Turning over, she felt the first hope of the long night. That just might work. As long as they agreed not to call one another during the downtimes. Pretend that they honestly were separated by miles and miles.

The more she thought about it, the more it appealed. He would be a treat, a vacation, a reward for hard work. He could dive into his research projects, or take consulting jobs and not have to worry about a girlfriend. She could focus completely on her career moves and not be distracted.

She smiled. This just may be the best idea she’d ever had, better even than the concept for the New Dawn campaign.

Talk about having her cake and eating it too. This could solve everything.

The urge was to get up that second and rush into the living room. But she wasn’t about to wake him. Besides, it was probably too soon to present the scenario. He might not see the beauty of the plan. She’d wait, see if the two of them continued to click as they had. But at least she didn’t feel she had to keep him at arm’s length. In fact, the more they bonded now, the easier it would be to get him with the program.

She sighed happily, found a comfy position, and let her mind drift. Life was good, and so was sex. Amen.

IT WASN’T THE LIMO Marla had expected. Instead, Shawn picked her up in a Yellow Cab, which was perfectly fine with her. He could have ridden up in a Rent-A-Wreck, and she’d have been happy.

He looked yummy in worn jeans and a kind of Mexican shirt, brown with white trim. His hair was a tiny bit damp, but still looked tantalizingly touchable. Marla pulled the door closed, and when she turned to him, his smile made her feel as if it was all her birthdays rolled up into one. And he was the present.

“You look wonderful,” he said.

She rolled her eyes, even though she’d tried on every single item of clothing she owned before deciding on the forest-green jumper with the yellow-and-white blouse underneath. She didn’t want to wear any of the fancy-shmansy clothes she’d bought for the parties, but she didn’t want to be in torn jeans and a stretched-out T. “I wasn’t sure where we were going,” she said.

“You’re perfect.”

Her blush, she felt sure, was only the first of many. She couldn’t help it. Blushing had always been her curse. Her face, it seemed, tried hard to match the exact shade of her hair. So far, she’d come darn close.

“So, uh, where are we going?”

“A deli I know. It’s not fancy, but it’s good.”

“Ooh, yum. I love bagels and cream cheese.”

“Great.”

“And lox. Sometimes. As long as I don’t put on too much. But just enough is great. With tomato and red onion.”

“That’s the way I like it, too.”

“Really?”

He nodded.

Just then, the cabbie turned a corner, fast, and she fell right into his arms. Flustered, she tried to sit up, but found she couldn’t.

“Don’t move,” he said.

When Marla looked up, it was right into his face, only inches away. “But-”

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” he whispered, and then he leaned down until his lips touched hers.

For a bit, all Marla could do was hold her breath and blink. But then the flashbulbs in her brain stopped, and she actually felt his lips, his gentle breath, his arms holding her close.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she abandoned herself to the moment. Sure, it was like someone else’s life, but as long as she was borrowing it, she might as well enjoy herself.

Holy-moly, she’d never had many boyfriends before. Her geekdom in high school and college had assured her lack of dates. One time she’d been asked out by a drunk guy at a fraternity party who, it turned out, thought she was someone named Cristy, and that night ended with him throwing up all over her brand-new Skechers. As far as memories went, it pretty much sucked.

Now, this was truly the stuff memories should be made of. Shawn Foote, who was sweeter, smarter, funnier than she could have ever imagined, holding her. Kissing her.

She gasped as she felt his tongue swipe her front teeth, The gasp gave him the opening he was looking for, and in a moment that was seared into her brain for eternity, she tasted him. A hint of coffee, a little mint, and oh, God, Shawn!

She could die right now, and it would be fine. In fact, she kinda wished she would, because there was no possibility her life could get any better.

“Marla?”

She jumped just a tad when she saw he’d pulled back and was looking straight at her. “Hmm?”

“Is everything all right?”

She nodded. Three times.

“Just checking.”

“No. Good. Happy.”

He smiled. “That’s excellent. But now we need to get out of the cab, because I think he’s getting a little impatient.”

They’d stopped, and she hadn’t even known it. Oh, God. She sat up, ran a hand through her hair, cleared her throat, tried her best to climb down from the clouds that had carried her away.

By the time Shawn had paid the driver and gotten out, she was relatively together. Not Jessica together, but not her normal Marla self, either.

He took her hand, another keeper memory, and led her into the unassuming deli. She hardly felt the sidewalk beneath her feet.

DAN WOKE UP to knocking. Loud knocking. He’d slept like crap, and waking was no easy task. His gummy eyes refused to open, his legs were all tangled in the sheets, and whoever was knocking was about to die.

“Hold on,” he said, but he doubted the knocker heard him.

Finally, Dan made it to his feet. He headed for the door, careful not to bump into anything. A swift glance to the bedroom door let him know that if Jessica had heard the door, she wasn’t in any hurry to answer it.

Dan leaned forward and looked through the peephole. As he’d suspected, Owen, the bastard, was the one making all the racket. Just as Dan reached for the knob, ready to let Owen know exactly what he thought of him, he remembered the pullout couch. Shit. “Hold on,” he said. “Just a second.”

Dan raced to the bed, tossed the pillows to the side and shoved the bed back into the couch. It stuck, of course, just long enough for Owen to get impatient and start knocking again. The bed succumbed to brute pressure, and then he piled the pillows in random order. It was good enough. He leapt over the coffee table and made it back to the door before Owen beat a hole in the center. He jerked the door open. “Did you need something, Owen?”

Owen’s unhappy gaze took in Dan’s bare feet and boxer shorts. “I was hoping to speak to Jessica,” he said, his words clipped tight.

“She’s sleeping.”

“She’ll want to get up for me.”

“I doubt it.”

Owen sighed, shifted his stance so he was halfway to getting inside. Dan wasn’t about to let that happen.

“Look, Owen, as soon as she’s up, she’ll give you a call.”

“It’s important.”

“I’m sure it is. But we had a pretty rough night, if you know what I mean.”

That got a reaction. Red-faced, Owen looked past Dan’s shoulder, trying to see the bedroom door.

That was it. Not caring what he hit, Dan pushed Owen’s shoulder with one hand while he closed the door with the other. “She’ll call you.”

“Hey!”

“I promise,” he said as the door finally clicked home. “Jeez.”

He turned around, not in the least happy about having to remake the bed. But man, he was still really tired. He’d left his watch on the coffee table, but he felt sure it was just past dawn.

Turned out it was almost noon, but hey.

“Was that Owen?”

Jessica’s voice startled him, and he spun to find her standing by the open bedroom door. “Yeah.”

“What did he want?”

“You.”

“Oh.” She hid a broad yawn behind her hand as she walked, kimono flaring behind her, to the bathroom.

Dan reacted to the sight in a way that belied his last encounter with her. Damn, she was so beautiful. Even with her hair all messed up, and makeup giving her that ever popular raccoon look. He wanted her just as she was. Well, okay, he could wait until she brushed her teeth, but barely.