Daytime's most unorthodox couple tries to make a go of it this week, with mixed results.

Viewers know that "One Life to Live's" cranky Todd married his attorney, Téa, as part of a business arrangement to insure that he was awarded custody of his beloved daughter, Starr. But as the months have gone by, the couple has developed a grudging affection for each other. And now, they may even be falling in love.

"I give him an ultimatum," explains Florencia Lozano, in character as Téa. "I say, 'We need to find something that we connect about in our relationship that isn't about Starr. Something that's about the two of us.'

"We're both at a loss as to how to forge this relationship, though. He says something like, 'How the hell do we do that?' and I respond, 'We find our own way.' "

As a newspaper publisher, Todd (Roger Howarth) has a lot of resources at his disposal to help him "find their own way." He goes to a married employee, Briggs, and asks him to describe a "normal" evening at home, and then discusses his findings with Téa.

"I come up with the idea of going away together," says Lozano. "I tell Todd, 'I came up with the what, you come up with the where.' He comes up with a lodge in the country, which is very anti-Todd. It's cheery and full of the Christmas spirit. He's wary. What ends up happening there is that there are a couple of moments where they get close. They go on a sleigh ride, they play in the snow. But every time something starts to happen, he shuts her down."

Todd has a history of difficulty with women (he's a convicted rapist, remember?), so it's not surprising that he has, shall we say, intimacy issues.

"What he's really scared about is his past," Lozano agrees. "Intimacy, love, sexuality have always been so closely tied with violence for him. He doesn't trust himself. I tell Rachel, 'Hopefully, he'll learn to trust himself and then maybe trust me.' But he's terrified of opening himself up."

Will their festive tryst result in Todd's finally opening up?

"He has a line coming up where he says, 'If I were to let anyone in, it would be you,' " says Lozano. "She stays with him through Christmas, but, after that, I don't know where it's going to lead. She wants to stay, but she knows she should go."