"i'm hoping you'll reconsider."

she wouldn't look at him. "i can't...i won't."

"if that's what you want, okay, but..." he couldn't find a diplomatic way of telling her how important it was to him that she remain at med-x. nothing to do with the company. he wanted her on the job for purely selfish reasons.

"why is it so critical for you to leave?" at first he'd assumed it was because of his...advances, he supposed the term was. but he'd analyzed each time they'd kissed, plus a few remarks she'd made, and realized she'd wanted him to kiss her. she'd enjoyed their kisses as much as he had.

"why?" her head came up and she stared at him. "you're engaged to another woman. i won't be your last fling. i'm not interested in an affair, gary."

"an affair?" he nearly choked on the words. not once had it entered his mind that she'd believe he was suggesting such a thing.

"well, what else am i supposed to think?" she asked defensively. "that's where we were headed."

gary couldn't deny the electricity between them or the truth of what she said. they had been headed directly for the bedroom. "you're right," he said, hardly aware he'd spoken aloud.

"i won't hurt this woman who's promised to be your wife...."

"lorraine."

"furthermore, i won't be part of something illicit. some furtive noon-hour affair."

that felt like a slap in the face. "i didn't, wouldn't..." he was too flustered to continue.

"yes, you would. we both would."

"okay," he said, thinking fast. "but now that we're aware of the pitfalls, we'll be careful. before you walk away from a good job, why don't you take a couple of days, give this some real thought."

she seemed to be considering his words.

"it's easy to let our emotions get carried away, but you're important to this company." and to me. but he didn't say it aloud.

frowning, marjorie bit her lower lip. "i'll give it a week."

"good." a load had been lifted from his shoulders. he returned her letter of resignation and hurried back to his office.

a number of business concerns demanded his attention, but he left them, his mind awhirl. everything marjorie had said was true. he was engaged. the thought of kissing another woman shouldn't have entered his mind. but he had kissed marjorie, and he'd enjoyed it more than anything.

sure, he missed lorraine. quite a bit in the beginning, but she'd been away for such a long time he didn't know what to think anymore. even her father couldn't give him a definite answer about when she'd be back.

one thing was certain-he couldn't marry her. not now.

it seemed like a simple decision, and he didn't understand why it'd taken him so long to reach it. if he truly loved lorraine, he wouldn't be this attracted to marjorie.

he jumped up from his chair and marched down the hallway to her office. when he saw she was talking on the phone, he felt intense disappointment. as soon as he could, he'd tell her....

soon after that, he had a lunch meeting with a major distributor and then he spent the afternoon preparing a report for the company's ceo. marjorie had gone out on some local calls. before he knew it, the day was over.

not until he was in his car did he think about stopping at her house. he probably shouldn't, but the thought of seeing her again was a temptation too great to resist.

brice came running over the minute gary parked in front of the house.

"how're you doin', kiddo?" gary asked, and playfully jerked the bill of the boy's baseball cap down over his forehead.

"great! are you coming to see my mom?"

"yeah. is she around?"

"yup."

worried that she might not appreciate his entering the house unannounced, gary asked, "would you mind telling her i'm here?"

"sure. she'll be glad." the boy dashed up the steps and through the door; half a minute later marjorie appeared. gary could tell by the way she hesitated when she saw him that she felt flustered.

"hello, gary."

"marjorie." she remained on the top porch step, arms folded protectively.

"i won't take much of your time," he said, standing a safe distance away on the lawn. "i came to a decision today, and i want you to know what it is, since it definitely concerns you."

"concerns me how? what kind of decision?"

"as you pointed out, i'm engaged. but i've learned something-i don't want to be engaged anymore. lorraine and i... i don't know. she's terrific. great. we dated for quite a while, and i more or less decided it was time to get married. she felt the same way. that's why it happened. but i'm breaking off the engagement."

"is she back from mexico or wherever she went?"

"no." he'd thought about that, too. if she was in louisville, he'd talk to her that very day.

"so she doesn't know?" marjorie pressed.

"not yet, but i don't think she'll be too disappointed."

"how can you say that?" marjorie demanded with such outrage, gary retreated a step in surprise.

"there was no passion between us. no...sparks." he hadn't realized that until he'd kissed marjorie. the sizzle between them was strong enough to shoot sparks into tomorrow.

"sparks." she arched a brow.

"i'm not a fickle man, marjorie. i want you to know that."

she didn't reveal any emotion. "are you breaking the engagement because of me?"

gary wasn't sure how to answer. the best policy was the truth, so he met her look squarely, unwilling to discount the intensity of what he felt for her. "yes. i've been waiting all my life for you. i won't let you slip through my fingers now."

"oh, gary." she was actually crying.

"invite him to dinner, mom." brice stood at the screen door.

"thanks, but i should be leaving." gary headed back to his car.

"gary."

he turned around.

she was wiping her eyes with one sleeve. "would you like to stay for dinner?"

more than she'd ever know. "would you like me to?"

she smiled and nodded, then held out her hand to him.

gary didn't need a second invitation.

jack didn't know where he was. he opened his eyes and bright lights blinded him. he wondered if he was dead, then decided he was in too much pain for that. pain was a good sign. it meant he was alive.

a nurse stood at his bedside, along with an elderly physician.

"doctor?" jack asked in spanish.

the older man turned to him and smiled when he realized jack was conscious. "so you've decided to return to the land of the living, have you?"

"how long have i been out?"

"a week."

the last thing jack remembered was the convincing knowledge that he was about to die and take carlos with him.

"how do you feel, mr. keller?"

"like i fell off a cliff."

the physician grinned.

"how's the other guy?" he hoped to hell carlos was dead. "mr. applebee?"

"him, too."

"unfortunately, both mr. applebee and mr. caracol were pronounced dead at the scene."

"carlos caracol?" jack wasn't taking any chances. jason's death was news to him, but there hadn't exactly been time to ask lorraine questions.

"you and your wife are the only two to survive."

jack didn't correct the assumption, but turned his head away, not wanting to think about lorraine.

"your wife has been at your bedside from the moment you were brought into the hospital," the nurse told him. "she wouldn't leave you."

"how is she?" jack's memory was foggy, but he knew lorraine had taken one hell of a beating. "where is she?"

"she's with her father having lunch," the doctor said. "against her wishes, i might add. as for her injuries, she's much better. or she will be as soon as i tell her you're conscious."

jack closed his eyes.

"you gave us quite a scare recently."

"i did?" jack's eyes fluttered open again.

"you went into cardiac arrest a couple of days ago. it's been touch-and-go ever since. you have a strong will to live, mr. keller."

"it's his wife," the nurse corrected. "she said she refused to let you die."

he grinned. that sounded like lorraine, all right.

"for days she's been sitting at your bedside, talking about your future together. she said she wants your child."

jack's grin faded. apparently lorraine had decided to file for divorce. she was going to do it, going to ruin her life for him. he could see it happening already. she'd return to louisville and rip apart two lives. jack couldn't let her throw away her marriage because of him.

"doctor," he said from between gritted teeth. he hardly had the strength to talk. he clutched the man's coat sleeve in an effort to convey the urgency of his request.

"do you need something for the pain?"

"no."

"i'll get your wife," the nurse said.

"no!"

"calm down, mr. keller. whatever is wrong, we can take care of it."

jack doubted that. "the woman out there isn't my wife."

he watched as they stared at him in stunned disbelief.

"she's wearing a wedding band," the nurse said, as if to disqualify his statement.

"she loves you," the physician said, frowning. "she's been unwilling to leave you this entire time. the only way we were able to get her out of the room now was because of her-"

"that ring was given to her by another man."

both the nurse and the doctor continued to stare at him.

"if you go out there and tell lorraine i'm alive, you'll be responsible for breaking up a marriage, for destroying a family." his hand tightened on the physician's sleeve. "do you understand what i'm saying?"

the doctor's gaze connected with his.

"i love her, too," jack whispered. he could feel the darkness closing in.

"what do you want me to do?"

"tell her i died."

"no, mr. keller, that isn't possible."

"tell her i died or...or i'll ruin her life." he had trouble saying the words. they stumbled off the end of his tongue.

"you love her that much?"

"yes."

"mr. keller-"

"do it...please." he wasn't a man who begged or pleaded, but he was reduced to it now. "she has a husband. a good man who loves her...who knows nothing about me."