"Nice setup," he remarked as she passed him on her way into the bath. Grabbing a container of bottled water out of the refrigerator, he sat down at the desk and dialed Noah's cell phone. A second later he was listening to Noah telling him to leave a message. He had a pretty good idea where Noah was, but he would have to wait until Michelle finished showering to get the phone number.

Next, he dialed the hospital operator and asked her to page Elena Miller. He heard the sound of papers rustling in the background, then the operator told him that Elena wasn't on duty yet. Although she refused to give Theo the woman's home number, she finally agreed to dial it for him. Elena answered on the second ring, and after identifying himself, Theo asked her to describe the messenger who had come by the hospital to pick up the package on Wednesday and to tell him what the man had said.

Elena couldn't wait to tell Theo all about the rude man. "He had the gall to shout at me," she said.

Theo made notes on a notepad he found on the desk and asked her several questions. When he was finished, he hung up, then looked up the phone number of the Speedy Messenger Service in New Orleans in the yellow pages he found in the bottom desk drawer and called them. Three people later, he got to the supervisor. The man sounded frazzled and didn't want to cooperate until Theo threatened to send over a couple of policemen to get the information. The supervisor was suddenly happy to help. He explained that all the deliveries were kept in the computer. He typed in Michelle Renard's name and told Theo when and where the package was delivered.

"I want to know who sent it," Theo said.

"Benchley, Tarrance, and Paulson," the supervisor replied. "The package was signed for at the St. Claire Hospital at five-fifteen according to my records. You want me to send you a copy?"

"That won't be necessary," Theo said.

By the time Michelle had showered and washed her hair, she felt pretty good. She thought she looked like hell, but she felt good, and right now, that was all she cared about. She got dressed, combed her hair, wincing when she accidentally hit her tender scalp. Tucking the strands behind her ears, she decided to let it dry on its own. She was walking toward Theo, pulling the drawstring

tight on her pants and tying it, as he turned to her.

"Did you talk to Noah?" she asked.

"Not yet," he answered. "I did talk to the supervisor at Speedy. Guess what?"

"There's no Frank or Eddie, right? God, I feel like such an idiot."

"No, there isn't any Frank or Eddie, but why would you feel like an idiot? There was absolutely no reason for you to be suspicious."

"Theo, I'm telling you, I've seen that man before. I assumed I had run into him at the hospital, but that obviously isn't the case.

So where did I see him?"

"It will come to you," he said. "Try not to force it, and when you're thinking about something else, that's when you'll remember. You know what else the supervisor told me?"

Michelle crossed the room to the sofa, sat down, and bent over to tie her shoelaces.

"Tell me," she said.

"The package was sent from Benchley, Tarrance, and Paulson."

"Addressed to me?"

"Yes," he answered. "I called the firm, but no one is going to tell me anything over the phone, so I'm sending Noah over there.

Oh, and I also talked to Elena Miller. She was on a tirade."

Michelle nodded. "Elena's always on a tirade about something. What did she say?"

"The messenger was hostile."

"We already know that."

"When she couldn't locate the package for him, she said he started shouting at her. He threatened her too. She was so furious

she was going to call the messenger service and report him, but she got busy and forgot about it."

She stood and walked over to the desk. Noticing the way he was staring at her, she asked, "What's the matter?"

"I just noticed how tired you look."

"I'm okay."

"I'm worried about you. You look like you're about to fall over."

"I'm fine," she insisted.

She didn't look fine. Her complexion was pale and she was tense. She needed to take a couple of minutes to chill out, he

thought. Her nervous energy was going to run out, and then she would crash.

"Come here."

"Theo, we have to get moving. I've got to stitch your arm and find that package."

"The stitches and the package can wait a few more minutes. Take a deep breath and try to unwind. You want something to

drink? A cola or something?"

"No, thanks."

"Come here."

"I am here."

"Closer."

She took a step to the side of the desk. "Theo "

"Closer."

The man was irresistible. She knew she shouldn't allow him to sidetrack her. They both had too much to do. Folding her arms across her chest, she frowned at him. "Now isn't the time to fool around."

He pulled her onto his lap. "Why do you think I want to fool around?"

His hand had moved to the back of her neck, and he was slowly pulling her toward him.

"I don't know… it's just a feeling I have that you might want to kiss me," she said as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

"The thought never entered my mind. We can't fool around now, sweetheart. We've got too much to do."

He was nibbling on her neck. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side so he could kiss her earlobe.

"Then I must have misread the signals," she whispered.

"Must have," he agreed a scant second before his mouth captured hers for a long, scorching kiss. His tongue slid inside her

warm mouth, and, oh, God, the slow, lazy penetration drove her wild. He teased and tantalized until she was trembling and

gripping his shoulders in a silent demand for more.

Theo had meant only to give her a quick kiss, but once his mouth touched hers, he simply couldn't resist. He knew he had to

stop before things got completely out of hand, and yet he continued to kiss her until she pulled back.

"We can't do this." She was panting now and sounded dazed. "We just can't." Her forehead dropped on his. "This has to stop, Theo."

"Yeah, okay," he said gruffly as he tried to get his heartbeat to slow down.

She kissed his forehead, then moved lower to the bridge of his nose. "This is a hospital, for the love of God."

She kissed him on the mouth. And just when he was beginning to gain the upper hand, she tore her mouth away and whispered,

"I work here. I can't go around kissing people all the time."

And damned if she didn't kiss him again. Theo could feel his control slipping. He abruptly pulled back and lifted her off his lap.

She leaned against the desk in case her legs gave out. Lord, could he kiss, and, oh, how she loved the taste of him. Disheartened, she realized she loved everything about him. His calm, take-charge attitude… his self-confidence. He was so comfortable in his own skin, so sure of himself. When he was afraid, he didn't hide it the way her brother did. He was so secure he didn't care

what other people thought.

Michelle admired that trait most of all.

She took a deep breath and headed for the ER. Pushing the swinging door open with the flat of her hand, she went into the hallway. Theo was right behind her.

"You've got the sexiest walk," he told her.

"Didn't you read the sign?"

"What sign?"

"No flirting in the hospital."

He relented. "Okay," he agreed. "We'll start searching for the package in the emergency room first," he said, suddenly all

business again. "I noticed on our way in that it wasn't busy, so now is the perfect time. I'm going to get some of the staff to help."

"I'm going to sew you back together first."

"No, Michelle, I want-"

She turned around and walked backwards as she said, "Theo, I'm in charge here. Deal with it."