“Well, Ms. Fontaine, you look damn good for a dead woman."Her response was to narrow her eyes, arch a brow. "If that's some sort of cop humor, I'm afraid you'll have to translate.”

“When Grant opened the door, he thought she looked like some fairy princess-part ingenue,part seductress. Her eyes met his in the glass, and she smiled while following through with the last stroke of the brush."Take the wrong turn?""I took the right one." He closed the door behind him,then flicked the lock."Is that so?" Tapping the brush against her palm, Gennie arched a brow. "I thought you had the room down the hall.""The MacGregors forgot to put something in there." He stood where he was for a moment, pleased just to look at her."Oh? What?""You.”

“Where did you come from?" she asked impulsively."The same place you did."It took her a minute, then she chuckled. "I don't mean biologically. Geographically."He shrugged, trying not to be pleased she had caught on so quickly. "South of here.""Oh,well that's specific," she muttered, then tried again. "What about family? Do you have family?"He stopped to study her. "Why?"With an exaggerated sigh, Gennie shook her head. "This is called making friendly conversation.It's a new trend that's catching on everywhere.""I'm a noncomformist.""No! Really?""You do that wide-eyed, guileless look very well, Genvieve.”

“I'm not in love with someone!" he shouted at her, infuriated because she was right and he couldn't do a thing about it. "I'm in love with you, and damn it,I don't like it.""You've made that abundantly clear." She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin."Don't pull that regal routine on me," Grant began. Her eyes sharpened to dagger points. Her skin flushed majestically. Abruptly he began to laugh.When she tossed her head back in fury,he simply collapsed against her. "Oh,God,Gennie,I can't take it when you look at me as though you were about to have me tossed in the dungeon.""Get off me,you ass!" Incensed, insulted, she shoved against him, but he only held her tighter. Only quick reflexes saved him from a well-aimed knee at a strategic point.”

“If it was my job to clean the kitchen after dinner,then that damn kitchen was going to sparkle so bright you'd need sunglasses for your midnight snack.""That's frightening."Responding to the humor in his eyes, she nodded.”

“I'll hold the baby," Daniel announced, then narrowed his eyes in case anyone wanted to argue the point. "You can do another next year,lass," he added to Gennie when there was no opposition, "and I'll be holding two." He beamed at Diana before he shifted his look to Shelby. "Or three.""You should have Dad sitting in his throne-chair," Alan amended quickly, giving Gennie one of his rare grins. "That'd make the clearest statement.""Exactly." Her eyes danced as she kept her features sober. "And Anna, you'll sit beside him. Perhaps you'd hold your embroidery because it looks so natural.""The wives should sit at their husband's feet," Caine said smoothly. "That's natural."There was general agreement among the men and definite scorn among the women.”

“Gennie looked over her shoulder as a Mercedes pulled to a halt beside them. The driver was in shadows, so that she had only the impression of dark, masculine looks while the passenger rolled down her window.A cap of wild red hair surrounding an angular face poked out the opening. The woman leaned her arms on the base of the window and grinned appealingly. "You people lost?"Grant sent her a narrow-eyed glare, then astonished Gennie by reaching out and twisting her nose between his first two fingers. "Scram.""Some people just aren't worth helping," the woman stated before she gave a haughty toss of her head and disappeared back inside. The Mercedes purred discreetly, then disappeared around the first curve."Grant!" Torn between amusement and disbelief, Gennie stared at him. "Even for you that was unbelievably rude.""Can't stand busybodies," he said easily as he started the car agian.She let out a gusty sigh as she flopped back against the cushions. "You certainly made that clear anough. I'm beginning to think it was a miracle you didn't just slam the door in my face that first night.""It was a weak moment.”