Off Limits

She was blue collar. He was gold cufflinks. She was a savvy city girl. He was to the manner born. A Harvard graduate, he was an architect/urban planner, while she was a not-so-gay divorcee earning her independence behind the wheel of a New York City taxicab.

As they toured a rundown neighborhood, Ben Shipley envisioned sparkling renovations, while Meanie Protheroe struggled against dreams of suburban bliss. They had nothing in common. Clearly he was a man who could see beauty behind squalor, but -- relentless as he was -- could he see the glimmer of attraction behind Mel's sharp-tongued retorts, the bud of love waiting to burst into flower behind her rapidly crumbling defenses?