Della joined Perry and Paul at their table. She had regained control of herself.

"How was I, Chief?" she asked Perry with a tentative smile.

"Good enough, Della, that I may have to place an advertisement in the Help Wanteds."

"You were wonderful, Della." Paul said smiling at her.

"You're both too kind. And I'm not quitting my day job."

Perry looked at his watch. "Paul, I'm late for another engagement. Can you take Della home?"

"Certainly, Perry," Paul replied, though it seemed to Della that his enthusiasm was lacking.

Paul was quiet on the drive back. So was Della, though her mind was racing. She had thought she knew what she wanted. Now she wasn't sure. But if she didn't move quickly, she might lose Paul. What she had in mind was desperate, but it was kill or cure, and it would burn her bridges behind her.

When they arrived, Della was ready.

"You'll come in for a quick drink with me, won't you, Paul? I want to thank you for all your help with the song."

It took a bit of persuasion, but finally Paul agreed to come in for a minute. He sat down on the couch while Della went to the kitchen to mix the drinks. She returned with two Bloody Marys. As she moved towards Paul, her heel caught on the edge of the carpet. Tomato juice spilled over his shirt and sports jacket.

"Quick! Get them off and I'll rinse them before the cloth can stain!

She practically tore the jacket and shirt off of him. She thought to herself that maybe she should have spilled it on his pants as well, but that might have been too much. In the bathroom she ran water over the shirt and sponged off the jacket. As the water ran, she hurriedly undressed. A glance in the mirror confirmed that, thirty or not, she still had the figure that had turned boys' heads in high school. She slipped on her sexiest silk nightgown. It hugged every curve and really left very little to the imagination. A quick spray of perfume, and she returned to Paul.

"I think all of the tomato juice came out," she said brightly.

Paul's mouth was working, and his eyes were fixed on her, bulging slightly. He'd never seen anything like this before.

Della sat on his lap, and molded her body against his bare chest. She noted the broad muscled shoulders, and a series of scars on his chest.

"Paul, I want you to make love to me. It's been a special night – I want it to be even more special." Maybe, she thought, if I take this final step, there won't be any turning back.

"Della." Paul's voice was husky with emotion. "I've never made love to a woman…"

"Like me." Della finished his sentence. "I know, Paul. I'm not a blonde and I'm inexperienced, but I am a woman, and I want you. Now."

Paul's face fell. "Della, I'm a fraud. I'm a virgin too. I wouldn't even know where to begin."

In spite of herself, Della began to laugh. Her grand sacrifice had fallen apart. She hugged him. "We'll have to both learn, I guess. But maybe not tonight." Then she kissed him. His arms closed around her, and held her tightly.

"Paul, where did you get those scars?"

"Korea. I was a dumb 18-year-old who thought he was a soldier. I didn't get out of the way fast enough."

Della thought back to Perry's file on Paul. He had done a thorough check on him before hiring his agency. There had been the letter from Army Records, setting out the award of the Silver Star to Private Paul Drake, "For gallantry at Unsan. Pvt. Drake, although wounded, destroyed a machine gun post that was pinning down his company."

Poor Paul, she thought. He thought he was playing at being a soldier, and he thinks he plays at being a private investigator. And he doesn't know that he's the real thing. He needs a good woman to bring him to give him confidence. And she knew that it was Paul whom she really loved. She could be Paul's and still have her special relationship with Perry.

Paul was asleep. Della looked at him fondly. Gently she loosened herself from his embrace, and settled him comfortably. She put a soft throw over his naked chest, and a blanket over that.

This is becoming a habit, she thought to herself.