Husband Wanted: Will Train

He did move back into his own apartment the next day, but he called her an hour after he'd left. He called her yet again in the evening when she came back from the restau rant, and she didn't feel deserted at all. In fact, she almost felt loved.

Though he'd never said the words, there was something in the way he looked at her, something in the way he treated her, that made her think it was a possibility.

After all, he'd taken her crazy family in stride. They hadn't made him cringe, as they did most people. Could this be the one man in the entire world for her? She lived on hope for two weeks, during which she saw him almost every day.

Then he asked her to meet his parents.

"My parents are having a big party on Saturday," he said one afternoon as they came in from a game of ten nis. "They'd like you to come."

She put her racquet away carefully, wondering how she could get out of it, knowing she couldn't possibly.

"Can you get away from the restaurant?"

She steeled herself to turn with a smile. "Of course. Nancy can take over for me. But where do they live?" Could he tell she was uneasy?

"On Montecito Drive."

She'd been afraid of that. Montecito Drive was one of the most wealthy areas of Destiny Bay. "What kind of party is it? What should I wear? How should I act?"

"Be yourself. In fact, let me buy you a dress to wear, all right?"

She was skeptical, but after all, he would know best how she should dress for his parents. "All right."

She regretted that permission as soon as she saw the dress. It came in a box from the most expensive shop in town, but the sarong-style, body-clinging cotton frock in riotous colors was definitely island-inspired.

"I want you to wear this with your hair down and an orchid pinned behind your ear," he said firmly.

"Oh, Ross!" she wailed.

"Come on now. These aren't business people or restau rant people or any people you need to impress with your professional appearance. These are my parents. And I don't want you to be impressive with them. I want you to be yourself." He touched her chin. "I want them to see you the way I see you."

She waited. Just one step further and he could say something sure and complete about how he felt about her. But he pulled back.

"Wear it for me," he coaxed instead.

She turned away, disappointed. "Of course I will," she said, but the tone of her voice was hollow.