"james," alex broke in, "i think it's time for you to go back to your room before carol decides she wants nothing more to do with the likes of us."

james looked affronted, but without further questions, he pivoted and marched back into his bedroom.

alex waited until his son was out of sight. he sighed loudly and rammed his fingers through his hair. "i'm sorry, carol. i had no idea james overheard my conversation with barney. i thought he was asleep, but i should've been more careful."

"i...understand," carol whispered, mollified.

"contrary to what james just said," alex continued, the line of his mouth tight and unyielding, "i don't want to marry you for your cooking skills. i couldn't care less if you never cooked again. i love you, and i'm hoping we can make a good life together."

james tossed open his bedroom door and stuck out his head. "peter says she's as good a cook as his grandmother. she's-"

alex sent his son a look hot enough to melt tar.

james quickly withdrew his head and just as quickly closed his door.

"i'll talk to peter and explain the mix-up, if you'd like," alex offered.

"no...i'll say something to him." suddenly self-conscious, carol swung her arms at her sides and retreated a couple of steps. "i suppose i should get home...."

"you were sick last night?" alex asked, his expression concerned. "james told me when i picked him up after school. i would gladly have given peter a ride, but he'd apparently found another way because he was gone before james could find him."

"peter decided to run home."

"but you had been ill?"

she nodded. "i...must've caught a twenty-four-hour bug." her eyes darted around the room. she felt so foolish, standing there with her hair a tangled mess, wearing the oldest clothes she owned, not to mention mismatched shoes.

"you're feeling better today?"

"a lot better. thank you." she was slowly but surely edging toward the front door. the sooner she escaped, the better it would be for everyone involved. if alex was merciful, he'd never mention this visit again.

she was all the way across the living room and had just reached the front door, when alex appeared behind her. as she whirled around, he flattened his hands on either side of her head.

"have you come to a decision?" he asked softly. his gaze dropped to her mouth. "do you need any help?"

"the only thing i've managed to come up with is the flu," she murmured in a feeble attempt at humor. alex wasn't amused, however, and she rushed to add, "obviously you want to know which way i'm leaning, but i haven't had time to give your proposal much thought. i will, i promise i will...soon." she realized she was chattering, but couldn't seem to stop. "we're still on for friday night, aren't we? we can discuss it then and-"

the doorbell chimed, frightening carol out of her wits. she gasped and automatically catapulted herself into alex's arms. he apparently didn't need an excuse to hold her close. when he released her several awkward seconds later, he smiled at her, then kissed the tip of her upturned nose.

"that'll be barney now. it's time the two of you met."

"that was carol sommars?" barney asked for the third time. he scratched his jaw and continued to frown. "no wonder bambi mistook her for a bag lady. i'm sorry, man, you're my best friend and we've been buddies for a lot of years, but i've got to tell you, you can do better than that."

chuckling, alex dismissed his friend's statement and walked into the family room. if he lived to be a hundred, he'd never forget carol's mortified look as she bolted from the house.

barney certainly hadn't helped the situation any. doing his best to keep a straight face, alex had introduced the two. barney's eyes had widened and his mouth had slowly dropped open in disbelief. it took a moment before he had the presence of mind to step forward and accept carol's outstretched hand. barney had mumbled that it was a pleasure to finally meet her, but his eyes had said something else entirely.

"trust me," alex felt obliged to explain, "she doesn't always look like that."

barney stalked over to the refrigerator and opened it. he stared inside for a long time before he reached for a cold beer. "what time do the trail blazers play?"

alex checked his watch. both he and barney were keen fans of portland's professional basketball team. the team had been doing well this year and were in the first round of the play-offs. "seven."

"so," barney said, making himself comfortable in the overstuffed chair. he crossed his legs and took a long swig of beer. "what happened to her foot?" he asked casually. "did she sprain it?"

"whose foot?"

"carol's," barney said, casting alex a questioning glance. "she was wearing a slipper-you mean you didn't notice? did she twist her ankle?"

"nah," james answered for alex, wandering into the family room holding a bag of pretzels. he plopped himself down on the sofa, resting his legs on the coffee table. "peter says she does weird stuff like that all the time. once she wore his swimming goggles in the shower."

barney raised his eyebrows. "should i ask why?"

"it made sense-sort of-when peter explained it. his mother had gone to one of those cosmetics stores and they put some fancy makeup on her eyes, and she didn't want to ruin it when she took a shower, so she wore peter's rubber goggles."

"why didn't she just take a bath?" barney asked. he threw alex a look that suggested his friend have his head examined.

"she couldn't take a bath because the faucet was broken," james said, "and her brother hadn't gotten around to fixing it yet."

"that makes sense," alex said in carol's defense.

barney rolled his eyes and tipped the beer bottle to his lips.

to his credit, barney didn't say anything else about carol until james was out of the room. "you're really serious about this woman?" his question implied that alex had introduced barney to the wrong one, and that the whole meeting was a setup to some kind of joke that was to follow.

"i'm totally serious. i told you i asked her to marry me-i can't get any more serious than that."

"and she's thinking about it?" barney asked mockingly. being the true friend he was, barn clearly couldn't understand why carol hadn't instantly leaped at alex's offer.

to be honest, alex wondered the same thing himself. true, he'd blurted out his proposal in a parking lot. he still had trouble believing he'd done anything so crazy. as a contractor, he'd sold himself and his company hundreds of times. he'd prepared bids and presented them with polish and professionalism. he always had solid arguments that made his proposals sound attractive and intelligent. carol deserved nothing less.

but something had happened to him when he'd visited her birthing class. something enigmatic and profound. even now he had to struggle not to get choked up when he thought about it.

after nearly two weeks in texas, alex had been starved for the sight of her, and he'd barely noticed the others in the class. in retrospect, he was sure his reaction could be attributed to seeing all those soon-to-be mothers.

in fifteen years alex hadn't given babies more than a passing thought. he had a son and was grateful for that. he might have suffered a twinge of regret when he learned there'd be no more children, but he'd been more concerned about his wife's well-being than the fact that they wouldn't be adding to their family.

then he'd watched carol with those pregnant couples, and the desire for another child, a daughter, had suddenly overwhelmed him. he'd decided while he was in texas that he loved carol and wanted to marry her, but the idea of starting a family of their own hadn't so much as crossed his mind. but why not? they were both young enough and healthy enough to raise a houseful of children.

he'd been standing at the back of her class, waiting for her, when it happened. out of nowhere, yet as clear as anything he'd ever seen or felt, alex saw carol pregnant with a child. his child. he'd realized at the time that this-he used the word vision for lack of a better one-was probably due to physical and emotional exhaustion. wanting to hold on to the image as long as he could, he'd closed his eyes. he'd pictured her.... her breasts were full, and when she smiled at him, her eyes had a radiance that couldn't be described. she'd taken his hand and settled it on her protruding stomach. in his fantasy he'd felt their child move.

this fantasy was what had prompted the abrupt marriage proposal. he wanted to kick himself now. if he'd taken her in his arms, kissed her and said all the things she deserved to hear, things might have gone differently. he hadn't meant to rush her, hadn't meant to be so pushy, but once he'd realized how resistant she was to the idea, he'd panicked. the two-week ultimatum was unfair. he'd tell her that on friday night when they went out for dinner.

then again, maybe he wouldn't. he'd wait to hear what she was thinking, which way she was leaning, before he put his foot any farther down his throat.

then he began to smile. perhaps it wasn't too late for a proper proposal, after all.

"alex?"

his name seemed to be coming from some distance away.

"what?" he asked, pulling himself out of his thoughts.

"the game's started," barney said. "don't you want to see it?" he peered closely at alex. "is something wrong with you?"

yes, something was wrong, and there was only one cure. carol sommars.

carol dressed carefully for her dinner date with alex friday evening. after going through her closet and laying half of everything she owned across the bed, she chose a demure, high-necked dress of soft pink that buttoned down the front. that seemed safe enough, especially with a shawl.

she'd hardly ever felt this awkward. trying to make her decision, she'd swayed back and forth all week. one day she'd decide she would be a fool not to marry him, and the next, she'd been equally convinced she'd be crazy to trust a man a second time.

marrying alex meant relinquishing her independence. it meant placing herself and her son at the mercy of another human being. memories of her marriage to bruce swiped at her viciously, and whenever she contemplated sharing her well-ordered life with another man, she broke into a cold sweat.

years ago, someone had told her it took a hell of a man to replace no man. it wasn't until carol graduated from college with her nursing degree and was completely on her own that she fully understood that statement. her life was good, too good to tamper with, and yet...

her thoughts were more confused than ever when the doorbell chimed. she paused, took a calming breath and headed across the room.