An island south of Tahiti

Three days later

He was coming.

Her heart was beating hard, fast. She was too excited. Eve Duncan drew a deep breath as she watched the helicopter settle on the tarmac. Good heavens, you'd think she was waiting for the angel Gabriel. It was only Joe.

Only? Her friend, her companion through the nightmare that had almost torn her apart, one of the anchors of her life. And she hadn't seen him in over a year. Dammit, she had a right to be excited.

The door was opening and he was getting out of the aircraft. God, he looked tired. His face was almost always without expression and, to anyone unfamiliar with it, impossible to read. But she knew that face. From a thousand different situations she had memorized every glance, every tightening of the mouth, the little secret signs that told so much. There were new deep lines graven on either side of his mouth, and his square face was a little pale.

Yet his eyes were the same.

And the smile that lit his face when he saw her . . .

"Joe . . ." She ran into his arms. Safety. Familiarity. Togetherness. All was right with the world.

He held her tightly for a minute and then pushed her back and dusted a kiss over the bridge of her nose. "You have a few freckles. Have you been using your sunscreen?"

Protective. Bossy. Caring. Two minutes, and they were back where they were when she'd left him all those months before. She grinned up at him as she adjusted her wire-rimmed glasses. "Of course, but it's hard not to get a little sun here."

He studied her up and down. "You look like a beachcomber in those shorts." He tilted his head. "And relaxed. Not totally relaxed but not wound up tight as you were the last time I saw you. Logan's been taking good care of you."

She nodded. "He's been very kind to me."

"And what else?"

"Don't be so nosy. It's none of your business."

"That means you're sleeping with him."

"I didn't say that. But what if I am?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. You were in pretty bad shape after what you went through with that last reconstruction. It's entirely natural for you to have drawn close to Logan. A billionaire who whisked you away from the media to his own island in the South Pacific? I'd be surprised if you hadn't fallen into his bed and even more surprised if he hadn't made sure you would."

"I don't fall into anyone's bed. I make a choice." She shook her head. "Now, stop picking on Logan. You always were like pit bulls with each other." She led him toward the Jeep. "And he's going to be your host while you're here, so you might as well be civil."

"Maybe."

"Joe."

He smiled. "I'll try."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Did you see Mom before you left?"

"Yes, she sent you her best. She misses you."

Eve wrinkled her nose. "Not much. She's too involved with Ron. Did she tell you they're going to be married in a few months?"

He nodded. "How do you feel about that?"

"How do you expect me to feel? I couldn't be happier for her. Ron's a nice guy and Mom deserves a good relationship. She's had a rough life." That was an understatement. Her mother had grown up in the slums, been addicted to crack for years, and when she was fifteen had brought Eve into the same nightmare world. "It's good she has someone. She's always needed people, and I've always been too busy to give her the attention she should have."

"You did your best. You were always more like a mother than a daughter to her."

"For a long time I was too bitter to do her much good. It was only after Bonnie came that we managed to bridge the gulf." Bonnie. When her daughter had been born, she had changed everything, transformed Eve's whole world and everyone in it. "It will be better for Mom now."

"And what about you? She's all you have."

Eve started the Jeep. "I have my work." She smiled at him. "And I have you, when you're not yelling at me."

"I notice you didn't say Logan. Good."

"Were you trying to trap me? I care very much for Logan."

"But he hasn't got you sealed and delivered." Joe nodded with satisfaction. "I didn't think he could do it."

"If you don't stop talking about Logan, I'll dump you beside the road and let you hitchhike back to Tahiti."

"I'd have a tough time. No boats land on this island."

"Exactly."

"Okay. Since you have me at a disadvantage."

Yeah, sure. Joe at a disadvantage was a rare phenomenon. "How's Diane?"

"Fine." He paused. "I haven't seen much of her lately."

"A cop's wife has a hell of a life. Another rough case?"

"The roughest." He gazed out at the sea. "But I wouldn't have seen her anyway. Our divorce was final three months ago."

"What?" Shock rippled through Eve. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"There wasn't much to tell. Diane never really became accustomed to being a cop's wife. She'll be happier now."

"Why didn't Mom say anything to me?"

"I asked her not to worry you. You were supposed to be relaxing."