"Okay, so what's the deal with Tamara?" Gabe asked once they were seated in a booth at the tiny burger joint. It had only opened up a couple of weeks before, but he had already eaten here several times. The food was good and cheap. They had both ordered thick juicy hamburgers and crisp French fries, which were heaped on paper lined plastic baskets on the table in front of them.

Lana took a bite and savored it before she spoke. "I lied to her. She was trying to set me up with a blind date for her party and I said I had a date with you."

"Doesn't she know about your dating embargo?"

"Of course. I've told her at least ten times. She doesn't listen."

He took another bite and swallowed before speaking. "Do you want to go to the party?"

"I wouldn't mind. It's the blind date I object to."

So, he was better than a blind date. Which, since he knew her opinion of blind dates, didn't do his ego much good. "Ever heard of just say no?"

She gave him a dirty look. "You know very well that doesn't work with Tamara."

"True." He set his burger down and smiled at her. "I guess this means you're going to have to go out with me. On a date." Could be worse, he thought philosophically. A date was a date, whatever the reason behind it.

"I--I guess it does. Do you mind? If you have other plans I'll just tell Tamara we can't come."

Mind? Did he mind going out with her? Those ocean blue eyes locked onto his and sucked him in. Apparently she didn't have a clue that he really liked her. Usually he didn't have trouble letting a woman know he was interested. But Lana was nothing like the women he used to date. B.A. Before the Accident.

God, she looked pretty today. But then, every time he saw her she looked great. And he was starting to think about her way too much for comfort.

What was up with him? She was just a woman. A beautiful one, but so what? What was it about Dr. Lana McCoy that made her stick in his mind? That made her different from every other woman he'd dated?

Well, for one thing, she wouldn't date. Except when forced into it.

Her eyes, which had been gazing at him anxiously, dropped. "I'm sorry to put you on the spot like this. Just forget it, I'll figure something out."

"Having a date with you isn't a hardship, Lana. And no, I don't have plans." He picked up a fry and ate it thoughtfully. What would she say if they made it a real date, and not a ploy to get out of a blind date?

"I sense a 'but' coming," Lana said.

"Does it have to be the party? We could do something else. Take in a movie in Corpus."

"No." Her response was quick in coming. Then she obviously realized how harsh she sounded. "I...I...told Tamara we would be there."

Well, he had his answer. "No you didn't. You told her we'd talk about it."

She glanced away, then said, "Why don't you want to go to the party?"

"I didn't say I didn't want to go." But he didn't. For the same reason he didn't go to the Scarlet Parrot if he could help it. Because he was sick and tired of people treating him like an object of pity.

"You can't avoid everyone forever, you know."

"I'm not avoiding anyone." Which was a big, fat lie. He put down what was left of his burger and looked at her. "You really want to go, don't you?"

"It could be fun," she said a little wistfully. "I don't know that many people here yet, and I thought it would be nice to meet some more. But if you're that set against it, we can just forget the whole thing."

"We can go." It sounded like torture to him, but if that was the only way he could be with her, he'd do it.

"Are you sure?"

"I said we'd go, didn't I?"

She rewarded him with a blinding smile. "Thank you. You're very sweet."

He blinked, befuddled by her smile. "Sweet?"

She laughed. "Don't look so horrified. Hasn't anyone ever called you sweet before?"

He shook his head. "You're the first." Sweet, for God's sake. "I've been called a lot of things by women, but sweet isn't one of them."

She put her hand over his and gave it a light squeeze. "They were wrong. I think you're very sweet."

Oh, shit, he thought gazing into those blue water eyes of hers. It hit him like a marlin striking a twenty pound test line, fast, hard and deadly. The reason he couldn't forget her, the reason he liked her so much. He was falling for her. Just steps away from being sucked under and dragged out to sea.

He should tell her to forget it. Cancel the date, stop seeing her, stop being friends. Now, before he became any more involved. Because the very last thing he needed was to fall for--really fall for-- a beautiful woman again and get slammed in the teeth. He'd done that once. No way, no how, was he doing it again.

He opened his mouth to tell her he'd changed his mind. "What time should I pick you up?"