Chapter Two

 

 

Ryan Hennessey knocked on Annie’s door. When she didn’t answer right away, he used his key and stepped inside. He immediately felt transported to another place—Annie’s place—where most days it smelled fresh and lemony, but right now it smelled like cinnamon and pine. Christmas music played softly, and lights twinkled on the Christmas tree.

It wasn’t Christmas.

It wouldn’t be Christmas for another six months.

But ever since he’d known her, Annie celebrated Christmas in June. While Jean Marie Christmas—so named after Annie’s mother—could have been bittersweet, it was almost always a time of joy, and Annie’s family and closest friends got into the spirit with her. Only he, however, had ever been granted the privilege of spending the final evening with her.

“Babe, are you here?” he called out, just as he registered the sound of running water.

“I’m…shower…come on in!”

As always, the sound of her voice made him smile. Hell, just walking into her place eased the pressure in his chest and relaxed his tight muscles. No matter how stressful a day he had, he could always count on his best friend to make him feel better.

That’s why spending two months away from her while he’d fought forest fires in the Northern California redwoods had been a mixed blessing. He’d loved the work, especially the four weeks he’d spent working with smoke jumpers. He’d never felt his adrenalin pump so hard. Had loved the thrill of flying into a desolate wilderness area, jumping out of a plane, picking up an ax, and conducting the initial mode of attack. It was brutal and exhilarating and oddly comforting, because it also gave him a break from the personal tragedies he often witnessed when fighting urban fires.

All that had been tainted because he’d missed Annie.

The muscles that had relaxed upon walking into her apartment tightened again, and his stomach twisted into knots. He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped on the text he’d received hours earlier. Before he’d gotten it, he would have sworn he’d never leave San Francisco, mainly because Annie was here. But now Ryan was being offered a spot as a smoke jumper on the very team he’d trained with. The team leader would be in San Fran on other business next week and wanted to meet with Ryan to talk about it. Just a formality, he said, because given what he’d seen when Ryan worked with him, the job was Ryan’s if he wanted it.

He did want it.

In order to have it, however, he’d have to give up things that mattered to him. Including living close to Annie and seeing her whenever he wanted.

Cursing softly, he walked over to the cheerfully decorated Christmas tree in the corner of her living room. He tucked his gift beneath it, right next to the one labeled “To Annie, From Annie.” He needed to get a few more things for her. Maybe a pretty sweater with a lower collar than she normally wore, one that would show off the necklace he’d already gotten her.

“Hey, Annie, mind if I grab a beer?” he called, even though she probably wouldn’t be able to hear him with the water still going. But it wasn’t like he actually needed her permission. They were comfortable in each other’s homes. She was the first person he’d wanted to talk to after getting the text offering him the smoke-jumper job. He knew she’d want the best for him and that she’d reassure him nothing would change between them, but he wanted to be looking into her eyes when she did.

As he walked into the kitchen, he could smell dinner warming in the oven. Opening the refrigerator, he pulled out one of the bottles of beer she always kept on hand for when he came over. He popped off the cap and took a long swig. Then he stared at the front of the fridge, frowning.

It used to be covered with pictures of the two of them, including one of his favorites taken while they’d been hiking in Yosemite last year. The photo was gone. There were still photos of Annie’s family and other friends, but the only picture that had Annie or Ryan in it was the one of them dancing at what should have been his friend Eric’s wedding last week. Even with Eric a no show, his fiancée Brianne had gone forward with the reception. In the picture, Annie was in Ryan’s arms, but he could see how awkward things had been between them that day.

Why had she taken the other photos of him down? Why was the only photo she’d left of herself one that showed her after she’d lost weight? He still wasn’t used to seeing his Annie so skinny. As gorgeous as Annie looked in the photo, she didn’t look like herself. He was actually bracing himself for how he’d feel when she walked in the room.

And he couldn’t help feeling that anxiety in his chest again that his best girl was slipping away from him. If he took the smoke jumper job, they’d be even farther apart.

He traced his finger across her face in the photo and managed to knock it to the floor along with several others. Cursing, he placed his beer on the counter then crouched down. He picked up the photos and began sticking them back where they belonged. Only, he’d managed to knock over more than just photos…

He stared at an airline boarding pass, frowning when he saw the departure date. Tomorrow, at 10:30 a.m. He frowned even harder when he saw the destination.

Las Vegas.

Annie was flying to Vegas? Since when? And why hadn’t she told him?

He’d been in Vegas a week ago for Eric’s bachelor party, just before he’d picked up Annie at the airport for Eric’s wedding. The bachelor party had been a wild nightclub scene, and she’d never been comfortable clubbing. Her friend Paige, sure, but not Annie. She was probably going to catch a show or go to a scrapbook convention. Maybe her job has sent her to Vegas for some reason. Unless...

Unless she’d met a guy while he’d been away, and this trip was a date.

If so, why not tell him she was dating? Even if she wasn’t, why hadn’t she mentioned her Vegas trip?

He frowned, thinking once again of Eric’s wedding. Or rather, what should have been Eric’s wedding. All through the reception and afterwards, he and his other college buddies had tried to get hold of Eric, but he’d dodged their calls. He was still dodging them.

It was obvious at the reception that Annie had been pissed at him for his comments about her sudden weight loss. He’d just been so worried about her. Thankfully, she’d softened as the night went on. Everything had seemed to return to normal between them once they’d arrived back in San Francisco, but now, staring at the airline ticket, he was struck by the awful feeling that something had changed that day and he just hadn’t known it.

It was like Eric all over again. Ryan was being shut out and he didn’t know why.

When you were friends with someone—good friends—you shared your life with them.

Not every single detail, of course, but certainly something as important as canceling a wedding. Or taking an unusual trip to Vegas.

Ryan grabbed his beer and was returning to the living room when another piece of paper on the floor caught his eye. He must’ve knocked it off the refrigerator.

He picked it up, glanced at it…and…

 

How to be naughty in Vegas:

1. Buy a sex toy

2. Get a tattoo

3. Kiss a stranger on a dance floor

4. Have a one-night stand

 

“What the fuck?” he breathed out.

 

* * *

 

Annie tossed the towel in the hamper and reached for her baggy sweats and T-shirt, what she usually wore at home, even when Ryan was over, then stopped. No way. Not anymore. Not after stepping on the scale this morning and discovering she’d hit her target weight. No more hiding behind comfy clothes. A confident woman wasn’t afraid to show off her curves.

She whirled around and headed to her closet, where she dug around until she found the skinny jeans with the tag still hanging off the butt. She’d bought them a couple of weeks ago, challenging herself to push harder during her exercise classes and lose the last bit of excess weight her body had been clinging to.

And she had.

She slipped the jeans on but had to lie on her bed to zip them up. A target weight was just that—a target. She’d hit it. Now she needed to make another target goal. Another five pounds? Seven? She stood, slid a tight-fitting stretch tee on, then finished her hair and makeup before examining herself in the mirror.

Now that her face was leaner, she looked less like a college kid and more like a fashionable woman. Her blond highlights really brought out the blue of her eyes. At certain angles, however, her face looked a little drawn. Severe. She bit her lip, remembering how often Ryan had said he loved her softness and curves. Maybe she wouldn’t try to lose another five pounds after all. She was sick to death of watching what she ate anyway. Sometimes she just wanted to enjoy a cookie or piece of pizza without feeling guilty. But, no, she couldn’t give in to those cravings or it would all be downhill from there. That’s what the diet pills were for. To give her that extra edge of willpower. Although she hated how jittery they sometimes made her feel, it was worth it—every time she was out now, men cast appreciative glances her way. To herself, she might look a little severe, but it was a look men obviously liked.

Deciding she appeared like a sexy, confident woman on the outside, she went out to see Ryan and check on dinner. Annie padded barefoot into the living room, only to find it empty. “Ryan?”

He appeared in the kitchen doorway and raised the bottle in his hand. “I got a beer. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” she said, walking over to give him a hug. It seemed like he hesitated for a minute, but then his big arms enfolded her in a way that never failed to make her feel safe, treasured, and…horny.

Immediately, she pictured him in the parking lot with Samantha. She remembered him lifting the woman’s shirt, tugging down her bra, and—

“No.” She shuddered, trying to get that awful image out of her mind.

“No, I shouldn’t have grabbed the beer? You got them for me, right?”

“No. I mean yes. Of course you should have gotten the beer. But I got them for both of us.”

She almost burst out laughing at the shocked look on Ryan’s face.

“Since when do you drink beer?”

“Since right now,” she said with a smile.

“Okay,” he said, his expression still confused. He took another sip of his drink.

She gave herself a minute to take him in. Ryan was the epitome of big and buff. Just over six feet, broad and muscular all over, he had thick wrists and thighs and hands that were massive yet strangely elegant. His dark brown hair was streaked with lighter strands, the texture full and slightly shaggy. His strong jaw had a perpetual five o’clock shadow, and his gray-green eyes turned dark and penetrating depending on how he was feeling.

She’d seen him stripped down to shorts often enough to know that the hard planes and bulging muscles hinted at beneath his clothes more than lived up to their promise. The guy had the type of six-pack a girl could bounce quarters off of, and Annie had seen women literally swoon as they’d watched Ryan pull himself out of the pool. Who could blame them, with all those rivulets of moisture slowly winding their way down his throat and chest? Mentally, Annie had been right there with them, lapping up all that water like a madwoman.

To Annie, Ryan was the sexiest man on the planet, the perfect combination of manly strength and all-American quarterback charm. But his personality and his heart were just as amazing.

She realized she was staring at him. Then realized he was staring at her. “So…” she began.

“So you really like beer now?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I’ve loosened up since you’ve been gone.” Feeling like she needed to prove it, she held her hand out for a drink of his beer. Slowly, he handed it to her. She took a sip, thinking a delighted “my mouth is right where his was,” and barely stopping herself from crinkling her nose. She’d ordered more drinks in the past two months and discovered she liked champagne, red wine, and the occasional cocktail. She was still acquiring a taste for beer, but he didn’t need to know that. She lowered the bottle, handed it back to him, and forced the corners of her mouth upward. “Just what I needed, though the downside to drinking now is the extra calories.”

He stared at her intently, and she braced herself, waiting for him to make yet another comment about her weight. Instead, he cleared his throat and said, “You look great, Annie. Beautiful as always.”

“Thanks.” No criticism there, yet he’d still managed to communicate that he’d found her beautiful even before she’d lost weight. But there was beautiful and there was fuck-me-up-against-a-truck beautiful.

She knew perfectly well the way she looked now was far more in line with what society and Ryan himself considered truly beautiful. Why else would every girl he’d ever dated be thin with big boobs? Annie didn’t have big boobs. At least not yet. But who knew? She’d never thought she’d consider breast augmentation, but lately the idea had been holding greater appeal. Just one more step in her transformation.

Ryan glanced into the kitchen and frowned…and that’s when she remembered the list on her refrigerator. But it had been hidden beneath some other papers and photos. He couldn’t have seen it…

“Is—is something wrong?” she asked, immediately straining to see past him to the refrigerator door, but everything looked as it should, and she didn’t see any sign of the printed boarding pass or the list that had been tucked behind it.

“Nope. Nothing’s wrong. I just…had a rough day.”

Annie immediately returned her attention back to him. Ryan was a firefighter and liked his job, but sometimes it took its toll. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him over to the couch. “Sit down and tell me about it.”

He sat and said, “It’s just been a really bad week overall. And a surprising one.”

“I’m sure. Starting with the wedding. Have you been able to get in touch with Eric?”

“He replied to our initial calls via e-mail, telling us he was okay and would explain things eventually, but that’s it. Just enough so we’d stop considering foul play.”

“But he’s a businessman, right? There’s no reason anyone would want to hurt him.”

“Not that I know of. But the guy’s obviously got secrets. Secrets he’s not willing to share with his friends.”

“Not yet, anyway,” she said softly. She stared at him, and it was right there on the tip of her tongue to tell him about her decision to go to Vegas. About her resolution to transform herself into a bolder, more interesting and confident Annie. But, heck, why stop there? She was afraid if she started talking, she’d blurt out the full truth. How much she loved him. How much she wanted him. Not gonna happen.

“So you said it’s been a bad week. At work, too?”

He nodded.

“What’s going on?”

He swiped a hand over his face. “It’s just different now that I’m back.”

“You mean after working up north?”

“Yeah. I miss the wide-open spaces.”

“Do you ever think about moving up there permanently?”

He hesitated briefly before saying, “I’ve considered it, but there’s stuff I’d miss here, too. You. The guys at the station. The Bay. The nightlife.” He shrugged. “Everything’s a compromise. A risk. Can’t go for something new without giving up what you already have, you know?”

She frowned. Was that really true? Living was all about pursuing growth. Change. But that didn’t mean you had to give up what was really important to you as it happened. Of course, as much as she wanted him to be fulfilled in his job, she’d miss him like crazy if he moved. Sometimes she wondered if Ryan would ever be completely fulfilled at work. He’d done a lot of different things—before he was a firefighter he’d been a personal trainer, and before that a bartender—but he always seemed to get antsy around the two-year mark. He couldn’t seem to commit to a career any more than he could commit to a woman.

“Anyway…well, you know old Bobby finally retired. I’m happy for him. He and his wife are moving to Florida, and he’s going to buy a fishing boat.”

“But…” Annie prompted.

“This kid who replaced him is going to kill me, maybe literally.”

“So he’s making an already dangerous job even more dangerous?”

“David’s just so damned cocky. He thinks he already knows everything, and he really doesn’t know shit. He’s been on two fire calls with us. During the first, he froze up, and I physically had to move him out of the way. Fine. Then we go to this second one…”

“It was a bad one?” she asked. She could see it in his eyes. There was pain there, which made her suspect someone must have died.

He grimaced and dragged his hand through his hair. “Children were involved. Their mother got drunk and fell asleep with a cigarette. We got them all out alive, but a couple of the kids were severely injured. So David starts mouthing off about how if we had gotten there two minutes sooner, we could have really saved them. Truckee, the firefighter in the driver’s seat, got pissed. He took it as a personal affront since. He went after David. I got between them because I didn’t want to see Truckee get in trouble, but now he’s pissed at me, too. He thinks I was taking the kid’s side.”

“Did you talk to Truckee?” she asked. She rubbed his tense shoulders as he talked.

“I tried. He’s too pissed to hear it right now. One of the neighbors heard David, and the drunken mother started mouthing off about it, and now there’s an investigation. It’s all a bunch of bullshit. We did our best. We always do.”

“If you guys hadn’t gotten there when you did, those kids would be dead. And Truckee’s been doing this a long time. The job hasn’t broken him yet, and it won’t break him now.”

He sighed. “Everything always looks better through your eyes. Let’s change the subject, though.” He reached one of his strong arms around her, and pulled her into him. She went willingly, relishing the tingles of pleasure that zipped up her spine.

But she didn’t relish the familiar feeling of longing that flooded her.

I still want him, she thought, and abruptly pulled away.

Ryan frowned. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. So, what else do you want to talk about?”

He hesitated briefly before saying, “Tell me what’s been going on with you. Anything exciting?”

Was it just her imagination or was he staring at her a little more intently? “Things have been very exciting,” she said.

He seemed to relax slightly. Weird. She opened her mouth to ask what was up, but before she could, he said, “Tell me.”

She shrugged. “Well, if you think life in a fire station is tough, you should try a shift on the Long-Term Care Unit.”

Weirdly, something like disappointment flashed across his face. But it was gone so fast; she told herself she must have imagined it.

“Long-Term Care? How’d you end up there?”

“Being too nice, as usual,” she said. “Two people called in sick, and we had an extra nurse. They asked for a volunteer, and guess whose hand went up?”

He laughed. “You are kind of a sucker sometimes.”

“You think? So, I get over there, and of course the first thing I do is make the rounds and meet my patients, who, by the way, I had sixteen of. I met two of the sweetest little old ladies you’ve ever seen in the first room. In the second room, there were two older men, playing checkers. I thought that was so cute, right up until one of them, the one in a wheelchair, grabbed a handful of my ass.”

Ryan immediately frowned. “Did you report him?”

“No, he was harmless.”

“How old was he?” Ryan asked.

“Ninety-four,” she said. “It’s a miracle he can remember what it is and where it’s at.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Still, I don’t like it. You deserve to be treated with respect.”

She patted his arm. “Thanks, but calm down, Super Man. It wasn’t that big a deal. Anyway, once I disengaged my ass from his old claw, I moved farther into the room. It was filthy, and there were things stacked everywhere. I couldn’t even imagine how a guy in a wheelchair maneuvered around all his stuff. It was a fire hazard, I’m telling you. Anyways, I sent two of my CNAs to clean it up while I prepared the guy’s feeding tube. I had everything hooked up, and I was ready to start the machine when Mr. Grabbed My Ass suddenly rolled up behind me. The guy goosed me, I jumped, and since I had my hand on the knob, the machine came on. It wouldn’t have been a big deal, but the clipboard I had in my hand somehow got caught on the tubing and pulled it loose. I didn’t realize that as I turned, but the tube feeding was pooling around my feet.”

“Oh no,” he said, trying very hard not to look amused.

“Oh no is right. The old guy tried to roll away, and I took one step in his direction. Both of my feet went out from under me, and within seconds I was sitting in a creamy, nutritious pool of Ensure.”

Ryan laughed. Annie pretended to be annoyed with him, but in truth it had been what she was going for. She loved it when he was happy, and she loved it even more when she was the one who made him that way. She’d fall on her ass any day just to see him smile.

“Thank you,” he told her when he finally stopped laughing. “I needed that.”

“I live to serve,” she said with a smile and bow of her head.

“Did you hurt yourself when you fell?”

“Nope.” She swatted her hip. “Still plenty of padding left to cushion my fall.”

His gaze dropped to her lower half, and his hand twitched, as if he was imagining touching her there. He looked…aroused. Pupils dilated. Cheeks red. Nostrils flared. Eyes dark and blazing with some kind of inner fire. Feeling like the temperature had gotten twenty degrees warmer, she licked her lips and leaned slightly closer to him.

He blinked and suddenly his expression went blank. He reached out and held her hand between his. “So nothing else is going on? How are you, really?”

Annie wanted to snatch her hand away and slap him. God, the way he’d looked at her, she would’ve sworn…

But no. Her mistake. Again.

She forced herself to say, “I’m good, Ryan.”

He didn’t seem to believe her.

“What?”

He cleared his throat. “Nothing. Have you been thinking of your mom?”

Ah, so that’s what was going on. “I miss her,” she admitted. Of course she did. She missed her mom so much, but the reason she continued celebrating Jean Marie Christmas was so she could focus on all the wonderful moments she’d had with her, not the sad times. Ryan knew that, but he always checked in to make sure she was okay. “I talked to Dad and Janie.” Janie was Annie’s sister, who’d followed in Annie’s wake and celebrated Jean Marie Christmas, too. Usually they celebrated together, but her sister had moved to Chicago a couple of years back, and it was harder for them to get together. “They’re good.”

“I’m glad.” Releasing her hand, he leaned back on the couch, arms spread on the back. “So…I know we normally wait until after dinner to exchange gifts, but I thought we could get to the gifts early this year.”

Looking toward the Christmas tree, Annie immediately spotted the new gift nestled next to the box that contained the…special toy. Despite herself, she blushed, but covered it by jumping up. “Oh goodie! I’ll grab yours, you grab mine, and let’s meet back here.” As if the five feet back to the couch would be some significant journey. But he just stood and then joined her again on the couch with the gift.

“You first,” she said.

He ripped through the wrapping and opened the box. As he lifted the gift from the paper, she watched his face anxiously. He wasn’t smiling anymore, and as he pushed the button on the front of the frame and stared at the screen, she winced, wondering if she’d made a mistake.

She’d gotten him a digital album and loaded it with pictures. There were several of them, and she’d forced herself to include the ones taken before she lost weight because she wouldn’t have been in the album otherwise. There were also pictures of his family, his friends, and his dog, Butter, who’d passed away suddenly, just before Ryan had left for Northern California. He’d loved that dog, and so had Annie. He’d had him since he was sixteen years old. But maybe it was too soon—

He laid a hand over his heart. “I love it, Annie. Thank you.”

He reached out and hugged her. Once again, she felt equal amounts of affection and lust zing through her body, concentrating between her legs. Truth was, that place always ached when she was around Ryan. Bigger truth was, it ached when she simply thought of him, and despite her whole transformation agenda, she still thought of him all the time. Biggest truth? He was the reason she’d visited Sweet Sensations in the first place. After several nights of dreaming about him, of the two of them doing all kinds of nasty and wonderful things to each other, she’d felt so empty and frustrated she’d decided to do something about it. More than she usually did, that is, which was get herself off the old-fashioned way.

Hopefully her naughty list would pave the way for better things and rid her of this longing once and for all. Maybe it would help her finally accept that Ryan would always be her friend but nothing more. Hopefully it would kick-start a whole new segment of her life, one where she didn’t have to fear Ryan would someday figure out how much she wanted him and things would get beyond awkward between them.

She pulled away from him and folded her hands in her lap. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Now you,” he finally said.

Flustered, she snatched up his gift.

She opened it with far more care than he’d shown.

Ryan was great at gift giving. And he had exquisite taste. She could tell from the packaging that he’d gotten her another piece of jewelry, which was awesome, considering she never bought jewelry for herself. The earrings she wore almost every day were from him, and so was her watch.

She lifted the lid to the box and gasped.

It was a necklace, with a dainty diamond heart.

She touched it and whispered, “It’s beautiful.”

She threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. Letting go of the restraint she’d been forcing herself to exercise.

“Not as beautiful as you,” he said.

Closing her eyes, she relished his words and his closeness.

When he moved to pull away from her, however, she found herself hanging on. She squeezed his arms, so hard her nails pinched his skin and he gasped.

Swiftly, she let go and pulled back.

His gaze met hers. Hot. Intense.

His gaze flickered to her mouth.

Time stopped.

The air around them quivered.

Shimmered.

Her pulse accelerated.

Her breathing grew ragged.

God, he looked like he wanted to kiss her.

Not as a friend, but as a lover.

But that didn’t surprise her as much as what he did next.

He leaned in and actually did it.

He kissed her.

It wasn’t the peck on the lips he often gave her.

Nor was it a full-on open-mouthed kiss with tongue.

It was somewhere in between.

It was a gentle graze.

It was a quick flick.

It was a hint of teeth and pressure that increased slightly, then slightly more, before vanishing.

It was both sweet and hot.

It left her confused.

And when he pulled away, it left her wanting more.

Much, much more.

 

* * *

 

Ryan felt like he’d been sucker-punched multiple times.

Mother of God, he’d kissed Annie. And not the chaste way he usually did, but with heat. Passion. And with the intense desire to pull her deeper. Kiss her harder. To open her mouth and plunge his tongue inside.

Taste her.

Take her.

He’d had to force himself to pull away.

The feel of her mouth had been incredible.

He knew what her lips felt like—he’d given her sedate kisses over the years. The first time was in college, after he hadn’t seen her for a while and was so excited when she showed up at his dorm on a prearranged visit that he’d grabbed her and given her a big smack on the lips. But like all the others that followed it, that kiss had been closed-mouth.

Not like this kiss.

Kissing her had nothing to do with her new look. Annie’s new look was hot, but he’d always found her sexy as hell—in high school, he’d been in love with her, but he’d accepted she didn’t feel the same way.

When he’d kissed her just now…

He stared at her, trying to get a feel for her emotional state. Had she been turned on? Had she wanted him to keep going? But her gaze flickered away from his, and she had a bright smile on her face, nothing to indicate heat was rushing through her system the way it was rushing through his.

“Thanks again for the lovely gift,” she said, but in contrast to her smile, her tone was cold.

He almost winced. Great. She was upset. No wonder. What the hell had he been thinking, kissing her like that?

Say something, Ryan. And not about her trip. Not about her list. He was dying to confront her about it, but she was obviously hiding it from him, and the last thing he wanted was to make her feel cornered. He cleared his throat. Forced himself to smile as he pushed her hair behind her ear. “You’re welcome. So…dinner…”

She jolted and jumped to her feet. “Um, right. I should check on dinner. I’ll be right back.”

He watched her tinkering around in her kitchen while he tried to get a hold of his scrambling thoughts. He kept wanting to draw her in for another kiss. Or twenty.

“Dinner’s ready,” she called out. The smell of chicken piccata wafted out with her, but Ryan’s mouth watered for something else altogether.

Another taste of Annie.

“Ryan?”

“Yeah?”

“Dinner’s ready.”

He got up and went over to the table. Annie had it all set up with her Christmas china. She’d served up a salad for each of them. She heaped a pile of linguini on his plate and handed him the bowl with the main dish in it. He noticed she skipped the noodles and took only a small piece of chicken for herself.

“It looks great,” he said as he scooped the chicken dish onto his noodles.

“Thanks. I hope it tastes good. I added some artichoke hearts tonight.”

“I love artichokes.”

“I know,” she told him with a smile. “I was thinking about the time you ate the whole jar of the pickled ones back in high school. Our senior year. Do you remember?”

He winced. “How could I forget? I was sick for two days. It was your fault, really.”

“How do you figure that?”

“I was so caught up in learning what you were teaching me that I wasn’t even paying attention to how many I was eating. You should have warned me.”

She laughed again. “Yeah, I’m sure you were enthralled by my math lesson. I never suspected you’d eat the whole jar until I happened to glance over and they were all gone.”

“It was English, not math,” he said.

“Really?”

“Yup. You were the only one who could make me enjoy English. You made me want to learn. You should have never stopped teaching me. If you hadn’t, I’d be as smart as you are now.”

“What are you talking about? You’re a really smart guy, Ryan. You just didn’t have the high grades because you were too busy chasing the cheerleaders to concentrate on school, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I guess high school does come with a lot of distractions,” he said. Annie had been one of those distractions. She just hadn’t known it. Learning with her had been fun, but making himself stop thinking about her after tutoring time ended had been beyond difficult. In the end, he’d moved past all that.

At least, he thought he had.

“So how’s Samantha? You haven’t mentioned her once since you’ve been back. Afraid I’ll be jealous?”

He glanced over. She was obviously joking, but she wouldn’t look at him. Her cheeks were flushed.

“We broke up right before I got back.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell slightly open. “You broke up? Why didn’t you say anything at the wedding?”

He shrugged. “Didn’t think about it.”

She suddenly started looking around the room and playing with her hair. “Oh. Well, that’s terrible that you broke up.”

“Is it? Why?”

She looked a little startled by his question, but he really wanted to know. She didn’t comment much about the women he dated. He usually figured it was because she didn’t like them. When she’d met Sam, she’d made a big deal of it, telling him how perfect she was, that she could see it going somewhere long-term. He’d wondered about it at the time. Sure, he’d liked Sam, but it hadn’t been a case of love at first sight, so he’d found Annie’s enthusiasm odd.

“Annie?” he urged when she still didn’t answer him. “Why’s it terrible that we broke up?”

“Well…I don’t know. You seemed to really like her.”

He shrugged. “She was nice. Definitely pretty. But since I knew I’d be heading north for two months, I didn’t take it too seriously. No surprise, given the long-distance thing hardly ever works out.”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“But what?”

“I don’t know. I just thought you were happy.”

“What makes you think I’m not now?”

“Jeez, what is this, an inquisition? So you broke up. Fine. Really. I forgot I was talking about someone who avoids commitment at all costs. I’m sure you’re ready and willing to move on. Yay.” She gave him a friendly thump on the arm, a clear indication she wanted to drop the topic.

But for some reason, he couldn’t. “Because I’m always willing to move on, you mean? You think I should be trying to settle down with just anyone?”

She stiffened and averted her gaze. “Not what I’m saying at all,” she said. “In fact, I think you’re right to play the field.”

“You do?”

“There’s a lot of great people out there to meet. A lot of fun to be had. So why not? We’re young, right? Now that I’ve lost the weight, I’m looking forward to testing the waters.”

“Wow.” How had this suddenly turned into a conversation about her trolling for guys? It was that damn list, he thought. “I don’t know. You seemed pretty happy when you were in a relationship with that guy. The doctor.”

Her expression flickered. “That was two years ago. Daniel was great. But there wasn’t a lot of chemistry. And to be honest, even as brilliant as he was, he was a little boring. Aside from work, he never wanted to leave the house.”

“There’s a lot to be said for someone who can be happy staying at home. Look at us.” He cringed. Almost couldn’t believe the words had come out of him. But an Annie who enjoyed staying at home with her boyfriend seemed, if not ideal, at least preferable to an Annie who was out there hooking up with random men.

“We’re different,” she said, looking at him strangely. “There’s nothing romantic going on between us, so I wouldn’t expect us to go out for a night on the town. But with a man I was going to…”

“What? Marry?”

She tilted her chin up. “With any man I’m involved with romantically, I want to be able to have fun in a lot of different places, not just home.”

“And Daniel wasn’t fun?”

She pressed her lips together before saying, “Not fun enough.” She put her hands on her hips. “Since when are you a Daniel fan? You called him a pompous ass.”

“I’m not. He is. And anyway, you’re right.” He took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. “You should be with a guy who can show you a good time. One who knows he’s the luckiest man alive for getting to share your bed. Your life.” His fists clenched at the thought of Annie meeting such a man on her trip to Vegas.

Her gaze lowered. “Thanks.” For an instant, she looked sad, but when she glanced up, her expression was friendly and sincere. “And you should have a relationship with a woman that no amount of time or distance can damage. A woman who’d climb mountains to make you hers. A woman who’ll fight for you. Obviously, Samantha wasn’t her.”

He shrugged. “What if that woman doesn’t exist?”

“She does. And when you meet her, you’ll know it.”

He laughed. “You’re something else.”

“A good something else, or a bad one?”

“All good.”

He meant it in the best way possible.

So he didn’t understand the sudden shadow that darkened Annie’s expression, or the quick twist of her mouth before she stood and excused herself.