"why are you crying?" rachel asked. "you should be over the moon that bobby loves you."

"because..." teri was hardly able to speak. "he wants to marry me. and it's just not possible...and...and i have to tell him that."

"why is it so impossible?" rachel demanded. "he says you're good for him, and i know he's good for you. i've never seen you happier. he thinks you're fabulous, and you are."

"he doesn't really know me," teri snapped. "someone needs to tell him about all the loser men i've had in my life."

"he wants you," rachel argued. "he doesn't care about the past."

teri was annoyed that her best friend would be so obtuse. "bobby only thinks he loves me. why am i the only levelheaded one in the bunch? i don't care what you say, rachel, i'm telling bobby no." to prove her point, she yanked off the diamond ring and set it on the coffee table. then fearing she might lose it, she grabbed it and slid it onto her finger again. that diamond probably cost more money than she'd make in her whole life as a hairstylist.

"i'm giving it back to him," teri announced. "i have to."

"teri," rachel said, "don't do that."

"no, i mean it. he's flying in tonight and that'll be the end of it. i'm giving him the ring and then i'm telling him i don't want to hear from him or see him again." she'd tried to convince him once before, and it hadn't worked. this time she'd make sure he understood.

"don't be ridiculous! you love this guy."

teri shook her head adamantly. "i'm all wrong for bobby."

rachel gave an impatient sigh. "he doesn't seem to think so, and for what it's worth, i don't, either. you're perfect for each other."

"how can you say that?" teri wailed. "can't you just see what would happen if some television reporter interviewed me? i'd say something stupid that'd make bobby the laughingstock of the chess world. no, i'm not going to do it."

"if you walk away from him, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

this wasn't what teri had come to hear. she needed her conviction shored up, needed the strength to send bobby away, once and for all. "you're no help," she cried and she stormed out the door.

sniffling and carrying on wasn't going to help, either, teri told herself on the drive home. the ring kept glinting in the evening sunlight and it was all she could do not to stare at it. if she didn't watch what she was doing, she'd drive off the road.

just as she feared, the stretch limo stood in front of her apartment complex.

as soon as she'd parked in her allotted space, james was there to open her car door.

teri glared at the tall, skinny man and sniffed loudly.

"are you unwell, miss teri?" he asked.

bobby had sent him to collect her. this was her opportunity to make a stand. she'd let him deliver the news to bobby. "i'm not going."

james shook his head, his expression confused. "bobby is expecting you." it was understood that no one kept bobby polgar waiting. not that refusing to go would do any good, anyway. james would simply come back for her and the next time bobby would be with him.

still holding the steering wheel with both hands, teri laid her forehead against it and started to cry.

poor james was beside himself. "shall i phone for a doctor?" he asked anxiously.

"no," she sobbed, giving up. if she didn't go to bobby, it would only make matters worse. he'd come himself. there'd be a scene. before long, the entire apartment complex would get involved, with everyone offering opinions and taking sides. teri could see it already. much as she wanted to avoid a confrontation with bobby, she didn't have a choice. "i'll go," she said dully.

"your suitcase?" james asked.

"i don't have one." if that shocked him, james didn't let on. she didn't need a suitcase because she wasn't going anywhere with bobby. she wasn't marrying bobby polgar, and that was final.

reluctantly climbing out of the car, she picked up her purse and let james escort her to the gleaming black limo with its tinted windows. he opened the door and she crawled inside and began to cry all over again.

because this ludicrous vehicle was as long as a bowling alley, she couldn't tell what james was doing, but she suspected he was on the phone the instant he peeled out of the parking lot. she could imagine what he was saying to bobby.

"get a grip," teri said aloud as she fought to compose herself. wiping her face, she realized they were headed for the bremerton airport; bobby must have hired a private jet. this man wasn't only a chess champion, he had more money than the united states treasury. he flew all over the world. a hop between london, england, and bremerton, washington, was nothing to him.

as soon as james turned the car into the small airport, teri saw the learjet parked on the runway. her heart began to pound and all her efforts to dry her tears were pointless. a new deluge was coming and she couldn't hold it back. by the time james had driven up to the jet and the door was opened for her, teri was a blubbering mess all over again.

bobby was waiting for her inside the jet, and once she appeared, he dismissed everyone from the plane. he stood in the doorway with his hands locked behind his back.

sobbing so hard her shoulders shook, teri climbed the steps and the second she reached the top, she jerked the huge diamond ring from her finger and gave it to bobby.

bobby dropped it carefully inside his pocket, then hit a button just inside the aircraft. the staircase refolded and the door slid shut.

"i'm not staying and i'm not marrying you." there, she'd said it. she'd made her stand.

bobby ignored that. "sit." he gestured to a swivel chair covered in soft white leather. he handed teri a tissue, which she gladly accepted. she blew her nose and thought it sounded like a trumpet call. she wasn't one of those women who could weep elegantly.

"why won't you marry me?" he asked. he looked puzzled again, as if he'd done something wrong.

"don't you see?" she cried. "i don't want to love you, but i do."

"i know."

"it's your fault," she cried.

"maybe," he said. "i worked hard so you'd love me. you're funny and wise and beautiful."

"you don't think i'm fat?" she asked him.

"well...a little. it doesn't matter, though. i like you the way you are. can we get married now?"

"bobby," she said, recovering quickly. "no. i'm sorry, no."

he frowned, then got down on one knee in front of her. "i told you i'm not good with emotion. i think too much, but when i'm with you i don't want to think, i want to feel and i like that. that's never happened before. when i'm with you, i want to do...things that don't involve chess."

"what sort of things?" she asked, growing suspicious.

his eyes were so honest and full of love that she couldn't have looked away for anything. he kissed her. she enjoyed bobby's kisses because they were different from those she generally received. with other men, there was a hot urgency. but bobby's kisses were gentle and lingering, as if he savored her. she craved his touch. his kisses were unselfish and they made her feel as if she'd never been kissed before. ironically, she was the one with the sexual experience, not bobby.

she needed every ounce of strength she possessed to break off his kiss.

"will you marry me now?" he asked. with childlike innocence, his eyes implored her.

teri swallowed back tears and shook her head. the things he hadn't heard about her yet-and there were a lot-would change his mind fast enough, and sooner or later he'd find it all out. "you don't know me."

instead of arguing, he kissed the side of her neck. teri thought she'd dissolve into a puddle at his feet. the only sure way to end this was to enlighten him with the truth. "i've...there've been lots of other men."

"yes, i know. from now on there will be only me."

she gripped his shoulders and pushed him away. "you know?"

he nodded.

she swallowed and in a small voice asked, "everything?"

he nodded again.

the thought of bobby learning about the litany of stupid, lethal relationships she'd stumbled into and out of mortified her.

"how?" her eyes narrowed.

"can i kiss you again?"

"no. answer the question."

"if i answer the question, can i kiss you?"

she sighed and nodded. she didn't have the strength of will to refuse him.

she'd meant he could kiss her after he'd answered, but he didn't wait. he gave her a long, loving kiss that made her go weak inside.

"all right," she said, her eyes still closed as he ended the kiss. "what do you know about me?"

"dwight connell." the jerk who'd emptied her bank account. "ray hawkins." the guy she'd had to throw out of her apartment with the sheriff's help. "carl jackson." her first boyfriend, now in jail. "randy-"

"all right, all right. how did you learn all that?"

"it wasn't hard." he paused. "my job is to play chess and yours is to cut hair. there are people whose job it is to find things out, and i asked one of them."

"oh." she didn't have the energy to feel offended. she would've told him all of that, anyway.

he pulled the ring out of his pocket and took her hand. the diamond glided onto her finger as if that was where it belonged.

she couldn't stop staring as bobby pushed the same button he had earlier. the door opened and the stairs descended. two uniformed men boarded the plane, followed by james, and walked past teri into the cockpit, each murmuring a polite "hello."

within minutes, the plane was at the end of the runway. "where are we going?" she asked bobby.

he seemed surprised by the question. "las vegas."

teri was speechless. how had this happened? thirty minutes ago, she'd categorically refused to see this man again. ten minutes ago, she'd still felt that way-and now all of a sudden she was flying to vegas to marry bobby polgar, a man she'd seen a grand total of three times in her life. she hadn't even slept with him, and she was about to marry him.

"did i agree to this?" she asked tentatively.

"you want to marry me and i want to marry you." apparently that seemed an unquestionable fact to him, so he'd taken the next logical step-they were on their way to vegas.

"i...i didn't bring any clothes with me."

bobby smiled. "you won't need clothes."