Chapter 1
It was quiet, eerily so. There was only the rustle of trees buffeted by the cool October breeze. Leaves colored raw umber, bronze, and burnished gold landed at her feet, tangled in the long ebony strands of her hair.She didn't notice. Her dark gaze rested on the shell tumbling through her fingers. Rough and mottled on one side, smooth and gleaming on the other, her mind registered neither. She remembered it in his hands, dripping with water as he held it out to her, waves cresting around them.
"Still sulking, I see," Kat noted.
"I'm a turtle," she answered, "it's called strategic retreat."
Kat closed the sliding glass door, and joined her on the bench. "How long are you going to put yourself through this?" Kat wanted to know.
She ignored her. "How's Howie?"
Kat's chuckle was reminiscent of a purr. "He's fine." She paused, then added, "He told me that..."
"So, how are my two favorite ladies doing?" Nick asked, closing the sliding glass door behind him.
"Lissa's still sulking," Kat said.
"Strategic retreat," Lissa commented, grimacing as Nick joined them on the bench, sandwiching her between him and Kat.
Kat winked at Nick behind Lissa's back. "We were just talking about..."
Lissa jumped up, shell clutched tightly in one fist. "I don't want to talk about Alex!" she shouted, glaring equally at Nick and Kat. "Capeesh? Comprende? Enough!" She stormed into the house.
Kat and Nick sat in silence for a long moment, then, "I didn't think it was possible to slam a sliding glass door," Nick commented.
Kat chuckled. "Leave it to Lissa to accomplish the impossible."
"Seriously, what are we going to do about her and Alex? He's just as bad as she is."
"He's still sulking, too?" Nick nodded. Kat shook her head, dark curls bouncing on her shoulders. "Wish I knew what the hell actually happened between them."
"Alex won't talk either," Nick sighed. "He tells me to drop it, and if I don't...well, you know Alex."
"Yes, he does use colorful metaphors, doesn't he?"
"So," Nick asked, brushing leaves away from his feet, "what are we going to do?"
Kat's gaze drifted back to the closed sliding glass door. "What can we do?"
Lissa dropped on her bed, arms wrapped tightly around her stuffed teddy bear as her tears wet the black fur. "Damn, damn, damn," she whispered. "Why can't I forget?" The bear couldn't answer, and only collected her tears. She sighed, hiccupping softly as she lay back against the pillows. "Why can't I forget?" she whispered, remembering...
Lissa lay out on the blanket. Her unruly dark hair was wrestled into a thick braid she brushed off her neck as she rolled to her stomach. Head pillowed on her arms, she sighed as the scorching July sun beat down on her back. She was determined to have an awesome tan this year. She never would have dreamed of wearing this bikini forty pounds ago, but, now? Her lips twisted into a grin.
A red frisbee landed directly in front of her. She was just reaching for it when sand was accidentally kicked in her face. "Hey!"
"Damn," a male voice mumbled. "Sorry."
Lissa finished wiping the sand from her eyes, and found herself staring at a firm stomach with a tattoo around the belly button. She wrenched her eyes upward to find her reflection staring back at her from a pair of sunglasses. "You should be," she retorted irritably.
"Yo, Bone!" another voice called.
"Here," he yelled back, flinging the frisbee to the tall blond waiting for it. A pair of pugs danced around the tall blond's legs, darting after the frisbee as it sailed closer. He turned back to her, and quickly averted his gaze from her cleavage. He crouched in front of her. It took every ounce of will Lissa possessed to keep her eyes on his glasses and away from his open legs. "Listen, to make it up to you, how about joining me for dinner?"
"The blond invited?" Lissa asked.
Dark brows lowered behind the sunglasses. "No."
"Good." She smiled at him. "I'm Lissa," she said, one hand extended.
His hand closed around hers, and he brought it to his lips. His warm breath fanned her knuckles as his lips brushed against her skin. "I'm Alex," he said, dropping her hand reluctantly.
I'm in trouble, she thought.