He was? His voice had become as soft as melted sugar. Man, was she ever in trouble.

“I feel as though I’d sat down to this wonderful feast,” he murmured, “and after I took one bite, someone took the plate away.”

Come on, there wasn’t a thing a girl could say to something like that. “You do?” she managed to reply.

“I’m willing to wait, so that I can enjoy that wonderful feast to the fullest when it’s the right time for me to do it,” he said. “What about you?”

With you to look forward to, five months is nothing.

No, no, she couldn’t say that. A girl had to have some pride.

“After all, what’s five months when there’s someone like you at the end of it?” he asked softly.

Oh, man. If he was reading her mind, she was done for. “I’ll make it worth your while when we get there,” she promised.

“I’ll hold you to that.” He chuckled, and added, “Meantime, see you in negotiations.”

And suddenly, the prospect of yet more negotiations took on a golden glow. True, she had a ton of work to do. More wakeful nights. More meetings with Eve and the other winners at the station. But at the end of it all lay the prospect of victory-for her, and for the people she represented.

She refused to consider any other outcome.

“You will,” she promised, a smile warming her voice. “And may the best lawyer win.”