“My second husband’s name was Sid,” Nikki said. “He loved Roy Orbison songs, playing the trumpet, and me. He taught high school science, and he was one of those teachers that all the kids liked. Not too strict. Funny and creative. But he was a heavy smoker and had been all his life. I married him when I was forty-three. He died from lung cancer eight years later.”
“I’m impressed that you continued to date after that.”
“I’ve fallen in love with men before, between, and after my two husbands.”
“And now you’re ready to fall in love again.”
“More than ready.” Nikki drained her coffee. “I’m so muchmorethan ready that even Evan at the post office is starting to look appealing to me.”
Britt chuckled. “I like Evan. He has my back whenever I ship chocolate.”
“He’s much too young for me, and he smells like mustard, which is why I really need this thing with Clint to pan out.”
“I’ll do my best,” Britt replied with bracing optimism.
On Thursday night, Britt arrived early to help prep John’s house for the game night she and her sisters had planned in honor of their parents’ homecoming.
The doorbell rang again and again as guests arrived in a steady stream. But so far, no Zander. He’d told Britt he’d come, so she kept one eye on John’s foyer while mingling with familiar faces and topping off water glasses.
When Zander finally did slip quietly inside, she spotted him instantly. He stopped to talk with Willow and Corbin, which freed Britt to take his measure without his knowing.
He’d dressed up for the occasion in a white shirt with a navy-and-red striped tie and gray flat-front pants. Zander was the author of a novel that had already sold a mind-boggling number of copies. He had a photographic memory and plenty of money, especially for someone as young as he was. He’d seen far more of the world than she had. His face was sharply masculine. He held his athletic body with an alert brand of stillness, the lines of it fit and beautiful in the way that a cougar was fit and beautiful.
Even with all of that going for him, Nikki had been right when she’d commented to Britt that there was something tragic about Zander. There was. It was in the cautious, watchful impression hecommunicated. The solemn set of his shoulders. Also, the juxtaposition between the color of his eyes—a joyous blue—and the seriousness peering out from behind them.
A yearning to bring him happiness twisted within her so sharply that it became a physical ache. From the first time she’d laid eyes on him, she’d felt compelled to lighten his load. At that time in her life, she’d been arrogant enough to imagine she could make that happen.
She was less arrogant about that now. Since his return to Merryweather, she worried that she’d failed to bring him happiness. In fact, she feared she’d brought him unhappiness instead.
Britt’s mom gave a yip of delight when she spotted Zander. Both her parents hurried toward him.
Britt approached more slowly. Stopping five yards away, she crossed her arms and observed their reunion with amusement.
Zander’s gaze met Britt’s as he hugged her mom. Then Mom beamed at him, placing her palms on the sides of his face. Dad hugged him, punctuating the gesture with affectionate thumps on the back. They stepped apart. Immediately, though, Dad pulled Zander in for a second hug.
When, at long last, her parents released him, Zander crossed to Britt. The two of them threaded through guests toward the fireplace at one end of the contemporary home’s great room. On the way, Zander paused to shut a hallway door that stood half an inch ajar.
“When I met my parents at the airport, they didn’t givemethe palms on the cheeks or the hearty thumps on the back,” Britt said.
“That’s because you’re just a daughter. They have more than enough of those.”
“Maybe, but I’m the only daughter who’s related by blood to both of them.”
“A fact that you’ve never forgiven yourself for.”
She let that statement pass like a speeding delivery truck empty of packages addressed to her. “Are you wearing a tie in order to suck up to my parents?”
“Pretty much. I knew your mom would like it.”
“Ilike it. Yet you didn’t wear a tie to my birthday party.”
“Right. But then, you’re just a daughter.”
She laughed, and Zander regarded her with a deep fondness that made her mouth go dry. “I...” What had she intended to say?You kissed mewas the only thing she could think of. He’d kissed her, and she’d kissed him back, and it had been amazing. That powerful knowledge hung between them so densely that it was hard to concentrate on anything other than the kiss when in his presence. “I haven’t seen you in a couple of days. Did you get a lot of writing done?”
“Twenty pages.”
“Very respectable. Did you spend time with your aunt?”
