Lady And The Scamp: Lady And The Scamp / The Doctor Dilemma. Dianne Drake

the hall closet, then forced the door shut with his elbow. Hurrying back to make one last survey around the room, he made a mental note to have his cleaning lady come weekly instead of monthly. When he noticed a stack of old magazines still peeking out from under the stereo cabinet where he’d stuffed them, Nick used the sharp toe of his cowboy boot to kick them out of view, then proclaimed his cleaning spurt over.

      Whether he liked it or not, the den looked as presentable as he could make it, given the short distance his unexpected guest had to drive from her house to his.

      Heading for the bar, Nick poured himself a stiff drink, trying to imagine what Cassie had on her twisted little mind. “We need to talk,” she’d said in a voice as sweet as sugar. “Is it too late to drop by your place for a few minutes?”

      Nick was tempted to tell her it was too late to talk the day she filed the lawsuit against him, but something in her voice told him she was nervous. And nervous was good. Nick knew it meant that, for some reason, he now had the upper hand.

      He suspected she’d taken so much heat from the publicity his talk show was receiving that she’d made the wise decision to drop the lawsuit while she still had time. He’d hoped as much when he did everything but scream her name out over the air. He just hadn’t expected her to give up so soon.

      Finishing off his Scotch, Nick prayed the smooth liquid would calm his jittery nerves. And why shouldn’t I be a little jumpy? he asked himself. The woman had caused him nothing but trouble from the first day he met her. He only hoped she wouldn’t show up wearing those damn Daisy Dukes of hers again. If she did, Nick knew he’d be a goner.

      Not that having her fully clothed seemed to diminish her power to send his libido into orbit, because it didn’t. Besides her infamous short-shorts, Nick had also seen her in a sexy party dress. She was even wearing a man-tailored suit the day he barged into her office. Yet each time her saw her, Nick found she aroused him to the point that he felt like throwing her over his shoulder and dragging her off to his cave.

      At the sound of Earl’s shrill bark, Nick’s thoughts snapped back to the present. Bracing himself, he waited for the knock, then lingered a few seconds longer than necessary before he made a move toward the foyer. “Stay, Earl,” Nick ordered, then made the long trek down the hallway where his gorgeous opponent was waiting on the opposite side of the door. This would be the fifth time the two of them had met face-to-face.