himself he would be the perfect gentleman around Heather, with the emphasis on
gentle.
Until tonight she had been full of caution and uncertainty. He’d caught glimpses of the banked embers of
love in her eyes and three nights ago he had been unable to resist rekindling the passion in her. He’d
tortured himself with memories of that sweet, feminine excitement for eight long months. It had taken all his
self-control to walk out the door that night. Flynn had sensed that with only a small push he could have had
everything he wanted in the way of physical satisfaction. But he’d been determined not to push her into
anything. He wanted Heather to trust him sufficiently to freely invite him into her bed.
So, what, he asked himself aggrievedly, had happened to his sweet, cautious, uncertain Heather, the lady
with the wealth of half-concealed, aching longing in her eyes?
„Had the most fascinating conversation at lunch today with some friends of mine,“ Heather was saying
breezily as the watercress and romaine salad was placed in front of her by a skillful waiter. „All about the
perils of dating these days.“
Flynn scowled, sensing danger. „You, I assume, contributed your share to the conversation?“
„Not really. I just listened and learned.“ Heather smiled. Her lipstick was Ferrari red. „One of my
friends who’s raising two kids mentioned how hard it is to find a man who’s interested in taking on a
ready-made family. She hasn’t had a date in months, poor thing. Spends her spare time going to her son’s
athletic events and taking her daughter to piano lessons. She seems to think divorced men who have
custody of the children have an easier time of it. Apparently there are a lot more women willing to take on
a ready-made family than there are men. In any event, having the kids doesn’t seem to get in the way of a
man’s social life nearly as much as it gets in the way of a woman’s.“
Flynn cleared his throat and reached for his wineglass. He watched Heather as she forked up her salad
with almost vengeful enthusiasm. „We’ve never talked much about children,“ he remarked cautiously.
„Beth, the single parent I just mentioned, says,“ Heather broke in, „that men who get custody of the kids
tend to remarry almost immediately. It seems they don’t want to be saddled with the chores of single
parenthood. They prefer to dump them on a new wife. Unfortunately single mothers don’t always have the
option of remarrying quickly. Hardly fair, is it?“
Flynn took a large swallow of wine and put his glass down with great precision. „Probably not, but don’t
you think it’s going a little far to say that a divorced man who got custody of his child would turn right
around and remarry just to get out from under the problems of being a single parent?“
„Oh, I don’t know. Beth seems quite certain of her facts and she should know. She’s had first-hand ex-
perience with divorce from the woman’s point of view.“
„That doesn’t make her an expert on men who have been through a divorce.“
„I think her observations are probably sound except for one thing.“
Flynn eyed her through faintly narrowed lashes. „What’s that?“
Heather, who was committed now and knew it, continued with a chatty casualness she was far from
feeling. „Well, she seemed to think there was a vast array of females out there eager to take on not only a
man who’d been through a divorce, but his kids, too.“
„You don’t think that’s true?“ Flynn asked very softly.
Heather pursed her lips thoughtfully. „Well, it may be a little true, but frankly, I don’t know too many
women who would fall all over themselves to take on a ready-made family. Think of all the problems. First
there’d be the initial adjustment to marriage, which is hard enough. There’d be no real honeymoon period,
would there? No chance to be alone with one’s new husband. Then there would be the
gentle.
Until tonight she had been full of caution and uncertainty. He’d caught glimpses of the banked embers of
love in her eyes and three nights ago he had been unable to resist rekindling the passion in her. He’d
tortured himself with memories of that sweet, feminine excitement for eight long months. It had taken all his
self-control to walk out the door that night. Flynn had sensed that with only a small push he could have had
everything he wanted in the way of physical satisfaction. But he’d been determined not to push her into
anything. He wanted Heather to trust him sufficiently to freely invite him into her bed.
So, what, he asked himself aggrievedly, had happened to his sweet, cautious, uncertain Heather, the lady
with the wealth of half-concealed, aching longing in her eyes?
„Had the most fascinating conversation at lunch today with some friends of mine,“ Heather was saying
breezily as the watercress and romaine salad was placed in front of her by a skillful waiter. „All about the
perils of dating these days.“
Flynn scowled, sensing danger. „You, I assume, contributed your share to the conversation?“
„Not really. I just listened and learned.“ Heather smiled. Her lipstick was Ferrari red. „One of my
friends who’s raising two kids mentioned how hard it is to find a man who’s interested in taking on a
ready-made family. She hasn’t had a date in months, poor thing. Spends her spare time going to her son’s
athletic events and taking her daughter to piano lessons. She seems to think divorced men who have
custody of the children have an easier time of it. Apparently there are a lot more women willing to take on
a ready-made family than there are men. In any event, having the kids doesn’t seem to get in the way of a
man’s social life nearly as much as it gets in the way of a woman’s.“
Flynn cleared his throat and reached for his wineglass. He watched Heather as she forked up her salad
with almost vengeful enthusiasm. „We’ve never talked much about children,“ he remarked cautiously.
„Beth, the single parent I just mentioned, says,“ Heather broke in, „that men who get custody of the kids
tend to remarry almost immediately. It seems they don’t want to be saddled with the chores of single
parenthood. They prefer to dump them on a new wife. Unfortunately single mothers don’t always have the
option of remarrying quickly. Hardly fair, is it?“
Flynn took a large swallow of wine and put his glass down with great precision. „Probably not, but don’t
you think it’s going a little far to say that a divorced man who got custody of his child would turn right
around and remarry just to get out from under the problems of being a single parent?“
„Oh, I don’t know. Beth seems quite certain of her facts and she should know. She’s had first-hand ex-
perience with divorce from the woman’s point of view.“
„That doesn’t make her an expert on men who have been through a divorce.“
„I think her observations are probably sound except for one thing.“
Flynn eyed her through faintly narrowed lashes. „What’s that?“
Heather, who was committed now and knew it, continued with a chatty casualness she was far from
feeling. „Well, she seemed to think there was a vast array of females out there eager to take on not only a
man who’d been through a divorce, but his kids, too.“
„You don’t think that’s true?“ Flynn asked very softly.
Heather pursed her lips thoughtfully. „Well, it may be a little true, but frankly, I don’t know too many
women who would fall all over themselves to take on a ready-made family. Think of all the problems. First
there’d be the initial adjustment to marriage, which is hard enough. There’d be no real honeymoon period,
would there? No chance to be alone with one’s new husband. Then there would be the
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