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tonight about the kind of man I am. In fact, you’re starting to sound downright reckless, which isn’t you at all. I don’t want to take advantage of that.”
    She sighed heavily. “I was afraid you’d say that. Are you ever going to try to seduce me, Mack? It’s giving me some kind of complex that you’ll apparently hook up with every other female on earth except me.”
    “I do not hook up at all,” Mack said indignantly. “At least not recently.”
    “What’s recently?”
    The pitiful truth was that he’d lost interest in all other women the minute he and Susie had started hanging out together on a regular basis. She was in his head all the time. In his heart, too. It had taken him a while, but he knew it now. Talk about lousy timing!
    “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Look, I’m going to let you go. We’ll talk about this next time I see you.”
    “Which will be on Thanksgiving at Uncle Mick’s, right?”
    He hesitated. “I don’t know about that, Susie. It’s probably a bad idea. Besides, Mick hasn’t mentioned it to me.”
    “He will,” she predicted. “And you will say yes. Even if he doesn’t track you down, I’m asking you now, and again, the correct answer is ‘Yes, thank you very much, I’d love to come.’”
    To Mack’s surprise, she sounded awfully determined. “Why?” he asked.
    “Because I haven’t had a date for one of these family shindigs since I turned eight and dragged Joe Campbell along. It was his second Thanksgiving dinner of the day and he threw up. After that, nobody ever encouraged me to bring someone.”
    “Joe Campbell always did have a weak stomach,” Mack said. “You had lousy taste in boyfriends back then.”
    “Did you not hear me say I was eight? What did I know about boys?”
    “And now?” he asked, suddenly on edge. Had he missed something? Was Susie interested in someone else? He’d seen no evidence of that, but maybe she was as sick of living a totally celibate life as he was. Maybe Thanksgiving was some kind of test. If he failed, was she ready to cut him out of her life for good? Was that what this whole conversation was about?
    “Apparently I’m still on shaky ground when it comes to figuring out men,” she said. “Which makes it even more important that the next man I turn up with at a family function is the kind of solid guy my family will approve of. They all like you, and I’m pretty sure you won’t throw up before the pumpkin pie.”
    “Not even after,” he promised. He cursed himself for his inability to stick to his guns. There were way too many ways this could go badly. Even so, he said, “Okay, I’ll see you there.”
    “Maybe you should pick me up,” she said. “That way you aren’t as likely to chicken out.”
    “And your family will think it really is a date,” he speculated. “Is that wise? I gather Mick is already getting ideas about taking our situation in hand.”
    “He is, which is annoying, but not unexpected. Frankly, though, the non-dating thing really isn’t working for me anymore,” she said, startling him. “I think it’s time for a serious attitude adjustment.”
    Once again he heard that bold, reckless note in her voice. What on earth had gotten into her? And why, heaven help him, now?
    “Susie, maybe we should rethink this,” he said urgently. “I might not be around for Thanksgiving, after all. I have some things I need to take care of.”
    “More important than showing up for dinner with friends?” she asked. “Are these things so important that you’re willing to let me down?”
    There was a warning note in her voice that caught him off guard. It strengthened his suspicion that this dinner was, indeed, some kind of a test.
    “Okay, what’s going on here, Susie? You’ve been saying stuff all night that’s not like you. Now you’re issuing some kind of subtle warning. What’s that about?”
    “Maybe I’ve decided it’s past time to shake things up,” she said. “Maybe I’m