“It’s probably the first time in her life that her money and social standing haven’t gotten her what she wants. She doesn’t sound like a pleasant person, but a part of me can’t help but think about the fact that she’s a mother who might very well lose both of her sons. What a chilling thought.”

Evan turned to look at Jennifer. “You sound like a mother right now. You’re taking Cecelia’s actions to a place I hadn’t even thought of, but one that a mother would understand. It doesn’t make me particularly like the uppity woman any more than I did before, but it does show me another layer to her that I hadn’t considered. It doesn’t have anything to do with Lyle’s trial though, if you stop and think about it.”

“I realize that.”

“Strange. You haven’t even met the woman, yet you immediately jumped to her role of mother and what she might be feeling in that arena.”

Because I’m going to be a mother, Evan, Jennifer’s mind yelled. She was already so fiercely protective of the baby she carried that it startled her at times. Well, she wasn’t going to open her mouth and announce that little tidbit to Evan Stone.

“It’s a woman thing,” Jennifer said breezily.

“Oh,” Evan said, chuckling, “I see. There are a whole bunch of those woman things that men can give up on ever understanding. Women are very complicated creatures.”

Jennifer smiled. “Give me one example of what you perceive to be a woman thing.”

“Okay, but let’s get out of this study. You’re right about the nasty vibes in this room.”

Back in the living room Evan commented on the fantastic view of Lake Michigan and Lincoln Park from the wall of windows on the far side of the room.

“Postcard-perfect picture, and you’re stalling,” Jennifer said, folding her arms beneath her breasts.

“You’re right.” Evan laughed. “Okay, okay, give me a minute here.” He ran one hand over his chin. “A woman thing. I got one. When I was in high school I walked into the room just as my mother asked my father if he still loved her. He lowered the newspaper he was reading in his favorite chair, looked at my mom like she was nuts and said ‘I’m still here, aren’t I?’ I can remember nodding and heading for my room, but my mother burst into tears.”

“Well, of course, she did,” Jennifer said, shifting her hands to her hips. “She needed to hear the actual words right then, at that very moment. She needed to hear your father say that he loved her.”

“He thought he had,” Evan said, shrugging, “with the answer he gave her.”

“Oh-h-h…men,” Jennifer said, rolling her eyes heavenward.

“That,” Evan said, pointing one finger in the air, “was a fine example of a woman thing.”

“You’re right.” Jennifer laughed. “You’re absolutely right. You’d do well to remember that incident, Evan, because you may need that data at some point in your life. ‘I’m still here, aren’t I?’ does not cut it when your wife asks if you still love her.”

Evan closed the distance between them and looked directly into Jennifer’s green eyes.

“I doubt that I’ll ever need that information. Maybe I will, someday, but I…” He shook his head. “With the hours I put in with this job I wouldn’t even be in a position to blow it by saying that because I’d probably not be there the majority of the time.”

“It would depend on how badly you wanted a wife and family, I guess,” Jennifer said, hardly above a whisper. “Whether or not you loved someone enough to make changes, learn to delegate some of the workload and… If the president of the United States can find time for his wife and children, then…I’m sorry. I’m overstepping. This is none of my business.”

“Isn’t it?” Evan said, still pinning her in place with his intense gaze. “Aren’t you as focused on your career as I am on mine?”

“Yes, at the moment I am.”

But things were going to be different once their baby was born, she thought. She had no intention of traveling all the time, or dragging in so exhausted late at night that she fell across her bed fully clothed and went to sleep. She’d find the proper balance between her role of mother and career woman. And wife? No, she wouldn’t be a wife. Without even realizing he was doing it, Evan was making that fact crystal clear.

“What do you mean ‘at the moment’?” Evan said, pulling Jennifer from her thoughts.

“Nothing,” she said, averting her eyes from his. “Could we leave? I don’t like being in this place.”

Evan glanced around. “Yes, I’m finished here without having accomplished a damn thing to help my case.”

“You mustn’t give up, Evan.”

“I don’t intend to. When I want something, sweet Jenny, I fight for it until the last bell rings. I don’t admit defeat until it’s popping me in the chops. When I really want something I hang in very tough to get it.”

Well said, Jennifer thought, as they started across the room. If only Evan wanted to discover with that intensity what they might have together. If only he would be thrilled beyond measure when told she was carrying his baby. Pipe dreams, Jennifer. That’s all that those are.

L ate that afternoon Evan sat in the leather chair behind the desk in his office and stared into space. For the umpteenth time since being in Franklin ’s penthouse the question he had asked Jennifer and the answer she had given echoed in his mind.

If a woman who appeared to be totally dedicated to her career implied that that was the status of her life now, at the moment, didn’t that mean she might very well have a different focus planned for the future somewhere in her “it’s a woman thing” mind?

Like…perhaps…maybe…Jennifer might, just might, wish to fall in love, marry, have a family? It made sense to him that that was what she had meant. And every time he centered on that thought, he was suffused with a strange and foreign warmth that started somewhere in the vicinity of his heart then traveled throughout him.

Evan shook his head in self-disgust.

He was really going off the deep end. He was rewriting the future script of Jennifer’s life based on a statement she had made, then refused to elaborate on. For all he knew, she was saying she was tired of working so hard, planned to have more leisure time for herself between assignments to relax, party, date a multitude of men.

A cold knot tightened in Evan’s stomach at the mental image he was painting of Jennifer dancing at a nightclub with a faceless man who was the recipient of Jennifer’s sunshine smile. A man who would take her home, be invited in for coffee, then…

“If he touches her I’ll…” Evan said, lunging to his feet, then glanced quickly at the door to be certain it was tightly closed.

He sank back onto his chair and sighed. It was a sigh that came from the very depths of his soul and took his heart along for the ride. It was a sigh of defeat, of having nowhere to hide from the truth.

He was slowly but surely falling in love with Jennifer Anderson.

And it was, without a doubt, the dumbest thing he had ever done in his entire life.

He didn’t have time to be in love, to be half of a whole, to do his part to nurture a relationship that would hopefully lead to marriage and babies. And there was no hint from her that she was in love with him, would consider making room in her life for a husband and children.

Yeah, sure, she cared for him, was attracted to him, responded to his kisses with no hesitation, and when they made love? Oh, man, when they made love…

“Don’t go there, Stone,” he said, as heat rocketed through his body.

He leaned his head on the top of the chair and closed his eyes.

What a mess, he thought. He was falling in love for the first time in his life and was losing his heart to a woman who was as dedicated to her career as he was to his. A woman who might very well take off for parts unknown to film her next documentary when she was finished with this one without a backward glance. A woman who cared for him, but wasn’t in love with him, and who would have no problem walking out of his life and dismissing him from her mind.