Driving home, Candice's dating question faux pas troubled her even more.

"I hate going home to an empty house," she grumbled, "but this time I'll welcome it. That's the only way I'll be able to come to grips with what I've done."

A sigh escaped her as she hit her car's directional. Mirror-checking her left-lane blindspot, noticing all was clear, she steered onto the highway.

"Holding mail?" she marveled. "How could I do such a thing? He could've fired me."

She gulped. How glad she was that he hadn't said "You're fired!" to her. But no matter what Candice's reasoning here, she couldn't forget the facts. First, she made a fool of herself by asking out her employer. Second, she was rejected rejected by boss!

"Whatever possessed me to ask you out, Derek?..."

That was quite the question, but Candice instantly knew its answer.

Your biological clock is ticking, Candice, Vanessa had told her every chance she got. And Candice's twenty-fifth birthday dinner two months ago was no exception to her mother's compounded plea of: I'd like a grandchild before you can't have children anymore, honey.

Candice knew that Vanessa's wish was perhaps the desire of every mother, but it just seemed to be more urgent to Candice in her case. Candice didn't have siblings. That made her feel even greater pressure to marry and to have a child--a grandchild--for her mother. And that was a double-edged sword since Vanessa's grandchild plea was on one side, and Candice's search for a father figure and love was on the other.

But what did Vanessa expect her to do about it? It wasn't as if Candice wasn't trying to find a man. She dated. She was sexually active. But any sex that Candice had was always with protection. She hadn't found "Mr. Right" yet. She wasn't going to bring a baby into the world, when all wasn't solid with a relationship in which she was involved.

Am I supposed to marry the first guy who comes along because of you, Mom? Candice had challenged during her birthday dinner two months ago--seven days before she had started to work for Derek.

If that were the case, Candice, Vanessa had said back, you'd have married Kent Sims when you were a child. Do you really want to be alone your entire life?

On those words, Candice had left the restaurant, promising herself to never talk to her mother again.

"How could I have thought you'd be interested in me, Derek?" Candice uttered rejoining the present, and as though talking directly to him while  driving home. "Who asks out their boss, anyway?"

She thought for a long moment, then sighed out, "I do. That's who." Then, nibbling her bottom lip she continued through a whining squirm, "How am I going to face you tomorrow, Derek? Will I still answer calls? Will I still direct visitors? Will you still meet with me on the last Friday of my employment?"

Tears welled in her eyes. They stung as they held in them, then rolled down her cheeks.  Swiping them clear with her backhand, she sniffled as she checked her mirrors, hit her directional, and switched lanes.

"Did holding your mail make you think badly of me, Derek? Did my asking you out jeopardize our office friendship for my final day working for you?..."

An uneasy sound began emitting from Candice's stomach. Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, she undid two middle buttons of her hot-pink T-shirt dress. Slipping her hand between the soft, easygoing material, she settled her palm on her toned abdomen.

Feeling her bellybutton ring under her palm, she wondered about the piercing. Was her upset stomach due to the puncturing of her skin here? Had being a one-time piercing exhibitionist on her twenty-fifth birthday gotten the area infected? Or, was there another reason why her stomach was flip flopping?

Absolutely, Candice! "Derek." Remember?

"Damn," she said. "Am I in love?"

She removed her hand from her stomach, then ran it once through her slick, dark, shoulder-length coiffure. The simple, blonde-highlighted hairstyle bounced back into place without fault as she returned her hand to the steering wheel.

Then, suddenly, a wild goose came into Candice's vision. She cursed and glanced into the rearview mirror. She saw that there wasn't a car behind hers, but she did notice a disabled animal transport van on the side of the road. A caretaker with a net was scurrying about collecting roaming wildlife, as Candice's car sped by the scene.

Then she slammed on the breaks.

Candice's eyes widened with concern as her car began to skid toward a startled goose.

With no time to spare, she swerved away from the animal, steering her car onto the highway's shoulder. It was about thirty feet later when her car came to a full stop.

"Please tell me I didn't hit it," she uttered, looking quickly to the heavens.

She glanced into the rearview mirror and noticed that a motorist in a red sports car had pulled over to help the animal caretaker. She sighed in relief. Seeing the Good Samaritan had encouraged Candice to believe that she hadn't hit the goose at all.

Wishful thinking? It would've had to been a miracle, for that goose to have jumped clear of harm.

But Candice was a person of faith, too. She closed her eyes and wiped from her mind the thought of having run over one of God's innocent creatures.

Still, Candice was realistic. She emerged from the car, and prepared herself for finding the goose's inanimate body on the roadside.

But as Candice stood adjacent to the exact spot where she felt the goose had met its end, it was nowhere to be seen.

"You're not hurt somewhere out there, are you?" she asked, tentatively glancing out onto the roadway as cars roared by on it, and she eye searched for the goose.

Then, suddenly, she noticed a red sports car on the shoulder heading her way. It slowed and stopped before her, sandwiching Candice between itself and her own car just a few feet away.

Before Candice could run to the safety of her car, a voice called out to her.

"Candice?"

It was Derek! His unmistakable, melodious voice grabbed her attention. She froze in place as Derek closed the driver's side door on his fire-red Ferrari 458 Speciale A convertible, and made his way toward her.

"Are you all right?"

"Derek?" she said, bemused.

"I had pulled over to help the animal caretaker down the road, and I saw this car skid and swerve."

Candice placed her hand to her forehead, shielding the summer twilight from stinging her eyes. What was Derek doing traveling this road? He lived in the city--the opposite direction!

"I had a feeling it was you," he added.

Candice's eyes locked on Derek's, then looked down over his body. His casual attire--colored, muscle-knit spandex T-shirt, black jeans, and loafer moccasins--was foreign to her. She'd always only seen him in a tailored suit, well-starched shirt, perfectly-dimpled silk tie, and laced-leather shoes at work. His slender build had always been apparent through such workplace dress, but the fullness of his chest--and his well-built physique--was more welcoming to Candice in his present after-hours apparel here. She wondered if he realized that her heart was skipping beats. But she'd seen him a short time ago. How did he change so fast?

Maybe he's Superman and you're his Lois Lane.

At a loss for better words, Candice said through a nervous laugh, "It's me."

Silence fell between them. Had Derek been hoping to meet her? Why? Was he here to tell her that she no longer was employed by Jensen Enterprises, because she had held his mail?...

Candice passed her hand once through her hair and her face wrinkled as she winced up at him. "I uh...thought I...hit something and--"

"Quack! Quack! Quack!" spat the goose, as it waddled directly toward Candice from the roadside. Its sudden shriek and approach startled her silent and she jumped into Derek's arms.

"Hey!" Derek replied, catching her.

"Quack! Quack!" spat the goose, not far from them.

The creature then paused, glanced up at Candice, and appeared to be assessing the situation.

"I think he likes you," Derek teased through a friendly whisper.

Well, how about you, Derek?

Derek pulled Candice more securely to his chest. Wow! She was a lot softer than any barbell he'd ever curled. She also smelled much sweeter than any gym in which he ever worked out.

When the goose seemed to conclude that all was right, amazingly, it waddled back in the direction of its caretaker down the road.

Derek inhaled deeply. With Candice in his arms, he thought about when he'd hired her. He remembered the bottle of perfume he'd given her--the name of which escaped him now, but not its scent. He liked the cologne test sample when he had received it from the manufacturer, and that's why, he recalled, he'd given it to Candice.

The fragrance intoxicated Derek now, as it mixed with the natural sweetness of her skin. It pleased him that she still wore his gift--close to two months after he'd welcomed her with it. His blood raced. He sensed warmth growing below his waistline under his fly.

This shouldn't be happening.

Derek had always been married to his job. He also knew that in order to be a successful entrepreneur, certain things in his life needed to suffer. He'd long ago accepted being a bachelor. He didn't have time for a wife and children. Family living was not for him. Early quitting-time hours were not in his portfolio. That was yet another reason why he refused long-term relationships--they ran your life. And he knew all about that.

Yes, Derek was quite the ladies' man. But he never knew exactly why women wanted to date him. Some part of him believed that it was because he was hot. Ultimately, though, he suspected that women were just interested in his money, and in sex with a billionaire.

Derek's suspicions had helped to make him very wealthy, but at what price glory? He was forty years old and alone.

But the murder of one of Derek's business associates, Stewart Agic--just prior to Candice being hired--still haunted him. It had been Stu's live-in girlfriend--Mia Fines, a gold digger--who had killed Stu while he slept. Then she'd taken her own life.

Guilt ridden, Derek couldn't understand how he had misread Mia. She'd been his secretary, and he'd introduced her to Stu.

That shattering murder-suicide  happened at the same time Mallory Baker--Derek's girlfriend--left him, too.

But Derek's business life wasn't any better than his personal one. His women's daytime-apparel catalog line was suffering at the hands of the competition. And due to the circumstances in his life now, he was blinded as to how to save it.

So, even though Derek had been attracted to Candice when they'd met, his relationship hesitations--and focus on saving his catalog line--had encouraged him to keep their relationship professional only. But he knew there was more to it than that.

Still, just as a leopard couldn't change its spots, Derek had to go with what he then felt most comfortable embracing--a living-single business life, which had been his new apparent love. That was, until this very moment, when Candice jumped into his arms, and forced him to, instantly, change his mind.

Derek suddenly knew now that he could love again. That he wanted to love her. That his life would not be content until their bodies were one. The only problem? Derek had been out of practice for a while--and not just because of Mallory leaving him, but also due to his impotency. So, how did he intend to make Candice his?

He couldn't say for certain now. That's because his waistline excitement was stalling his brain.

But why hadn't being with Candice at the office--when she'd asked him out--given Derek an erection like now? That would've encouraged him to realize so much more at that time.

But Candice's body wasn't in Derek's arms back at work. Her soft, highlighted hair hadn't been draped over his skin. The straight-flipped style hadn't been teasing him into wanting to investigate between her legs--to learn the natural color of her locks. Hot damn! She was making him feel so alive.

If Candice could stir Derek to life by just being in his arms, he could only imagine how intense his pleasure would be if she were naked under him in bed. He inhaled another breath of her. Tantalizing.

"You thought you might have hit something?" he asked, raising his brow. "Apparently, you didn't."

Candice's dark eyes gazed into Derek's baby blues.

"Then why'd it come after me?"

Derek laughed wholeheartedly. He needed something to calm his wild thoughts of wanting to make love to Candice on this public roadway.

"It was just protecting its young," he said. "And now they're heading back to their keeper." He cocked his head and smiled in the direction of the man with the net on the roadside. "See."

But Candice couldn't take her eyes off Derek. She watched as he watched the goose and its family waddle into a cage that sat at the happy keeper's side.

"No reason to be afraid, Candice. Just relax."

Relax? How could she with her face nestled in Derek's pectoral muscles? With her arms wrapped tenderly around his neck? With his powerful biceps hugging her securely? With his bare skin touching hers? With her nipples rising?

But what was Candice doing? Flirting? Was she nuts? After she'd already put herself on shaky ground, because of holding his mail? After she'd made a fool of herself by asking him out?

But what did that matter? Candice knew that Derek wasn't the man for her. He'd already told her that--without actually saying so--in the office when she believed he was turning her down. So, why was she pushing the "couple" issue again now?

Because she had a life plan to fulfill!

Candice wanted to find a man who would love her--one that would want to start a family with her. Not to mention have a man who'd enable Vanessa to see that she--Candice--could find a husband on her own.

A moment later, Candice leapt from Derek's hold.

"I'm sorry," she said, standing on the asphalt as cars whizzed by them.

Derek watched as Candice pulled on the length of her T-shirt dress that stopped inches before her knees. How fortunate, he thought--mentally licking his lips--that the fabric wouldn't stretch any further.

As Candice continued to fidget in place, Derek spied the raised peaks of her small, rounded breasts. They were pressing out the material of her one-piece dress. My hold, he thought, brought those peaks to life.

As Derek's eye-intrusion progressed, he noticed Candice's belly ring peek through the button opening of her dress. Quite an aphrodisiac, he remarked inwardly, a devilish grin stretching his lips. His desire to see her naked intensified.

"Well...I'm just all...unkempt, huh?" Candice said, buttoning her dress, attempting to hide her embarrassment with giggles.

Derek passed his hand over his mouth admiring her. The scent of her still lingered on his fingers. It teased at his nose, again. Damn, she smelled delicious. Damn, her perky breasts were inviting. Damn, he'd love to explore the rest of her with more than just his eyes.

No other woman had set Derek so instantaneously ablaze. Now that Candice had, he swore never to allow space between them again.

"It happens," he said.

"Yes...it happens."

The song "When the Moon Hits Your Eye" suddenly came to Candice's mind. It was a tune that her mother had often sung whenever they were together, and Vanessa felt that she had spied the perfect man for her daughter.

"I really need to talk to you, Candice," Derek finally said. "Is at your place okay? We are almost there."

"Look, Derek." She swallowed hard. "If this has anything to do with my...you know..."

He picked up where she left off and said, "About asking me out?"

"Well, now that you mentioned it," she said, toying.

"Yes...?" he asked with an arched brow.

Geez, Derek. Up and down. You're playing my emotions like a Duncan yo-yo!

She paused. Had she heard him correctly, though? Was he coming onto her now?

But no, Candice couldn't accept his charm. She shouldn't be flirting with him. He wasn't interested in a relationship with her. He didn't want a wife. He didn't want children. Didn't his unresponsiveness in his office clearly state all of that to her, before she ran out? And what of her mail holding? Was Derek just being smooth here on the road, so that he could encourage a safer meeting somewhere else, and then fire her for her mail holding?

Candice's uneasiness now forced Derek to hold a hardened expression on her. Was he making a fool of himself? Right then he concluded "yes," and his mind switched gears as the excitement in his pants began to wane.

Still, in spite of her own hesitations, Candice asked mischievously, "Did you have something to say?"

"Hmm," he replied lowly.

For so long, Derek's motto had been never mix business with pleasure...until now. So, despite his best efforts to remain distant, he felt the need to admire Candice from head to toe. As he did so, he recalled the rhyme "This Little Piggy Went to Market," as he spied the unpolished nails of her perfectly symmetrical toes. Such cuteness, he thought, imprisoned under the single strap of her low-heeled shoes.

The thoughts of Candice with him intoxicated Derek more with every passing second. Cupid's arrow had struck him...hard. His again blooming erection was personal proof.

"So, they tell me," he finally said.

"Tell you what?" she asked, bemused.

Derek stood silent. Then a hardy laugh escaped him. "I don't know. I lost my train of thought."

"Happens to me, too," she said, girlishly. "Must be all the...traffic noise."

Devilish grins stretched each of their lips. She, as well as he, knew that the "traffic noise" had nothing to do with his loss of concentration. But, for now, each was willing to embrace such reasoning. It was the only way to curb their ascending roadside inner desires for one another.

"So, we'll meet at your house?" he said.

Candice's mind jumped. She stared at him, wordless. What did he mean by "meet at her house"?

If she didn't want to meet him at her house--because of the earlier events of the day--okay. But now her boss was asking her something. Should she refuse? Could she?

She sent him a wince that she hoped passed as a smile and confessed, "I didn't mean anything by asking you out, Derek. I just...I'll never bring it up again."

Derek's face wrinkled. Did she really mean that? If she did, he knew there was a way to change her mind about that--and he'd find the answer.

"Look, Candice, it's not safe to keep standing here. Let's take the next exit, find a diner, and talk."

Talk? Candice needed a cold shower!

"Oh...well...why don't we meet at my place? I mean...we are almost there," she nervously giggled.

"My thought exactly," he said with ease.

"Just follow me," she said. "But if I lose you--"

"I've got your address right here," he interrupted through a beaming grin, as he tapped his temple with his index finger.

Candice couldn't believe it. If Vanessa were here, her mother would tell her that Derek's memorization of her address was a sign of longing intimacy with her.

"It pays to be boss, I guess," Candice gushed.

He sent her a simple smile, then said, "My car's low on fuel. I'll stop at the gas station, then meet you at your place."

"See you there," she said and hurried into her car.

Saddled with confusion, Candice's emotions did a double take as she drove away. What had that gleam in Derek's eyes meant? At the office, Derek's silence had told Candice that he only wanted a platonic relationship.

I can be professional in a house meeting with him, can't I?

But Candice's heart was now telling her otherwise. She knew that because of how it was fluttering with delight, as naughty Derek-Candice thoughts as a couple danced through her brain.