in an act of angry frustration, she kicked a tire, then yelped when the heel of her pump broke off. she wanted to weep.

with no other alternative, she limped into the restaurant, intent on heading for the ladies' room. once she composed herself, she'd deal with the car and call peter to tell him she was going to be late.

alex thought that if his date giggled one more time, he'd have to walk away from the table. thanks to this woman, he was going slowly insane. he should know by now never to accept a blind date.

the first thing bambi did when they were seated at the restaurant was to pick up the saltshaker and start discussing the "amazing" qualities of crystal.

it took alex five minutes to make the connection. the saltshaker was made of crystal.

"i'm crazy about hot tubs," bambi said, leaning forward to offer him a generous view of her ample breasts.

"they're...hot, all right," alex murmured, examining the menu without much enthusiasm. his friend-at least someone he used to consider a friend-claimed bambi was every man's dream. her name should have been his first clue. once they'd met, he'd learned her given name was michelle, but she'd started calling herself bambi because she loved forest animals so much. animals like deer and chipmunks and hamsters.

alex didn't have the heart to tell her that in all the years he'd been camping, he had yet to stumble upon a single family of hamsters grazing in a meadow.

when the waitress came to take their order, it took bambi five minutes to explain how she wanted her salad served. okay, he was exaggerating. four minutes. he ordered a steak and asked for it rare.

"i'm on a diet," bambi said, once the waitress had left.

he smiled benignly.

"do you think i'm fat, alex?" she asked.

her big brown eyes appealed to him to lie if he must. once more she bunched her full breasts together and leaned toward him. it was more than obvious that she wasn't wearing a bra. he suspected that he was supposed to swoon at the sight.

"you do think i'm fat, don't you?" bambi asked, pouting prettily.

"no," alex told her.

"you're just saying that to be nice," she purred, and demurely lowered her lashes against the high arch of her cheek.

alex smoothed out the linen napkin on his lap, thinking he was getting old. far too old for someone like bambi/michelle. his teenage son might appreciate her finer qualities, but he suspected even james had better sense than that.

"do you have a hot tub?"

alex was so caught up in his thoughts, mentally calculating how long it would take to get through dinner so he could drive her home, that he didn't immediately realize she'd directed the question at him.

"i love hot tubs," she reminded him. "i even carry a swimsuit with me just in case my date has a tub. see?" she reached inside her purse and held up the skimpiest piece of material alex had seen in his entire life. it was all he could do not to grab it out of her hand and shove it back in her purse.

"i don't have a hot tub," he said, making a strenuous effort to remain civil.

"oh, that poor, pathetic thing," bambi said, looking past him to the front of the restaurant.

"i beg your pardon?"

bambi used this opportunity to lean as far forward as possible, drape her breasts over his arm and whisper, "a bag lady just came into the restaurant. she's drenched, and i think she might be hurt because she's limping pretty bad."

although he really wasn't interested, alex glanced over his shoulder. the instant his gaze connected with the woman bambi was referring to, he twisted his chair around for a better view. "that's no bag lady," he said. "i know that girl."

"you do?"

"yes, she was with my son and his best friend this afternoon. i think she's another friend of theirs." he paused. "she might be in some kind of trouble." he wasn't in the business of rescuing maidens in distress, but someone had to do something. "will you excuse me a moment?"

"alex," bambi cried, reaching out for his arm, stopping him. half the restaurant turned to stare at them-including the woman at the front. even from halfway across the room, alex could feel her eyes on him.

"you can't involve yourself in other people's problems," bambi insisted.

"she's just a kid." he pulled his arm free.

"honey, one look at her and i can tell you she's no kid."

disregarding bambi's unsought advice, alex dropped his napkin on the table, stood and walked away.

"hello, again," he said when he reached his son's friend. bambi was right about one thing. she looked terrible-nothing like the way she'd looked earlier. her hair fell in wet tendrils that dripped on her jacket. her mascara had left black streaks down her face, and she held the heel of her shoe in one hand. "i'm james's dad-we met briefly this afternoon." he held out his hand to her. "do you remember me?"

"of course i do," she said stiffly, clearly resenting this intrusion. she glanced longingly at the ladies' room.

"is something wrong?"

"wrong?" she echoed. "what could possibly be wrong?"

she thrust out her chin proudly, but he resisted the urge to shake some sense into her. sarcasm always set his teeth on edge. "i'd like to help if i could."

"i appreciate the offer, but no thanks. listen, i think you'd better get back to your date." she nodded toward bambi, and a smile quivered at the corners of her mouth. she had difficulty meeting his eyes.

briefly alex wondered what she found so amusing. but then again...he knew.

"i thought she was supposed to be tall," she said next, and it sounded like she was trying not to laugh outright. alex didn't appreciate her sense of humor, but he wasn't going to respond in kind. she was the one standing there looking like a drowned rat. not him.

her brows rose as she studied bambi. "actually two out of three isn't bad."

alex had no idea what she was talking about. his expression must have said as much because she added, "jim was telling peter how your date for this evening was tall and blond and had big-"

she stopped abruptly, and alex could swear she was blushing. a bright pink color started creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. "i'm sorry, that was uncalled for."

bambi apparently wasn't about to be the center of their conversation while sitting down. she pushed back her chair, joined them near the hostess desk and slipped her arm through alex's. "perhaps you'd care to introduce us, alex darling."

alex wanted to roll his eyes at the way she referred to him as "darling." they'd barely met. he doubted bambi knew his last name. he certainly didn't remember hers.

since he wasn't sure of anyone's name, alex gestured toward carol and said, "this is a friend of my son's...."

"carol sommars," she supplied.

alex was surprised. "i didn't know peter had a sister."

carol shot him a look. "i'm not his sister. i'm his mother."

two

"his mother," alex echoed, clearly distressed. "but i thought...i assumed when you were with the boys that..."

"she's got to be way over thirty!" the blonde with her arm wrapped around alex's exclaimed, eyeing carol as possible competition.

unwilling to be subjected to any debate over her age, carol politely excused herself and headed blindly toward the ladies' room. the way her luck had been going this evening, it shouldn't be any shock that she'd run into alex preston of all people-and his infamous "hot date."

as soon as carol examined herself in the mirror, she groaned and reached for her purse, hoping to repair the worst of the damage. no wonder alex had mistaken her for a teenager. she looked like little orphan annie on a bad day.

to add to her consternation, he was waiting for her when she left the restroom.

"listen," he said apologetically. "we got off to a bad start. can i do something to help?"

carol thanked him with a smile. "i appreciate that, but i don't want to ruin your evening. my car broke down and i don't have my cell. i'm just going to call the auto club from here and have them deal with it." she already had the phone number and a quarter in her hand. the pay phone was just outside the restrooms.

"all right." carol was grateful when he left. she was horrified by the way she'd spoken to him earlier and wanted to apologize-later. alex had caught her at a bad moment, but he'd made up for it by believing she was peter's sister. that was almost laughable, but exceptionally flattering.

she finished her call and tried three frustrating times to get through to peter, but the line was busy. sitting in the restaurant foyer, she decided to give her son a few more minutes before calling again.

alex strolled toward her. "is the auto club coming?"

"they're on their way," she answered cheerfully, flashing him a smile.

"did you get hold of peter?"

her facade melted away. "i tried three times and can't get through. he's probably talking to melody wohlford, the love of his life."

"i'll contact james on my cell and have him get in touch with peter for you. that way, you won't have to worry about it."

"thank you." she was more gracious this time. "knowing peter, he could be on the phone for hours."

alex stepped away and returned a minute later. "jim was talking to peter. fortunately we have call waiting so i got through to him." he shook his head slightly. "they're doing their algebra homework together, which is probably good because jim needs all the help he can get."

"in this case it's the blind leading the blind."

alex grinned, and the mouth she'd found so arrogant and haughty earlier now seemed unusually appealing. his smile was sensual and affable at the same time and carol liked it a whole lot. it had been a good many years since she'd caught herself staring at a man's mouth. self-conscious, she dragged her gaze away and looked past him into the restaurant.

alex glanced uncomfortably at his table, where the other woman was waiting impatiently. "would you like to join us and have something to eat?" he asked eagerly.

"oh, no," carol said, "i couldn't do that."

alex's gray eyes reached out to hers in blatant appeal. "please join us."

carol wasn't sure what was going on between alex and his date, and she was even less sure about putting herself in the middle of it, but...oh, well, why not?

"all right," she agreed in a tentative voice.

alex immediately looked grateful. he glanced back at the woman who was glaring at him, clearly displeased that he was paying so much attention to carol.

however, if her disapproval bothered him, he didn't show it. he led carol back to the table and motioned for the waitress to bring a menu.