"You're remarkable."

"I'm…" She chuckled and shook her head, glancing at her lap self-consciously, for this time she thought his compliment sincere. "I'm not remarkable at all. I'm very ordinary and filled with flaws. That's only one of them I just foolishly blurted out."

"Foolishly? I wouldn't call it foolish. I'd call it honest, and a little humble. Not many people assess their motives with that kind of clearheadedness. Is your… Paul Hildebrandt as honest as you?"

She met his eyes again, surprised at how she suddenly hated to recall that there was a Paul Hildebrandt while in this man's very enjoyable company. Guilt immediately followed, making her sing Paul's praises perhaps a little too vehemently. "Oh, yes! He's not only honest, he's hardworking, successful and bound to give me an absolutely secure life."

Joseph Duggan studied the clear-eyed blond woman whose first appearance had captivated him thoroughly. Throughout the pleasant meal with her that first impression had only been magnified. She was a remarkable woman-pretty, shapely, intelligent, the tiniest bit shy and the tiniest bit bold, honorable to her man and honest about herself.

But dammit, she was spoken for!

Chapter 2

Winnifred Gardner wasn't a morning person. She usually had to claw her way up from sleep like a person brushing thick spiderwebs aside while ducking through an abandoned building. The next morning, however, she came awake as if a light had been turned on directly above her face.

Joseph Duggan, she thought, staring straight at the ceiling. You're going to see him again today! You're going to walk down an aisle with him. You're going to be photographed beside him. You're going to share the head table seated side by side with him. You're going to dance with him. She smiled, recalling that he'd claimed to be no dancer. She found that hard to believe. He was one smooth mover was Joseph Duggan. In more ways than one, she suspected.