“A lot of girlfriends? He watched her pull a bottle of green fingernail polish from her backpack. “I dont have a lot of girlfriends. Who told you something like that?

“No one had to tell me. She shrugged. “Gail is a girlfriend.

He hadnt seen Gail since a few weeks before Halloween, and that had been a week ago. “She was just a friend, he said. “And we broke it off last month. Actually, hed broken things off with her and she hadnt been pleased.

“Well, what did you like about her? she asked as she added a coat of green polish over an existing layer of navy blue.

The few things hed liked about Gail, he could hardly tell his thirteen-year-old niece. “She had nice hair.

“Thats it? You would date a girl just because you liked her hair?

Probably not . “Yep.

“Whats your favorite hair color?

Red . Different shades of red all streaked together and tangled up in his fingers. “Brown.

“What else do you like?

Pink lips and pink boas. “A good smile.

Sophie looked up at him and grinned, her mouth filled with metal and mauve rubber bands. “Like this?

“Yep.

“What else?

This time he answered with the truth. “Big brown eyes, and I like a girl who can stand up to me. And, he realized, hed developed an appreciation of sarcasm.

She dipped the brush into the polish and went to work on her other hand. “Do you think girls should call boys?

“Sure. Why not?

“Grandma says girls who call boys are wild. She says you and dad never got into trouble with wild girls because she never let you talk on the phone when they called.

His mother was the only person he know who had the ability to see only what she chose and nothing else. Growing up, both Nick and Louie had found their fair share of trouble without the telephone. Louie had gone on to get a girl pregnant his last year of college. And when a Basque boy got a good Catholic girl pregnant, the result was an inevitable wedding at St. Johns Cathedral. “Your grandmother remembers only what she wants to remember, he told Sophie. “If you want to talk to a boy on the phone, I dont see why you shouldnt, but you better ask your dad first. He watched her blow on her wet nails. “Maybe you should talk to Lisa about all this girl stuff. Shes going to be your stepmom in about a week.

Sophie shook her head. “Id rather talk to you.

“I thought you liked Lisa.

“Shes okay, but I like talking to you better. Besides, she stuck me at the end of the bridesmaid line.

“Probably because youre shortest.

“Maybe. She studied her polish a moment, then looked up. “Do you want me to paint your nails?

“No way. The last time you did that, I forgot to take it off and the clerk at the Gas-n-Go gave me a funny look.

“Pleeaase.

“Forget it, Sophie.

She frowned and carefully screwed the cap back on her polish. “Not only am I last in the line now, I have to stand next to you-know-who.

“Who?

“Her. Sophie pointed to the wall. “Over there.

“Delaney? When she nodded Nick asked her, “Why should that matter?

“You know .

“No. Why dont you tell me.

“Grandma said that girl over there lived with your dad, and he was nice to her and mean to you. And he gave her nice clothes and stuff and you had to wear old jeans.

“I like old jeans. He reached for his pencil and studied Sophies face. Her mouth was pinched at the corners like his mothers whenever she spoke of Delaney. Henry had certainly given Benita reasons for bitterness, but Nick didnt like to see Sophie affected by it. “Whatever happened, or didnt happen, between me and my father, had nothing to do with Delaney.

“You dont hate her?

Hating Delaney had never been his problem. “No, I dont hate her.

“Oh. She stuffed the fingernail polish into her backpack and reached for her coat on the back of her chair. “Will you take me to my orthodontist appointment at the end of the month?

Nick stood and helped her with her coat. Sophies appointment was almost a two-hour drive one way. “Cant your dad take you?

“Hell be on his honeymoon.

“Oh, yeah. Ill take you then.

As he walked her to the door she wrapped one arm around his waist. “Are you sure youre never getting married, Uncle Nick?

“Yes.

“Grandma says you just need to find a nice Catholic girl. Then youll be happy.

“Im already happy.

“Grandma says you need to fall in love with a Basque woman.

“Sounds like youve been spending way too much time talking about me with Grandma.

“Well, Im glad youre never getting married.

He reached up and pulled a hunk of her smooth black hair. “Why?

“ Cause I like having you all to myself.

Nick stood on the sidewalk in front of his office and watch his niece walk down the street. Sophie was spending too much time with his mother. He figured it was only a matter of time before Benita lured her to the dark side, and Sophie began to nag him about marrying a nice “Basque woman, too.

He shoved his hands up to his knuckles in the front pockets his jeans. Louie was the marrying kind. Not Nick. Louies first marriage hadnt lasted more than six years, but his brother had liked being married. Hed liked the comfort of living with a woman. Louie had always known he would remarry. Hed always known he would fall in love, but it had taken him close to eight years after his divorce to find the right woman. Nick didnt doubt that his brother would be happy with Lisa.

The door to Delaneys salon swung open and an old lady with one of those silver-dome hairdos ambled out. As she passed, she stared at him as if she knew he was up to no good. He laughed beneath his breath and lifted his gaze to the window. Through the glass he watched Delaney sweep the floor, then head toward the back with a dustpan. He watched her straight shoulders and back, and the sway of her hips beneath a sweater skirt that clung to her round behind. A heavy ache settled in his groin, and he thought about perfect white breasts and pink feathers. He thought of her big brown eyes, her long lashes, and the lust pulling at her heavy lids, her mouth wet and swollen from his kiss.

I want you , shed said, or rather hed coerced her into saying it like he was some lovesick loser begging her to want him. Never in his life had he demanded a woman tell him she wanted him. He didnt have to. It had never mattered if those words were whispered from a womans soft pink lips. Apparently it did now.

No maybes about it anymore. Henry knew what he was doing when he drew up that will. Hed reminded Nick of just what it felt like to want something he could never have, to ache for something held just beyond his grasp. Something he might touch but never really possess.

A few light snowflakes drifted in front of Nicks face, and he walked back into his office and grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair. Some men made the mistake of confusing lust for love. Not Nick. He didnt love Delaney. What he felt for her was worse than love. It was gut-twisting lust, and it was turning him inside out. He was walking around and behaving like a complete asshole with a monster-sized hard-on for a woman who hated him most of the time.

Delaney pushed the tomatoes to one side of her plate, then speared a piece of endive and chicken.

“Hows business? Gwen asked, immediately arousing Delaneys suspicion. Gwen never asked about the salon.

“Pretty good. She looked across the table and stuck the lettuce into her mouth. Her mother was up to something. She never should have agreed to meet for lunch in a restaurant where she couldnt yell without causing a scene. “Why? she asked.

“Helen always does the hair for the Christmas fashion show, but this year I spoke with the other members of the board, and Ive convinced them to let you do the hair. Gwen poked around at her fettuccini, then set her fork aside. “I thought you could use the publicity.