain a boisterous laugh. Adam withdrew his hand from beneath Lilah's sweater but he was in no hurry.
The four of them didn't quite know how to cover the awkward moment. Finally Lilah said, "Well, don't just stand there gawking. Come get the kid so Adam and I can go to my apartment and diddle."
"What am I going to do with your fresh mouth?"
Lilah's grin was unmitigatedly wicked. "I have a wonderful idea."
He looked at her warily. "I don't want to hear it."
"Yes, you do. You're dying to hear it." She whispered her idea in his ear and the rim of it turned red.
"You're right," he said huskily, "that is a wonderful idea. We'll jump right to it as soon as we get a few things settled. Like what I'm going to do about your fresh mouth when we're not lying naked in bed and there are other people around. Important, stately, dignified, moneyed people who patronize my hotels."
"Am I going to be around that much?"
"If you're Mrs Adam Cavanaugh, you're going to stick to me like glue."
"Am I going to be Mrs Adam Cavanaugh?"
"Damn right. A period that's a week late is grounds for marriage if I ever heard one."
"Is that the only reason you're marrying me?"
"You don't think I'd marry you if I didn't have to, do you?" Sinuously, she rubbed her body against his. He groaned. "On second thought, maybe I would." She smoothed her hand down his front. He grunted with pleasure when she found him smooth and taut with arousal. "Okay, okay, I'd marry you anyway."