Sex, Lies and Midnight

Missing a step, Maya stumbled over her bare feet, her precious Jimmy Choos flying into the wall. She reached out to keep herself from following and took a mandatory deep breath to try and gather her thoughts.

By any standard, Maya had had an unconventional upbringing. Motherless by a year old, she’d never been a sweet little girl in the traditional sense. Instead, she’d learned the art of the three-card monte before she’d learned to read. By four, she’d learned to call up crocodile tears on command, the first time to keep her father from being arrested. She had amassed enough through computer hacking to pay her own tuition to Yale before she’d graduated high school.

So it was rare for her to be shocked.

“Caleb called?” she repeated faintly.

“You okay?” Tiffany asked, swinging her feet off the couch, concern clear on her face. “What’s wrong? Is he an ex-boyfriend? A bad guy? Should I call Mark?”

That made Maya smile. Mark was Tiffany’s fiancé—a bespeckled orthodontist who bowled on weekends—and she definitely saw him through the eyes of love. The idea of his sweet self coming up against the likes of six-foot-two, muscle-bound Caleb Black, the baddest of the bad Black boys, was a little funny.

Scary funny, but still enough to make her want to giggle.

“No,” she said, gathering her scattered composure. “No, that’s okay. Caleb isn’t any kind of threat.”

At least, not unless he mistakenly suspected her of suddenly having a yen to deal drugs. Her big brother was a badass DEA agent, usually so far undercover he probably didn’t even remember her existence. So why was he calling her? And on the house phone? The house, like the phone and everything else she had here in California, was under the name of Maya DeLongue. So how had he tracked her down?

And why? Panic shot through her, making her heart race and her ears ring. Worried sick, her mind spun from one horrible scenario to the next. In the half-dozen times she’d heard from her brother since she’d left home seven years previous, he’d always called her cell. Why would he call the house?

Was he hurt? Had something happened to Dad? To their brother, Gabriel?

“Did he say when he’d be calling back?” she asked, trying not to sound like she was going to cry. Her dad was indestructible. Superman. He had to be okay. He just had to.

“No,” Tiffany said, pushing a strand of toast-brown hair off her worry-creased forehead.

“Caller ID?”

“Unknown caller.”

Maya cursed softly. Tiffany’s frown deepened and she started chewing on her thumbnail. “I’m sorry. Should I have pushed him for more information? I didn’t want to give him your cell number, you know, just in case he was a crazy or something.”

That made her laugh. Caleb, crazy? Oh, yeah, definitely. Maya took a deep breath and shoved both hands through her heavy curls. This was ridiculous. She was overreacting. Christmas was in two weeks. He was probably just calling to wish her a happy holiday, or to see if she’d heard any news of their father.

Everyone was okay.

They had to be.

Because while she might have cut her family so far out of her life that she denied their very existence, didn’t use their name and hadn’t seen any of them in six years, they were still the most important thing in her entire world.

And, she vowed, if everybody was okay, she was going to kick Caleb’s ass for giving her such a scare.

2

MAYA SHOT STRAIGHT UP OFF her pillow, her vision obscured by a tangle of hair as she tried to figure out what had woke her.

The chirping phone answered her question.

“Hello?” she asked in a sleep-roughened tone. She’d gone to bed in the wee hours after midnight, then tossed and turned while worrying until almost five. She squinted through the dim light, noting that it was now eight. Yuck.

“Morning, Maya. How was the party?”

Her smile spread so big she was sure her ears were creasing. He sounded good. Calm, happy even. Not the tone of a man about to share bad news.

“Caleb, you brat. How’d you find me?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

Maya rolled her eyes. “The house isn’t in my name. Shouldn’t that slow your kind down a little?”

“That’s child’s play for my kind.”

“So what’s the deal? You lost my cell number and needed to prove you’re not a child?”

“What? A big brother can’t call his little sister on Christmas?”

“Christmas isn’t for two weeks, you called last night and I had my yearly call from you back in July. Seriously, what’s going on?”

Not that Maya cared. She adored her big brother, so any reason to hear from him, barring injury or bad news, was good by her.

Almost giddy with delight, she plumped one of her half-dozen pillows behind her and pulled the silk sheet high over her Garfield T-shirt. These days Caleb was her only connection with her family. And he made that connection very rarely. So this was a treat to be savored.

Their middle brother, Gabriel, was like a ghost. He flitted in and out at will to remind them that he existed, but was rarely heard from and even more rarely seen. Unlike Caleb, who flitted because he was undercover DEA, nobody knew what Gabriel did. But his disdain for law enforcement was so deeply entrenched, Maya knew he wasn’t undercover anything. Unless it was under some woman’s covers, she thought with a grin.

Their father, on the other hand, was easy to find. Ensconced in Black Oak, California, he ruled the little town at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains like a benevolent despot. He had no place in the town government, he ran a custom motorcycle shop instead of a bank or big business and he had a hazy history other than being a descendant of the town’s founder. But he was still the man in charge, and everyone in Black Oak knew it.

Dynamic, charming and ruthless, Tobias Black was a force to be reckoned with.

Her smile faded, a little tug of pain aching in her chest.

As she settled back in preparation for the big news, Dottie, the cat who’d adopted her eight months before, jumped up on the bed. She curled around a couple times, making the down comforter puff before she settled on Maya’s stomach with a purring sort of sigh.

“What’s the big deal that inspired a holiday phone call?” Maya prodded as she rubbed the cat’s chin. The adorable black-and-white face lifted for better scratching access.

“I’m back in Black Oak,” Caleb told her.

Maya’s smile dropped away and her fingers stilled. Her stomach jumped before taking a slow, swirling dive down to her bare toes. The room tilted and her brain scrambled. Was this some kind of code? Was Caleb being held prisoner by a drug-crazed lunatic and this was his goodbye call? Was there a hint in his words that she was supposed to use to save him?

“Quit hyperventilating,” he chided, as if he were reading her mind. “I’m here by choice. Well, now I am. I came back as a favor to a friend and sort of got hooked.”

She wanted to ask if he’d seen their father. But she knew he had. Nobody came through town without Tobias knowing, and he wouldn’t let Caleb come and go without a confrontation.

She wanted to ask how Dad was. How he looked and if he’d aged. Was he still pining after that horrible bitch, Greta? Or had he finally accepted the idiocy of falling for a woman so fake she’d have smiled and batted her false lashes while she shivved him in his sleep?

Did he miss his daughter? Even a little?

Her stomach churning, Maya twisted her sheet between her fingers, the slick fabric bunching in puffs as she thought of seeing her dad again. How did Caleb feel about it?

Before she could ask, hell, before she could even figure out exactly what question to ask, Caleb continued.

“I’m engaged. To, you know, get married.”

Shock slammed through Maya. She made a squeaking sound. Dottie rolled onto her back, batting at Maya like she was looking for the rubber mouse that’d made that noise. Before Maya could come up with a response, before she could think to ask who’d be crazy enough, or amazing enough, to capture her big brother’s heart, he continued.

“And I’m moving back permanently.”

Her next squeak was a pitch higher. Moving? Back? No way. Usually lightning-fast, her brain struggled to accept what he was saying. Dottie—apparently deciding that if it wasn’t a toy making the noise, she wasn’t interested—padded to the foot of the bed where she curled around herself in a ball of black and white fur.

“I can’t believe…”

“There’s more.”

More? What more? Her big, bad brother, the man who avoided real life to the point that he spent most of his pretending to be other people, was tying himself to another person—and their hometown—for the rest of his life?

Her head spinning like she was on an amusement park ride, Maya made a noise for him to continue.

“I’ve taken on the temporary post of Sheriff.”

Maya couldn’t even squeak this time because her jaw had dropped in shock. She pressed her hand to her churning stomach, wondering if this particular ride was going to make her throw up.

“Maya?”

Staring blindly at her rich purple bedroom wall, she gave a humming sort of response.

“Maya? C’mon. Say something.”

She opened her mouth to respond, then had to swallow. She cleared her throat, pulled the phone away to check the caller ID, which claimed Unknown, and shook her head again.

“My little sister—the chatterbox of North America—with nothing to say?”

“Fine,” she snapped, hating that nickname. She’d worked hard all her life to control her chattering impulses and Caleb knew it. “Who are you and what have you done with my real brother?”

His laugh was rich and warm, coming through the phone and wrapping around her like a brotherly hug.

“It’s a good thing. It’s all good.” He sounded… Maya squinted in the morning light, trying to figure it out. He sounded content. Why the hell would he want to be content?

“I wanted to tell you and…” He trailed off, sounding a little unsure for the first time since she’d spied on him while he asked the head cheerleader on a date. If Maya recalled correctly, Caleb had been fourteen to the cheerleader’s seventeen. And he’d tied Maya to a kitchen chair the night he’d gone on the date to keep her from following.

She wondered if he ever found out that Gabriel had freed her so they could both spy on him, then had covered her eyes and hauled her back home when it appeared that big brother was going to score.

Was it any wonder she couldn’t settle for a guy? None could ever live up to the men in her family.

“And, what?” she prodded, not sure she was ready to hear it but figuring he needed to share. Probably something sappy and sentimental about their father. Begging her to come home, to reconcile. “You’ve already sent me into a state of absolute shock. Believe me, big brother, there isn’t much left you can say to top you’re back home, engaged to a real woman and leaving the DEA to be a small-town sheriff news.”

But her heart pounded anyway. Maya shoved a hand through her hair, wincing when she hit sleep-roughened snarls.

Overcome, she threw the covers back, not realizing until she heard an angry meow that she’d buried the cat in down and silk. She flipped the covers off Dottie and stormed out of her room toward the kitchen. She needed a drink.

“Well, here’s the thing. I’m hoping you’ll come home. Just to visit. I know you have no reason to want to see Dad, or anyone in Black Oak. But I hope you’ll consider it. Pandora’s mom is throwing a party. Some big to-do to celebrate our engagement. I don’t want it. Pandora doesn’t want it, but Cassiopeia is insisting and Dad’s backing her.”

Conflicted over the idea of going home—of seeing her family for the first time in years—Maya paused in the act of squeezing the chocolate syrup into a tall glass of full-fat milk to frown. “Cassiopeia? The psychic?”

Caleb’s sigh was so loud she was surprised it didn’t ruffle her hair through the phone.

“Is your fiancée woo-woo, too?” Maya teased. Then, realizing her glass was now half chocolate to half milk, she quickly uprighted the squeeze bottle and closed the lid. She considered the glass of sugar-overload, then considered this phone call and grabbed a spoon to stir.

“Pandora’s more a student of human nature with woo-woo overtones,” he said. Her glass halfway to her lips, Maya lowered it and sighed as a wave of happiness enveloped her. He sounded so in love. Not gooey, but just really happy and filled with a joy she’d never thought her big, tough brother could feel.

“So, you know, I get it if you don’t want to come back for the party. I don’t blame you and honestly don’t know if I’d come back if the situation was reversed. But I wanted to tell you about it.”

Blinking fast to keep the tears at bay, Maya set her glass back on the counter, untouched. No point ruining fabulously chocolate milk with salt.

“You’d have come back,” she said quietly. “A chance to play big brother, flex those muscles and boss me around a little? You’d have done it in a heartbeat.”

He laughed, but didn’t deny her words. Because for all that Caleb had spent a whole bunch of years lying for a living, he was a painfully honest man.

And he was her big brother. Getting married. Maya grabbed the glass and took a big gulp, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Is Gabriel coming?” she hedged.

“Can’t reach him. You know how it is, he’s probably in the middle of some big scam and flying under the radar.”

Unlike Caleb, who’d taken the complete opposite route as their con-artist father and gone into law enforcement, and Maya, who tried to pretend her father and his criminal habits didn’t exist, Gabriel embraced his heritage. She was pretty sure he was determined to outdo their father’s rep before he was thirty.

“Look, you’re still pissed at Dad,” Caleb said quietly.

Maya winced, wishing like crazy he’d be a typical guy and avoid the tough discussion.

“Actually, I am, too. But if you can’t get past it, I’ll understand. Pandora and I will take a weekend and come up to San Francisco so you can meet. No pressure, you do what you feel’s right.”

With that and a murmured goodbye, he was gone.

And her world was effectively turned upside down.

“SO WHAT D’YA SAY we skip the big parties and spend New Year’s together at my place?” Dave was saying in a continuation of his campaign to take their relationship to the next level. “The two of us, a bottle of wine, a little fun.”

Maya’s smile was stiff enough to hurt her face. She was having major second thoughts about Dave. Sure, he was a nice guy. A perfect fit for her average life. Sure, he didn’t make her heart race or her body melt. But racing and melting probably weren’t average. But was it fair to lead him on if she really wasn’t interested?

Ever since Caleb had called three days ago, she’d felt like this average life was suffocating her. All the more reason not to go home. Who knew what craziness she’d crave once she was exposed to the extravagant personalities that were her family.

“Well?” Dave prompted. “Are you going to be my New Year’s date?”

What did she do? Choose average but boring? Or go back to her lonely life, hiding away in her house and staying away from any real relationship? Before she could decide, her cell phone rang. A little ashamed at how grateful she was to hear the bluesy tone, Maya offered an apologetic smile, then glanced at the readout. Shocked, her hand trembled just a little as she lifted it for a better look.

Lilah Gomez? Her best friend from high school? The lying, cheating slut who’d stolen Maya’s boyfriend?

How had she gotten Maya’s number? What the hell was she doing calling?

And why wasn’t the past staying nicely tucked away like it was supposed to?

She debated ignoring it. She had nothing to say to the woman. Then she recalled Caleb’s news about home. And her innate curiosity flared, making it impossible for her to resist.

“Excuse me,” she murmured to Dave, giving him a smile with enough charm to make him preen. “I have to take this.”

She slid out of the booth, hurrying through the brightly lit restaurant with its loud lunchtime crowd. She waited until she reached the garden enclosure just outside the restaurant before answering. “Hello?”

“Maya! Hi there. It’s me, Lilah. You know, from the good old days?”

“Is that how you remember them?” Maya mused aloud.

Lilah’s giggle was even more irritating than it’d been in the good old days.

“Your dad gave me your number. He’s hoping you’ll come home for the New Year’s Eve engagement party. I hope you do. I mean, can you believe Caleb is getting married? She’s so not worthy of a hottie like your brother. Yowza did he grow up into one delish hunk. And when he finally comes back to town, what does Pandora do? Grabs him up before anyone else gets a shot.”

Anyone else, meaning Lilah.

“Why, exactly, are you calling? You know, after eight years of absolutely no contact?” Maya wasn’t surprised that her father was keeping tabs on her. That was typical. But that he’d share anything with Lilah was a shock.

“I told you, I wanted to see if you were coming back for the engagement party. We have so much to catch up on. I want to hear all about your life, and I know you’re dying to hear about mine,” she said. Then, clearly not wanting Maya to die of curiosity, she started filling her in on the past eight years.

Tuning her out while she tried to figure out the angle Lilah was playing, Maya’s eyes swept the restaurant. Dave was happily texting away, sneaking bites of her slice of chocolate cake.

Her eyes caught on another man at the other end of the garden. She recognized the sexily tousled sun-streaked hair and wide, do-me-baby shoulders. Desire did a slow, loopy swirl deep in her belly. Was that the same gorgeous Southern stud she’d encountered at the company party? Or was she just imagining a resemblance because she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the man?

“So, you know, I’m hoping it’ll be a double celebration,” Lilah was babbling.

“Sorry, what?” Maya asked, standing on tiptoes and craning her neck around the jungle of plants to see if it really was him. Yes, the man was off-limits due to his gorgeousness, his sexual magnetism and the fact that she was pretty sure she couldn’t be in proximity to him for more than forty-five minutes and not jump his bones. A bad idea for a woman trying to contain her wilder impulses. But still… She had the right to enjoy the view.

“Double engagement,” Lilah clarified, her words syrup sweet. “Caleb and Pandora. Me and Tobias. You know, your father.”

Maya’s jaw dropped. So did her feet as she fell from her tiptoes and almost landed on her butt. Knees like jelly, she reached out to grab the wall.

“No,” she breathed.

“Oh, yes,” Lilah said, her delight reaching through the line like a slap to Maya’s face.

“No,” she blurted out. “My father wouldn’t do that.”

He couldn’t. Hadn’t he learned anything from Greta the Grinch? The woman had used him, had tried to ruin him. She’d destroyed his life. Through her little hacking habit, Maya had kept track of Greta, finding comfort in the fact that her father had ended things with the bitch a few months after Maya had left home.

And now he was seeing Lilah Gomez? Had he fallen into senility? What the hell was wrong with the man?

“Poor Maya. I promise, I won’t make you call me momma,” Lilah said with a giggle. “But this will be so fun, won’t it? Your dad, he’s just so dreamy. And rich, of course. I love the power he holds over the town, too. That’s so sexy in a man, don’t you think?”

The only thing Maya thought was that she might be sick.

“He’d have to be crazy to go down this path again,” she muttered. Was he trying to ruin his life again?

“Crazy in love. I mean, he hasn’t asked yet,” Lilah acknowledged reasonably. But Maya knew her well enough to recognize the gleeful spite in her tone. “But he will, eventually. I mean, think of everything I have to offer. And Caleb’s engagement party is the perfect time, too. You know, New Year, new life. New wife.”

Her giggle was like nails on a chalkboard to Maya’s nerves.

“Too bad you’re all alone,” Lilah crooned. “Is that why you’ve avoided coming home all these years? Because you didn’t want everyone to ask questions about the lack of a guy in your life? Your dad said you were single. Still. That’s too bad. Maybe I can fix you up with someone when you get here?”

“I don’t need—”

Before she could reject Lilah’s offer, the other woman’s mouth was off and running, listing the variety of losers she figured might condescend to a date.

“Then there’s Marty Lankin. You remember him? Played tuba in the marching band. He moved back in with his mom last month after his gastric bypass and he’s ready to start dating,” Lilah continued.

Maya’s knees wobbled. What could be worse? Going home to the emotional pain and stress of seeing the father who’d betrayed her? Or touring the dregs of the Black Oak dating pool to affirm Lilah’s assurance that Maya was a loser?

No way in hell she was going back.

Maya’s heart sank as she shoved her hand through her hair.

This was her father, though. He might have let her down, he might have disappointed her. He was a criminal, a con and now apparently a lech. But that didn’t mean he deserved the likes of Lilah Gomez.

“I’ve got to go,” she muttered, disconnecting over the other woman’s protests.

Maya didn’t know how long she stood there with her fist clenched around the now-dead phone. The jungle of plants was a big green blur and her mind was filled with the sound of her own harsh breathing.

Finally, with a quick shake of her head and a couple of deep breaths, she forced herself to saunter back into the restaurant, putting a little extra swing into her hips as she did. Dave’s gaze locked on her like a missile on a target.

See. She didn’t need to be fixed up with momma’s boy losers who lived in their parents’ basements. Grateful to Dave for saving her ego, she gave him an extra-warm smile.

He responded with a loud gulp.

“Maybe we can do something special after the party this weekend,” he suggested.

“This weekend?”

“It’s my company’s Christmas party,” he reminded her. “I’ve got to go. Big promotion in the works, appearances count and all that. You’re still going with me, right?”

A loud, raucous party filled with people she didn’t know? Or preparing to go home and face her past, with all its nasty little demons and emotional pitfalls.

“Of course I’m going with you,” she gushed. “There’s nothing I’d rather do.”

SIMON DIDN’T KNOW EXACTLY what Maya’s intentions were, but she was definitely a woman on a mission. From what he’d overheard at lunch the previous week, Tobias was up to something new. Something she wasn’t happy about.

He wondered if that had anything to do with the news he’d gotten two days ago. An ATF connection of his had let it slip that there were a slew of stolen guns spreading through Northern California. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had narrowed the epicenter of the leak to the Santa Cruz Mountains. Which just happened to be where Tobias Black was. Coincidence? No way in hell.

This was Simon’s shot. If he could bust Tobias Black, his career would skip the fast track and hit rocket speed. All he had to do was make a solid contact with the old guy’s daughter. She was his entrée. A couple more conversations with her and he’d be able to claim her a friend when he visited Black Oak.

As if proving she was ready to be his new best friend, Maya chose that moment to stroll in, her arm tucked into the elbow of her guy friend. Despite the party in progress, Simon could clearly see the tension in the set of her shoulders, and the way she kept her body from curving into pretty boy’s.

It shouldn’t be too hard for Simon to move himself in. A little charm, a little distraction and a little luck were all he needed to pull this off.

He timed it carefully, putting himself in Maya’s line of sight, careful to look like a guest by exchanging friendly chitchat with strangers. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her frown, satisfied when it turned to heated curiosity.

He had to wait about an hour before pretty boy left to head to the bar and refill their drinks.

Then Simon made his move. He strode over to where she stood silhouetted against the wide bank of windows.

“Hello,” he said. “We’ve met, haven’t we?”

It was a lame line, but he was interested in seeing what she’d do with it. Gold eyes considered him for a second, then she nodded. “You were at the Braverment party last week, weren’t you? I’m Maya.”

“Simon Harris,” he introduced himself, using one of his covers. Then to put her at ease, he spent the next five minutes making idle chitchat.

Mid talk about the party and the potential for investors, they heard a soft chime over the music.

“Excuse me,” she said with an apologetic smile. Pulling her phone from her tiny purse, she glanced at the screen. The blood drained from her face, making her look like a wax doll in a horror movie.

“Are you okay?” Simon asked, quickly moving to her side. He glanced at the screen and winced. Having seen plenty of pictures of Tobias Black, he easily recognized the man in the photo. The brunette plastered over his chest like a wet T-shirt was new to him, but Simon figured no daughter wanted to see her father being used as a stripper pole.

A text flashed across the screen next.

Aren’t we a cute couple?

Well, now, that was interesting. Simon watched as red heat washed over Maya’s previously ashy complexion. Fury? The pictured coupledom clearly didn’t sit well with her.

“Friend of yours?” he asked, knowing it was a risk to get so personal. But he figured she was pissed enough to ignore the impropriety in her need to vent.

Maya shifted her glare from the phone to his face. She shook her head like she was trying to toss off the anger. “An idiot determined to ruin his life, is more like it.”

Perfect opening.

“That is a shame,” he said, leaning in just a little more. Not for the job this time. But because he liked feeling the warmth of her, seeing her golden eyes dilate so they were almost all black, and hearing her breath catch in such a sexy little way. Nice to know he could pull her out of her anger.

Then, as if knowing Maya’s attention had shifted, her phone chimed again.

They both looked down.

Simon frowned. What the hell? It was a picture of a wedding dress.

“Oh, hell no,” she hissed. Muttering cursewords under her breath, her fingers flew over the tiny keyboard at the speed of light.

He watched the text fly into the ether, excitement stirring in his gut.

“So you’re going home this weekend?” he asked, his tone as innocent as he could make it. “Where’s home?”

Maya wasn’t paying him any attention, though. Her gaze flew over the crowd until she gave a little hum. Then she absently patted Simon’s arm and said, “Excuse me.”

Shit. Just like that, she was gone. She didn’t even bother with a backward glance. Simon’s ego screamed almost as loud a protest as his body at the loss of her floral-scented warmth.

Dammit. He wasn’t finished yet. He needed to make a stronger contact. To get some information that he could drop into casual conversation that’d lead her father to believe that the two of them were really friends. He watched her stride away, trying to decide if that had been a good contact or a wasted one. Your daughter hated the girly accessory you were wearing in that photo wasn’t much of a topic starter.

DESPERATE FURY PROPELLED Maya across the dance floor and through the throngs of people surrounding the bar. Anger and worry duked it out in her belly as she thought of that picture. Tobias was a brilliant man, except when it came to women.

She couldn’t stand it. No way she could let her father suffer a lifetime, or even another month, with the likes of Lilah Gomez.

“Dave?” She offered her date a bright smile that was only a little shaky with nerves, and tilted her head toward the patio. “Do you have a second?”

Frowning at either the nerves in her tone or the fact that she’d interrupted his golf story, he gave his work buddies a be-right-back gesture. Taking her hand, he led her into the relative quiet of the atrium. “What’s up? You look a little tense.”

Maya almost winced. Oops. Tense wasn’t the kind of thing that made a guy want to run off for a wild weekend of family stress. She forced herself to smile, bright and cheery like she wasn’t ready to scream. Or cry.

Remembering her father’s basic rule of the con, distraction, she ran her hand up and down Dave’s arm in a gentle caress. He leaned into her body as if ready to let her take those strokes in any number of other directions.

“I just found out I have to take a trip,” she told him.

“Now?”

“No, for New Year’s,” she explained. Sliding her fingers down his arm, she trailed them over the back of his hand to play with his fingers. His eyes blurred satisfyingly. “I was hoping you’d want to go with me. You were saying you wanted to spend more time together. I thought this might be a fun way.”

“The two of us? Go away together?” His grin was huge as he pulled her into his arms and gazed down at her face like he’d just snagged a fab Christmas present. “I’m in. Just say when and where.”

“I’d planned to leave the day after Christmas,” she explained. She let herself relax into his body as if confirming his assumptions of just what kind of entertainment that trip would include. But fairness demanded she share, “I’m going back to my hometown. My brother just got engaged and is having a big party for New Year’s. I haven’t been back in years, and everyone is going to be really excited to meet my boyfriend.”