Carly raced around KJ’s house helping him and Taylor restock the refreshment tables. KJ was captain of the Seawolves and tonight was the basketball team’s pre-season bash at his house near Stony Brook University. They had been practicing throughout September and October and were getting antsy for the real deal to begin.

KJ and Taylor had met in an anatomy class at Stony Brook where they were both grad students, her in psychology, him in occupational therapy. Carly couldn’t help thinking they’d make a great professional team. She tried not to envy the romance that had bloomed between her roommate and KJ, as she watched the sexy six-foot-seven African American athlete with the cutest baby face pull Taylor in for a smooch.

As Carly took a tray of spicy buffalo wings out to the main room and set them on the long table next to a tub of ice filled with bottles of beer and wine, she wondered where the heck her own so-called profession was going. She had signed on with Dex, who was now her agent, and he had set up a few club bookings in Manhattan and the nearby suburbs to test the waters.

But where would it lead? Unlike Taylor and KJ who could apply for jobs when they finished school, the music business was a crap shoot. Lately she’d been getting jittery and wanting to back out. She wished she had someone to talk with about her future, like she knew Taylor and KJ did with each other.

Someone like Jeff.

No. She had to stop thinking about him. She was trying so hard, taking steps to grab a life of some kind that had meaning. Why was there still some stubborn part of her that thought it should include Jeff?

Here she was at this party with tons of hot guys and she’d promised Taylor she would do some major flirting. But she couldn’t get Jeff out of her mind—or her heart. Yeah, the one he’d broken.

She opened a beer and talked for a while with a couple men from the team, but she encountered the same old problem. She was older than most of them, and even those who were her age seemed young to her. Having been out in the world working to support herself since she was eighteen—and taking care of her dying mother until she was twenty-one—Carly didn’t have a lot in common with guys who went right into college, only working summer jobs, some still being supported by their folks. She didn’t hold it against them; heck, she envied them, but it just meant they didn’t have a shared reality that connected them.

So how come she and Jeff connected so easily and so completely?

There I go again—can’t get my mind off Jeff.

As Carly strolled away from a conversation she wasn’t really a part of, she even thought she heard Jeff’s voice somewhere in the room.

Then she heard that laugh. Jeff’s laugh.

She pushed her way through the crowded party toward the sound of it.

And there he was. Talking to KJ.

Her knees went soft, but she held herself upright. No way was she going to weaken at the sight of him.

His gorgeous green eyes and that wonderful mouth and those skillful surgeon’s hands.

The memory of them all over her body.

As if some electrical force were pulling her to him, she maneuvered through the room to get closer, telling herself she only wanted to hear what they were saying so she could figure out why in the world Jeff would be here at this party. She wouldn’t dare let him see her and certainly had no intention of talking to him.

“Aww, don’t bench me, Doc,” KJ said. “I’m in grad school now so I’m not allowed to play past this year.”

“Let me take another look at the MRI on Monday. Give me a call and—” Jeff froze midsentence.

Oh no. She was the reason. He saw her.

Carly would have chalked it up as a point in her favor, except when he met her eyes with a look first of shock, then desire, then something that resembled love, a palpable ache pierced her heart and she could hardly breathe.

She made an abrupt about-face and hurried away.

Carly found Taylor in the kitchen, putting a tray of jalapeno poppers into the oven. “Jeff’s here. Why is he here? Tell me you didn’t plan this cruel joke.”

“What are you talking about?” Taylor said, concern in her face.

“I just saw him. He’s in the living room talking to KJ. Apparently he knows him.”

“I can’t believe it.” Taylor stepped into the hallway, her hand snatching the arm of Manny, who played point guard on the team. “Who is that guy over there talking to KJ?”

Manny glanced away and then back to her. “That’s Dr. Rocklyn. He’s the team doc. Guess KJ’s trying to convince him he’s good to go after that ACL surgery.”

“Oh. Thanks, Manny.” Taylor turned back to Carly with a look of annoyance. “Wouldn’t you know it? I’m so sorry. But I doubt he’ll stay for the whole party.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Carly said, shaking her head, and sensing a storm of tears wanting to burst out of her. “I’ve got leave. Now. Forgive me?”

“Nothing to forgive, sweetie. I just feel rotten about this.”

Carly gave her best friend a hug and made her way to the upstairs bedroom where she had left her pocketbook and jacket. Seeing Jeff had rattled her, but worse yet was him seeing her. And that look in his face. It would have been better if he’d pretended not to know her. If he’d quickly looked away and discounted her.

But that wasn’t Jeff. He had a childlike innocence to him, an honesty and corny forthrightness that she admired.

And loved.

She grabbed her denim jacket, wanting to race out of here before she put herself into a crying jag. But then the bedroom door opened.

And Jeff walked in.

He shut the door and locked it, then stepped toward her.

Carly took a step back, but she couldn’t form any words and wasn’t sure her voice would work if she tried.

They both stood there, stock still, staring at each other.

In a millisecond she was in his arms, gripping him so tight there was no space between them as they tangled their limbs together in a frenzied dance.

Jeff’s hands moved frantically, as if needing to touch every spot on her body. He grasped a fistful of her hair and tilted her head back and his lips devoured her mouth. He tasted of wine and something salty, his scent that familiar lavender and citrus that would forever remind her of Paris.

A hand went under her shirt to knead her breast as he trailed kissed down the side of her face to her throat. Desire shot through her like an electric current. Carly’s hands stroked his back, moving down to that firm butt she used to grip when he plunged into her, and all she wanted now was to have him inside her again.

Jeff turned them, pinned her against the wall, and pressed the hard shaft in his jeans against her core. A moan escaped her lips.

He moved her bra aside and his thumb traced around her nipples, the other hand reaching down into her pants. He stroked her clit, then dipped a finger inside her folds, her wet desire coating his fingertips.

Whimpering, she wanted him so badly, Carly unbuttoned his jeans and gripped his silky hard cock. Jeff gasped and the scorching heat between them soared. They tore at each other’s clothes, stumbling toward the bed, the two of them so wrapped up in each other that nothing else mattered.

Carly fell back onto the bed and Jeff followed, covering her with his body, and the weight of him on top of her felt so good.

He kissed her like there was no tomorrow, then lifted his head, his wild gaze boring into her. “I’ve been missing you so much it hurts,” Jeff said, his voice a ragged whisper.

Carly’s heart stuttered and a hot and all-consuming love overwhelmed her. He reached over the bed and fished around on the floor, coming back with a condom in his hand. As soon as he covered himself, Carly wrapped her arms and legs around him, her body pulling him in. And when he sank into her, she sighed and savored the glorious feel of him.

For a moment they just held still, their eyes fixed on one another, their joining like a welcome home song. Then the heat flamed into fire again and he drove into her hard and fast with a desperation and intensity that Carly matched with every thrust.

They exploded together in spasms of ecstasy, Jeff swallowing her shout with a kiss that covered her mouth and claimed her as his.

Yes, Carly thought, this man belongs to me and no one else.

Jeff and Carly lay there together as their panting breaths settled, his forehead resting on hers. Staying connected, neither willing to let go.

When his phone rang, Jeff looked startled, as if he had forgotten the outside world existed. “I’m on call tonight,” he said, and pushed back, quickly rolling off the bed.

He grabbed his phone and glanced at the Caller ID. His face went pale. “Hi, Peyton. Yeah, I got delayed.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Oh no. Oh geeze, I’m so sorry. No, no, that’s not gonna happen. Just lie down and rest. You want me to pick some up? Sure, I can. Don’t you worry. I’ll be right home.”

Jeff ended the call and raced around getting his clothes back on. Carly noticed that he was avoiding looking at her. Suddenly she felt very naked.

And alone.

She got off the bed and pulled on her underwear, pants and blouse, then finally broke the silence. “What’s going on, Jeff?”

He tied his running shoes, stood, and faced Carly with an expression that told her she wasn’t going to like hearing what he said.

“Peyton’s come down with a flu. I’ve been harping on her for not showing up when she says she will and here I am when I was supposed to be home by now. Some bad stuff went down when she was kid so she gets scared when she’s sick, and, well, I wasn’t there when she needed me.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Carly. I never should have let this happen. And it can never happen again.”

She burned with rage. “That’s all you’ve got to say to me? Oh, believe me, it will never happen again. Don’t you ever even speak to me again. For all your success you are a pathetic loser. I’ll be glad when Peyton flattens you. And trust me, the little ho of Sarvinger’s will do just that.”

Refusing to be the one left behind, Carly ran from the room, leaving Jeff in her wake.

After picking up a bottle of Coke and some Pepto Bismal, Jeff hurried back to his house in Bridgehampton. Before getting out of his car, he used a sanitizer wipe on his hands and face, hoping the alcohol smell would cover the scent of sex on his skin.

The scent of Carly.

How had he let himself fall into this? He wasn’t the kind of man who cheated on his partner and took conscious steps to hide it. It made him feel dirty and ashamed.

He hurried from the garage, dumped his bag on the kitchen table, and found Peyton in the living room curled up on the sofa.

She looked up at him. “I’m so sick, Jeff.”

He touched her cheek. “You’re burning up.”

“Am I going to die?” Her voice was tiny. She always turned into a frightened little girl when she was ill.

“No, sweetheart. That’s just the fever making you feel lousy. Have you taken any aspirin?”

She shook her head and started to cry. Jeff scooped her up in his arms, cradling her against his chest.

“Let’s get you to bed. I’ll bring you some Coke and aspirin. Maybe you can eat a little chicken soup later on.”

She clung to him. “Tell me I’m not going to die. I’m so scared.”

“It’s just a flu, Peyton. Remember how I took care of you last year when you got that horrible bug? You’re gonna be fine.”

“I’m so glad you’re here. What would I do without you?” She sobbed. “I don’t have anyone else in this whole world.”

Guilt assailed him. How could he even think of leaving her? When they were planning the wedding last winter, she had no relatives to invite, no girlfriends to add to the wedding party. It was going to be all Rocklyns, even the bridesmaids. As brilliant as Peyton was academically, she had never learned how to get on in the world, how to make friends.

At the top of the stairs he turned right toward the master bedroom.

“No! Don’t put me there. Take me to your room, please, Jeff, please.”

He stopped. Yes, the guest bedroom had become “his” room. He still couldn’t make himself sleep in the master bedroom.

As he carried her to the guest room, a realization hit him—after five months he still hadn’t had sex with Peyton. Simple chitchat with no sex and no real intimacy had become the norm. She didn’t even bother climbing into his bed in the middle of the night the way she had a few months ago.

Was that the reason he couldn’t resist Carly today?

As he set Peyton down and tucked her in, the answer came to him loud and clear.

No. Carly was the reason he couldn’t have sex with Peyton.

Man, am I screwed up.

As he ran up and down the stairs, taking care of Peyton, Jeff remembered Carly saying she never wanted to see him again. And he decided that was for the best. Peyton was a rare bird, a special person that most people wouldn’t understand. A woman who needed only him.

It was time to let Carly go and rekindle the love he’d had for Peyton.

And to make her his wife.