Ann nodded wordlessly.

Heath walked out of the den and Ann heard him leave.

She put her head down on her cradled arms and slowly closed her eyes.

* * * *

The afternoon of Christmas Eve was the longest period of Heath’s life. He had no idea what to do with himself so he drove to the mall on Big Palm and sat on one of the stone benches, watching the tardy shoppers hurry past him. The kids were hysterical with pre-Christmas excitement and the parents rushed and preoccupied. He was oblivious to the Christmas carols blaring over the intercom and the advertisements for the last-minute sales while his whole history with Ann played itself over in his mind like a newsreel. He had surely blown his last chance with her and that knowledge made him want to beg her to stay with him. But some warning instinct told him that she had to bring up that possibility herself.

He was through trying to force her into his mold. The idea must be hers.

When he got back to the house, the sun was beginning to decline in the winter sky and he found Ann sitting in the living room, waiting for him. She was dressed exactly as she had been when he’d left and there were no bags in the hall.

Ann’s eyes flooded with tears when she saw him.

He stared back at her, a muscle jumping along his jaw.

“Come here,” she said.

Heath sat next to her on the loveseat near the window.

“Do you want me to go?” she whispered.

He bent his head.

“Do you?”

He shook his head mutely, unable to look at her.

Ann tipped his chin up with a forefinger and forced him to look her in the eye.

“I’ll never leave you now, Heath. We’ve wasted far too much time already.”

He closed his eyes, the spider web lashes sweeping his cheeks.

“I love you, princess,” he said huskily. “I always have and I know I always will.”

Ann leaned forward to put her arms around his neck and he gathered her to him, exhaling a long breath that caught in the middle like a sob.

“Why don’t you take me into the bedroom and prove it?” Ann whispered into his ear.

He swept her up into his arms and carried her out of the living room. Ann buried her face on his shoulder, sure that this time she would not be left alone when his passion was spent.

Heath set her on the edge of the bed and unbuttoned her blouse. “You looked so beautiful last night, you took my breath away,” he said, bending to kiss the smooth shoulders he had exposed. He unhooked her bra and discarded it, undressing her carefully and gently until she was naked. Then he undressed himself, dropping his clothes on the floor and joining her on the bed.

“I’m going to make you forget everything except how much I love you,” he said.

He did just that.

* * * *

Later that afternoon Ann woke with Heath’s arm flung across her, his head pillowed on her breast. Her previous awakenings had always been marred by finding him crowded over to his side of the bed- careful, even in his sleep, not to touch her. Now she ran her fingers through his hair and dragged her nails lightly across the nape of his neck. He stirred and his lashes lifted.

“Hi,” she said.

He smiled and she was perfectly happy.

“Do you know what tonight is?” he asked, stretching and yawning elaborately.

“The first night of the rest of our lives?” she asked, and he laughed.

“Well, that, too,” he said. “But it’s also Christmas Eve.”

“Aha! That’s why that gigantic tree is standing in the front hall. I was wondering about that.”

“Let’s go Christmas shopping.”

“I’ve already been shopping, Heath.”

“Well, I haven’t. The personnel office takes care of corporate gifts, but I want to get something for you, and the Jensens, and Daniela and Victor and lots of other people. I’m in a benevolent mood.”

“Do you know what the stores will be like tonight, Heath? Are you planning on bringing your Uzi?”

“Come on, where’s your Christmas spirit? Fighting your way through the throng is half the fun.”

“I’ve already fought my way through several throngs. Pritchard’s last week looked like the Roman triumph crowd scene from Ben Hur. I half expected to run into Charlton Heston and his chariot in the luggage department.”

Heath chuckled. “But you’ll brave it all again for me, won’t you, darling?” he said.

She sighed. “Do I have a choice?”

“No. And I am going to make a reservation at Lusardi’s for a late dinner this evening to celebrate our—” he stopped.

“What?”

“Rapprochement,” he said, and she smiled.

“Say what?” she asked.

“Don’t laugh at me,” he said, throwing off the sheet and going into his closet, emerging with his robe belted around his waist. “I am determined to put some flesh on those bones. You are going to have a stuffed artichoke heart, a Mediterranean salad, three-cheese lasagna, and tiramisu for dessert.”

“I am not going to have anything, Heath—you’ll never get a table for Christmas Eve at this late hour.”

“I’ll get one,” he said firmly. “I’m going to see if Daniela left us any coffee. Be right back. Don’t go away.”

Ann fell back against the pillows contentedly, drawing the sheet up to her neck. She was remembering his caresses with satisfaction when the phone at her elbow rang shrilly.

Ann lifted the receiver on the night table and said, “Hello?”

“So you survived the party,” Amy said.

“Barely. I’m afraid to leave the house, I might trip over a dead body in the driveway.”

“How’s Heath?” Amy asked cautiously.

“Heath is just the most wonderful man in the world,” Ann replied, a smile in her voice.

“What happened?” Amy asked sharply.

“Rapprochement,” Ann answered.

“What the hell is that?”

“Kind of like detente, except between people instead of countries,” Ann said.

“Holy smokes.”

“Yup.”

“You have to give me all the details.”

“Not now,” Ann said. “Heath is home.”

“He came home early for Christmas Eve?”

“He didn’t go to the office today. There’s a reform movement under way.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I am now considering having about six of his children. Maybe seven.”

“That must have been quite a post-party turnaround.”

“It was.”

Amy chuckled wickedly. “Leave it to Heath. When he turns on the charm, he takes no prisoners.”

“I believe he really wants to make it work, Amy,” Ann said seriously.

“I’m sure he does. I’ve never doubted that he loves you, Annie. He’s just always been.. . difficult.”

“We talked about the past and got things straightened out, but I’ll tell you all about it later. Right now I have to get dressed. Heath wants to go Christmas shopping.”

“Tonight? That’s a death wish. Good luck. Wear your flak jacket.”

“By the way, why did you take off last night?” Ann asked. “I didn’t know you were staying at the inn until after you were gone. I wanted you to spend the night here.”

“I figured you and Heath were better off left alone, and wasn’t I right?”

Ann laughed. “What are you doing for Christmas?”

“Going to my mother’s. Have you heard from Tim?”

“Yes, he’s spending the holiday with his college roommate in Massachusetts.”

“Thanks to you. Otherwise he’d be spending it in a less congenial place.”

“Thanks to Heath, you mean.”

“Well, I’ll let you go. Merry Christmas. From what you’ve told me, I’m sure yours will be very merry. I’ll be at my mother’s until Thursday. Give me a call later on in the week.”

“Okay. Bye-bye.”

Ann hung up the phone and got out of bed, walking naked to the bathroom and turning on the shower. She was standing under the rushing water, soaping herself with fragrant lather, when the frosted-glass shower door slid back and Heath stepped in behind her.

Ann gasped as his hands enclosed her breasts and he pulled her back against him. She closed her eyes as his strong fingers moved over her, slick with soap, slipping smoothly over her buttocks and between her legs, caressing her until she turned restlessly in his arms and pressed herself against him.