“Bastards,” Gina snarls. Dante and Carlo have eyes like flint; both of them are suddenly more than a little scary, even though I know it’s not me they’re angry at.

“I panicked. I was terrified the PI would find Sophie and just take her. And I knew, if they got her, I’d never get her back. People like the Carringtons … they can hire all the best lawyers, who know every trick in the book. No way would I be able to fight them.

“So I rushed out of work and got in my car to go home, and of course the guy followed me. Then I realized he must not know where she was, and I was going to lead him right to her. I drove toward a daycare center I knew about, and then when I was almost there, I acted like I’d just realized he was behind me, and started driving crazy, trying to lose him.

“I wound all around the daycare center’s neighborhood for a few minutes, like I was trying to get in there without him figuring out my destination. Went right by it a couple of times. Then I ran a yellow light and got away from him.”

My audience smiles in grim appreciation. “Smart,” Carlo murmurs. “Give him a decoy to occupy him for a few minutes.”

“I got home as fast as I could, and Holly helped me pack Gilda. I left almost everything behind because there wasn’t time. On the way out of town, I stopped at an ATM and got out the last of my cash.

“We’ve been driving at night and sleeping during the day, in the car. And then this morning, Gilda started overheating, and you know the rest.”

There’s a pause. Then Dante says, “That’s why you didn’t pack clothes.”

Of course he noticed. My face gets warm. “All I could think about was getting everything Sophie needed into the car as fast as possible.”

“Unfit mother, my ass.” He mutters it under his breath, but it spreads a warm glow through me.

Carlo says, “Gina was right, Heather. We’re gonna fix this. Gilda picked the right town to break down in.”

At that, I have to blink back tears. “Thank you,” I whisper. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

Gina says, “I think we’re about the same size. I’ll bring over some clothes you can wear.” She and Carlo exchange glances as they stand up.

I forget what I was going to say, because the way he looks at her … and the way she looks at him. It puts a lump in my throat.

I get more hugs, another from Gina and one from Carlo, and then they’re gone and Dante says, “You wanna take a shower? Or a bath? I got a robe you can put on.”

Such a simple but important thing. More than anything else that’s happened, it moves me that he would offer me that kind of care. “That would be great.” My voice is hoarse because I’m trying not to cry — again. “Thank you.”

He acts like my voice doesn’t sound funny at all. “There’s a regular shower/tub combo in the hall bathroom, or a big tub and a separate shower in the one between the bedrooms.”

“Just a shower is fine.” I can wash my hair, and it’s faster in case Sophie wakes up. Dante gets a set of towels from the hall closet, and then I’m alone, free to indulge for five glorious minutes. As quick as I can, I peel off my clothes and get under the spray, which is so strong I want to stand there for an hour.

The hall bath has been remodeled from whatever was here originally, because everything is new. I know what cheap looks like, and the floor, the tile, the fixtures, are … not cheap. The other bathroom must be just as impressive.

Maybe, if I’m here more than one night, I can try out the tub.

As soon as the thought appears, I banish it. I can’t stay here. Dante is too tempting. Until all this is over and Sophie is safe, I can’t give the Carringtons anything to work with. A nun should have a racier personal life than I do.

Tomorrow, I’ll ask him about staying with one of the nonnas. For Sophie’s sake. He’ll understand.

I race through washing my hair and cleaning up. The shower has everything I need, shampoo and soap and body wash. There’s even a brand-new disposable razor. After I’m done with everything that needs doing, I give myself thirty extra seconds to enjoy the water pounding my stiff muscles.

When I step out, I feel like a new woman. Toweling off, I wrap my hair, then crack the door open enough to see that Dante has draped the robe over the outer doorknob. It’s huge on me, even with all my curves, and hangs past my knees when it probably barely covers Dante’s ass.

Don’t think about his ass. The robe smells like him, clean and sharp and masculine. My inner muscles clench, and there’s an ache between my legs.

You’re a nun. Think like a nun. That doesn’t work because I have absolutely no clue what goes through a nun’s mind.

I hang up the towel that was wrapped around my hair, wishing I had a blow dryer. And some makeup. No, you don’t. You’re a nun, remember?

I’m suddenly glad that the robe is so big, and that it’s a plain, thick, cotton terry. It covers more than normal clothing ever would. Steeling myself, I leave the bathroom and go down to the living room.

Dante’s there, on the couch, eyes on the flat-screen tv on the wall, where a baseball game is playing. He looks my way, and his eyes go dark.

I freeze. Evidently, the robe didn’t work the way I hoped it would. He looks away, a muscle moving in his jaw, and then flicks off the tv and is up on his feet in one graceful motion.

Run! cries the part of my mind that feels like prey. But I can’t. The rest of me doesn’t care at all that his big, gorgeous body is stalking across the floor toward me.

He comes to a halt when we’re barely an inch apart. My brain isn’t working any better than the rest of me, so I stay silent. Dante, though, he has words ready.

“I’d say I should have given you some sweats to put on, instead of my robe. But I don’t think there’s anything you could wear that would stop me from wanting to fuck you.”

All my chaste good intentions vanish in a wave of heat, and my brain and body gleefully join forces to gang up on my will. You deserve this. One night with a good, sexy man. Something you can remember on cold nights if you have to run again.

I will never be a nun, because it takes approximately half a second for them to convince me. Closing the gap between us, I press against him, hands on his chest.

Dante doesn’t ask if I’m sure. He picks me up by my ass, and my legs wrap around him, and then our mouths fuse together.