“Speak for yourself. I prefer thinking of it as being considerate by nature and thinking the best of others.”

“Yeah. Patsy.” She laughed up at him, then jerked to a halt when she saw stupefied shock rush over his face. “What? What’s the—Oh God. Oh my God.”

She stood, as he was, staring at the tornado debris of her room. “I forgot. I . . . forgot to tell you I’m actually an international spy, a double agent. And my arch nemesis broke in earlier to search for the secret code. There was a terrible battle.”

“I’d like to believe that.”

“It’s Zen.”

“Your arch nemesis?”

“No. No, the ultimate goal. Look, just go downstairs until I stuff all this back. It won’t take that long.”

“It’s a small department store,” Carter said with some wonder. “It’s a boutique.”

“Yes, for the temporarily insane.” She hauled up an armful of clothes. “Really, give me ten minutes. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“I applaud your optimism. Mackensie, I’m sorry what happened upset you this much.”

“How did you—”

“I have two sisters and a mother. I recognize the signs of an angry cleaning spree.”

“Oh.” She dumped the armload back on the sofa. “I forgot you have knowledge of the basic framework.”

“I’ll help you put everything back. Somewhere. Since I was part of the problem.”

“No. Yes. I mean, yes, you were part of the problem. Like the tip of the iceberg. But under the surface was the really massive . . . rest of the iceberg,” she decided. “Like

Titanic’s. You know from my mother’s mortifying visit up to Corrinda—”

“You’re really going to keep calling her that?”

“Yes. Anyway, you know that part of it, but what set this off, the last twitch of the finger on the trigger circles back to Linda.”

She walked to the bed this time, took an armload. “She didn’t bring my car back. And, because she didn’t want to bring my car back, as that would have entailed bringing herself back when she was having a good time in New York, she didn’t answer her phone.”

She turned after hanging up the load and turned to find him behind her with another. “Thanks. She also neglected to leave me the keys to hers, so I couldn’t have used it if I’d wanted to. By yesterday morning I was ready to do murder, but then I had a pep talk from Laurel—who takes no crap from anyone. I so admire that in her. After that, I had my mother’s car towed to this garage, this mechanic’s place.”

“That was brilliant. Appropriate consequences for inappropriate behavior.”

“That sounds so Dr. Maguire. Appropriate maybe, but it’s mean, too, especially since the guy knows Del and agreed to charge Linda for the towing and the storage.”

“I take it, since your car’s out front, she finally brought it back. She’d have been furious about hers being towed.”

“And then some. It was ugly. Very ugly, during which I learned even when you stand your ground, do what’s right, it hurts. A fist in the face, you could say,” she added with a small smile for him. “And skipping over the details, I ended by calling her a cab and locking her out of the house.”

“Good. She’ll think twice before pulling something like that again.”

“There’s that optimism. It’s so shiny. She never thinks twice, Carter. It’s going to take a lot more of the same before we’re done. It’s on me to do it. To keep doing it, and to keep taking that fist in the face without giving ground.”

“But you will.”

“I have to. Anyway, I decided to work off the upset by cleaning up my mess. I made a bigger one first, but with the goal of decluttering and restructuring. Which became symbolic for tossing out old habits and mind-sets. So . . .”

She broke off as she turned with another armload and caught sight of herself in the mirror. “Oh Jesus, Jesus, I look like I escaped from the institution for the terminally sloppy and unkempt. Couldn’t you have told me my hair looked like a couple of cats fought in it?”

“I like your hair.”

She raked her fingers through it. “You know, this is just one more world of irritating. I looked really good the night I came by your place. Those MAC girls know their stuff. Plus I sprang for La Perla, and I was wearing it. My credit card had a minor stroke, but now that we landed the Seaman job, it’ll recover nicely. Still, I—”

“You got the job?” He picked her off her feet, gave her a quick spin. “That’s—damn it.”

“Almost the reaction I might’ve expected.”

“I bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate with you when you got the job. I didn’t bring it with me.”

“You bought champagne to celebrate with me.” She could all but feel her pupils take the shape of hearts as she stared at him. “You’re the sweetest man.”

“We’ll celebrate tomorrow.”

“Event tomorrow night.”

“First chance then. Congratulations. This is major.”

“Majorly major, to be redundant about it. Event of the year, and it’s going to test all our skills, push us to develop new ones.”

“You must . . . What’s La Perla?”

Her smile spread slowly. “Ah, so two sisters and a mother haven’t taught you everything about the female. You still have a few things to learn, Professor. Go downstairs.”

“I don’t want to go downstairs.” He lowered his head to nibble at her lips. “I’ve missed you. Missed your face. Missed touching you. Look how we cleaned a spot off the bed. It looks just big enough.”

“Downstairs.” She pressed a finger at his chest, pushed him back. “I’ll tell you when to come back up. You’ll thank me.”

“Why don’t I just thank you now and—”

“Out.”

She gave him a shove.

He paced the studio, studied her photographs, poked at bridal magazines. He wondered what the term was for what was running around inside him, this intense joy and ragged impatience. Mackensie was upstairs, and that was wonderful. Mackensie was upstairs, and he wasn’t. That was making him crazy.

He wandered to the door to make sure it was locked, wondering if he should take up the wine. He didn’t want any, but she—

“Why don’t you come on up?”

Thank God, he thought, and left the wine where it was.

He saw from the shadows and flickering light that she’d lit candles. The faintest scent drifted through the air, alluringly. He should have brought the wine, he realized.

Then, when he stepped into the bedroom, his heart stopped.

In the shifting shadows, the golden light, in the drifting scent she lay on the bed, turned toward him, her head propped on her elbow. She’d done something to her hair, something sleek, and darkened her lips and eyes to exotic. And on her long, lovely body were wisps and whirls of tiny black lace.

“This,” she said, sweeping her free hand along her side, “is La Perla.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

She crooked a finger. “Why don’t you come over here and take a closer look.”

He walked to her. “You take my breath away.”

He sat, ran his hand over her side, cruising the curves. “You were wearing this the other night?”

“Mmm-hmmm.”

“If I’d known, you’d never have made it to the car.”

“Really? Why don’t you demonstrate what you’d have done, had you but known.”

He leaned down, touched his lips to hers for one shimmering moment. Then devoured. Instant need, wild and wicked urgency lashed him, whipping for speed. He swallowed her muffled gasp and demanded more.

Arousal, longing, love rampaged inside him, snarling into a desperate greed for her mouth under his, her body under his. The taste of her, just the first taste, sparked the fire in the blood.

While his mouth conquered, his hands plundered.

Her body exploded under his, arching, writhing as she dragged at his shirt. She pulled it up, nails scraping flesh in her rush, and over his head to heave it away. She rolled with him, her breath sobbing as they wrapped together, as they sought each other. Sought darker, deeper pleasure that slicked the skin, racked the heart.

Touch, taste, possess.

To be wanted like this, needed like this—to want and need in return—seemed impossible to her. It was like being burned alive, feeling every inch, to be aware of every inch of her body while it blazed. While he consumed.

He rolled her over on her back, jerked her hips up. And drove himself into her. She couldn’t find the breath to scream.

Stunned, staggered, helpless, she flailed for purchase, and her hands clutched the tangled sheets as she might a lifeline. His clamped over them, wrenched her arms over her head. He plunged into her, again, again. A hard, primal beat that propelled them both to the edge, and over.

When he collapsed on her, their hands remained clasped. While the candlelight flickered over the damp tangle of them, he turned his head. And gave her a kiss of exquisite tenderness.

She lay as she was, steeped in a kind of wonder.

“I was rough,” he murmured. “Did I—”

“You know what?” she interrupted, smiling in the flickering dark. “I’m going back to Nordstrom. I’m going to buy out their entire stock of La Perla. Whatever they’ve got in my size will be mine. I’m never wearing anything else.”

“While you’re out, maybe you could pick up some vitamins. A whole lot of vitamins. And minerals.”

She laughed, rolling to her side as he rolled to his, so they were nose to nose. “You have such quiet eyes. No one would ever know you’re an animal in bed.”

“You have this body that makes me want it. Are you cold?”

“Not now, possibly never again. Can you stay?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I owe you some scrambled eggs.”

EMMALINE STOOD WITH HER HANDS ON HER HIPS IN THE MIDDLE of the disaster now known as Mac’s bedroom. “I had no idea, no idea that you and Carter were such sex monkeys.”

“We are. But I have to cop to doing this all by myself.”

“Which begs the question: Why?”

“I’m organizing.”

“In this world, organizing generally means putting things in place.”

“Which will come. Do you want this purse? I never use this purse.”

Emma stepped around and through the hillocks of clothes and accessories to take the brown flap bag. “This color looks like dried poop. Maybe you don’t use it because it’s ugly.”

“It really is. I don’t know what I was thinking that day. Toss it in discard. That pile,” she added, gesturing.

Moving over, Emma dropped the bag. “You’re getting rid of these shoes.”

Mac glanced over as Emma examined one of the pair of sky-high lime green pumps. “They kill my feet. I get blisters every time I wear them.”

“They’re really great shoes.”

“I know, but I never wear them because of the blister element.” Mac shook her head at the gleam in Emma’s eyes. “They won’t fit you.”

“I know. It’s just not fair that Laurel and Parker wear the same size, and you and I are the odd men out. It’s injustice.” With the shoe still in hand, she turned a little circle. “How do you and Carter have sex in here?”

“We manage. Mostly I’ve been going over to his place just lately, but that’s really because when he sees this he wants to help. You can’t have a man involved in closet and dresser organizing. He started counting my shoes.”

“They never understand the shoes.”

“Speaking of which, put those back in the keep pile—over there. They’re too fabulous to toss. I’ll wear them when I’m going to sit down a lot.”

“Much better idea.”

“See, this he would never get. And he’d get that thoughtful furrow between his eyebrows.”

“So, other than thoughtful furrows, you two are doing good?”

“We’re doing great. Close to perfect. I don’t know why I got all twisted up and crazed about it. What about this shirt? It’s a lot like this shirt. I should get rid of one of them, but which?”

Emma studied the two black camp shirts. “They’re black. There’s no limit on black shirts. They’re wardrobe basics.”

“See. That’s why I asked you to come by.”

“You really need Parker in here, Mac. You said you started this on Thursday. Last Thursday.”

“Parker can’t come in here. She’d take one look, and her nervous system would implode. She’d be in a coma for months. I wouldn’t do that to her. And I ordered stuff. Shoe boxes, hangers, and this thing with all these hooks on it for hanging bags or belts. I think. I looked at closet organizers, but I found them confusing. Plus I’m tossing twenty-five percent. It was going to be fifty, but that was before I came to my senses.”

“But you’ve been at it for nearly a week.”