Total Package by Cait London

couldn’t bear to take them off. She only wore them when she was inside the apartment though, fearing she would lose one.
    Why would Danya want her to take something so precious to his family, earrings that had belonged to his mother? “I would be honored,” he’d said.
    Sidney flipped to the orchid corsage she’d pressed, remembering how intent Danya had been as he fastened it to her gown…. She had to stop her father from confronting Danya. The only way to take a firm stand against Bulldog was to hit him between the eyes with good solid truth, or else he’d take over “Look, Bulldog, I know you care. But you mess in my life right now, and I won’t be happy. I’m feeling pretty bad because I failed with Ben, and I’m working things out.”
    On the other end of the line, her father sputtered and cleared his throat. “Half pint, that is no way to speak to your old man.”
    “Just making my orders clear, sir.”
    “Good enough. Call me if you need backup.”
    Because he was her father and she loved him, Sidney asked a question that had been bothering her since Fluffy’s pregnancy-announcement/godmother-request letter: “So, Bulldog, have you ever wanted to be a grandfather?”
    The silence at the other end of the line told Sidney that her father was stunned and trying to recover. “Are you pregnant, Sid?” he asked cautiously. “How the hell did that happen?”
    “I’m not, but I guess it might happen the usual way—if I were, that is. I’m a woman, you know.”
    “Oh, damn. You always were fast on the move. You don’t have one of those devilish, female biological urges do you? Now, Sid, think twice. You weren’t cut out for wife and mother duty.”
    “That’s not in my life plan at all. You know I love traveling and my work. It’s exciting and I’m good at it—and by the way, Bulldog, your wife was mother material.”
    “Sara was…special. I just wish she could have lived long enough to see you all doing so well.” Bulldog’s voice had softened. “But you girls were always more like me—on the move, busy with your careers, in the middle of everything. Sure, Sara had moods sometimes that I didn’t understand, and so do you girls, but you know you can count on me, Sid.”
    “I’m just going through some things, Dad. I’m fine,” Sidney stated carefully.
    “When you call me ‘Dad,’ I know it’s serious. Keep me posted, or I’ll break that cease-and-desist order,” her father ordered before abruptly ending the call.
    Sidney finished her candy bar and reached into her cargo pocket for another. With Ben settled in a farm in Wisconsin, raising ducks and immersing himself in fatherhood and Fluffy, she wouldn’t have to worry about meeting him in some jungle camp where the inevitable was—inevitable. She hadn’t told him off yet, and she just had to finish that job. In close proximity, she was certain to attack him, verbally, and just maybe toss him a few times. The thought that Fluffy and Ben wanted her as a godmother for their baby caused her to frown. “When hell freezes over, chum.”
    She crossed her boots that were resting on the arm of the couch and considered her next move…. Any number of assignments waited for her, but memories of Danya kept interfering with clear thinking. On impulse, she unlaced her boots,stripped off her socks and wiggled her toes, still painted with dark red polish.
    The unfamiliar sensual moment drew her thoughts to Ben. Compared to Danya, Ben had never seemed primitive during sex—or as thorough. Mr. Rabbit was only concerned about one thing; Danya seemed to have other motives and definitely had been a very thorough lover.
    But then, they’d met on a very high cliff doing the midnight moody thing, and missing his wife, he was getting ready to end it all.
    Transference was a potent motivator, and she just might have been the object Danya had transferred to—if so, he did it very well. Picking through the logical pieces of what had happened between