"Hi, I'm Gwen"

"Antonio," the man said, his eyes slowly scanning the length of her body, all the way down to her toes. That made her nervous and unsure. Suddenly approaching a complete stranger inside a bar on the outskirts of town didn't seem like such a good idea. Especially when she didn't have the option of just walking out the door if he turned out to be a creep. Where would she go? She'd been in an uncharacteristically impulsive mood tonight. And talking to a man she'd never laid eyes on in her life, a man she knew she should probably stay away from, was definitely impulsive behavior. But when his eyes locked with hers again, something fluttered in her tummy and she knew she couldn't leave. Not yet anyway.

"How come you're not watching the game?" she asked. He glanced over his shoulder at the group of guys huddled around the tiny television set and shrugged.

"Football is not my sport," he said, taking a swig from the icy cold beer bottle before setting it back down on the bar top. "I prefer basketball."

"So do I," she said.

His half smile was very sexy. "Oh yeah, who's your favorite team?"

She had to think fast and hard because she'd lied to him. The truth was she didn't know the first thing about basketball or any other sport for that matter. His deep eyes were waiting for her answer. It took her a moment, but she managed to provide one. "Lakers."

"You're a Lakers fan?"

"Yes," she said, and hated that her nervousness was showed in her voice. " I'm a Lakers fan."

She got the feeling he knew she was a fraud even though he didn't show it. But she breathed a sigh of relief when he changed the subject. "Do you come here often?"

"Me...I...no," she stammered. She wasn't about to tell him that it was the first time she'd ever set foot inside a place like this and how she'd ended up there. So she turned the question on him. "What about you?"

"No. I just got to Harmony."

"Are planning on staying?"

"Haven't decided yet."

"Is this your first trip here?"

He laughed. She liked the sound of it. "Actually I grew up here. I've just been away."

"Oh." They lapsed into silence. He broke their gaze long enough to finish his beer.

"Listen, I've enjoyed talking to you, but there's somewhere I've got to be in an hour," he said, coming to his feet. "So let's get out of here. I'm staying at the motel down the street."

"What?"

"Fine your place then."

Gwen stared at him for a moment then shot to her feet in outrage. "What kind of woman do you think I am?"

He didn't even have to answer her. Gwen suddenly knew with shocking certainty exactly what kind of woman he thought she was. She didn't move, didn't speak, she was too stunned to do anything. She stared at him for a very long time. "You think I'm a...a-"

"Well, aren't you?"

"No!" she said and followed it with a hard slap to his cheek that left her palm hot and stinging. It was like slapping a brick wall. He didn't even flinch. He just stared at her, a stunned look in his eyes. She was about to cry, she could feel her eyes filling with tears of humiliation. So she did the only thing she could do, she turned a ran out of the bar.

Gwen shot up in bed, madder than hell. She hadn't been sleeping really, she'd been thinking. About last night, about the man she'd met. She'd replayed every word they'd said to each other in her mind, over and over again. And each time she thought about how their meeting had ended, it left her more furious and more furious. She'd spent the whole night dreaming about him and the whole morning thinking about him. But it was going to stop, right now, she decided. Realizing that her hand was fisted tightly around the edge of the comforter, she relaxed her fingers, took a deep breath to calm herself down and got out of bed. She pulled open the French doors and went out onto the balcony that overlooked the beautiful rose gardens below. The day was bright and cheery. But she wasn't in the mood for bright and cheery. She wasn't sure what she was in the mood for. In the past three weeks, the majority of her time was spent inside her bedroom where she'd spent hours sulking, weeping, feeling sorry for herself. But strangely, after last night she didn't feel any of those things. She hadn't thought about Ethan at all. Her mind was too consumed with thoughts of........Antonio. She remembered his name so well, she remembered everything about him--his capturing eyes, his dark hair, his tall strong body. And she hated him.

"Whatever it is, I don't have time for it right now."

"It'll only take a minute."

Luis dropped the two bags of basketballs on the gym floor and turned to face her. She'd been looking for the right time to bring up the subject she wanted to discuss with him but there seemed to be no right time when it came to Luis. Especially today. He looked even more meaner and grumpier than usual. But she couldn't put this matter on hold for another day. "Fine, one minute."

Sheridan let out a silent sigh of relief. From the look he'd given her, she'd thought he was going to growl something harsh at her. "It's about the list of tasks you give me to finish each day."

"What about it?"

"I want to know why you never give me any assignments that directly involve the kids."

"That's simple, you don't any experience dealing with kids of any age."

He was making blind assumptions about her again. She really hated when he did that. She'd decided that for once she wasn't going to lose her temper with him but it had been a useless attempt. "How would you know?"

He gave her a look that said" Do you really need to ask?" Good thing for him that's not what he actually said.

"Have you actually ever taken care of one? Do you even know anyone who has kids?"

"Well no but-"

"Well, there you have it," he said.

"Wait just a damned minute. Just because I don't have any real experience with kids doesn't mean I can't learn. If you would just give me a chance-"

"Not gonna happen," he said, walking away from her.

"I want to be in charge of ABC program."

Luis stopped in his tracks and turned around. "What?"

She folded her arms in front of her, refusing to cower under his hard stare. "You heard me."

"Do you have any idea how much work will go into that particular program. There's a reason I've postponed starting it until fall."

"Yes, Kim is on maternity leave."

"And there's no one else capable enough to run it."

"I'm capable," she said confidently.

He let out a laugh. "You won't last 10 minutes with those kids. They'll eat you alive."

"Kim seems to think I can run the program just fine," she said tersely.

"You spoke to Kim? When?"

"She was here on Wednesday to visit. But you were out."

"Well, if Kim knew you half as well as I do, she would agree with me that you are not the right person for this."

"Correction, she hasn't known me as long as you have. You don't know me at all."

"I don't want to know you. But I really don't have a choice in the matter, now do I?"

"I already know what a low opinion of me you have, Luis. But unlike you, Kim doesn't judge me because of my last name."

He didn't argue with her on that point. They both knew exactly what Luis' opinion of her was and how much satisfaction he got from reminding her. But to her surprise he didn't pursue the subject which would inevitably lead to a nasty argument. There was something different about him today, she thought now. He seemed distracted, unfocused. She'd noticed when she'd come in that morning, but hadn't really paid attention until now. He ran his hand over his face, which looked tired.

"Sheridan, you're not going to be here that long. You're community service is going to end long before Kim will be ready to return to work."

"I realize that. I'm willing to stay until she comes back."

She was relieved he didn't dismiss it right away as she'd expected. He actually thought it over for a moment but then he shook his head. "No. The answer is no," he said, once again turning and walking back towards the storage room. She followed him.

"Why are you so convinced I can't do this?"

"You can't."

"You're not even going to give me a chance?"

"No. Besides there's another problem."

"What problem."

"The Youth Center doesn't have the funds to start the program yet. The back room needs major renovations before we can use it. Then there's the cost of furniture and supplies-"

"I'll donate the money," she said, cutting him off.

"That's out of the question," he said without even a second's consideration. Sheridan wanted to strangle him.

"Why? Because it's Crane money? I can't believe yoiu would let your damned personal feelings about me and my family get in the way of something that could benefit the kids of this center!"

He didn't even deny it. "I'll find some other way to raise the money," he said calmly.

"Luis-"

"This discussion is closed, Miss Crane," he said sternly. "Don't bother me again with it." He walked out of the room before she could argue again.

This discussion is not closed Mr. Lopez-Fitzerald, she said under her breath. But for now she let it drop. Sheridan didn't know what it was about her last name that inspired such hatred in Luis, but she had a feeling it was something personal and very serious. Still refusing charity that could help the Youth Center because he didn't like the individual who was offering it was selfish. Not to mention unprofessional. She wasn't going to let Luis stop her from what she wanted though. For some reason starting this program was important to her. For the first time in months she was excited about something. Not even her engagement to Jean Luc had filled her with this kind of anticipation. She wasn't even sure why she'd agreed to marry him. She wasn't in love with him. He definitely wasn't in love with her, but she didn't know that at the time. She'd just decided it was time for her to get married, settle down, have babies. She'd always wanted a family, something she'd been deprived of. But that dream seemed so far away now. How would she be able to start a family of her own when she kept making bad choices when it came to men. What if Gwen was right, what if she never found the right man? Maybe there was no such thing. Men, who needed them? They were jerks, all of them. Especially Luis.

It took her a long moment to realize she was still standing inside the storage room, staring vacantly at the wall. She was hungry, her stomach had been growling for food for the past hour. Walking back to Luis' office to ask for a lunch break, she stopped short when she heard voices coming from inside. Angry voices. She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop but she was curious and found herself moving closer to the door to hear the heated conversation taking place inside. That's when the door flew open and she found herself locked in a stare that made her heart flutter.

Chapter 4