Gail followed close behind Nick, but waited until they were in the deserted kitchen before she continued, “Do you remember when Delaney left ten years ago? A lot of people said she was pregnant. A lot of people said you were the father.

Nick tossed Louies bota on the counter, then reached into a cooler. He grabbed two Millers and twisted the caps off each. He remembered the rumors. Depending on who you listened to at the time, gossip had him and Delaney getting it on in a hundred different places and in very imaginative ways. But whichever version you heard, the ending was always the same. Nick Allegrezza had put his dirty hands on Delaney Shaw. Hed impregnated the princess.

Henry hadnt known what to believe. Hed been enraged at the very possibility that the rumor could be true. Hed demanded Nick deny it. Of course, Nick hadnt.

“Were you?

Now it was ironic as hell. Ten years later, Henry wanted him to knock up Delaney. Nick handed Gail one of the cold beers. “I told you to drop it.

“I think I have a right to know, Nick.

He looked into her blue eyes and laughed without humor. “You dont have a right to know squat.

“I have a right to know if you see other women.

“You know I do.

“What if I asked you to stop?

“Dont, he warned.

“Why not? Weve gotten close since weve become lovers. We could have a wonderful life together if youd let it happen.

He knew for a fact he wasnt the only man on Gails list of potential husbands. He just happened to be at the top. For a while, being number one on Gails sexual hit parade had been amusing. But lately shed begun to get possessive and that irritated him. “I told you from the start not to expect anything from me. I never confuse sex and love. One has nothing to do with the other. Nick raised the beer to his lips and said, “I dont love you, but try not to take it personal.

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and leaned her behind against the edge of the counter. “Youre such a shit. I dont know why I put up with you.

Nick took a long drink. They both knew why she put up with him.

Delaney felt Steves strong masculine arm encircle her waist and pull her against his side. Red, white, and blue exploded in the black night, showering the lake with fiery sparks as Delaney tested the feeling of Steves embrace. She decided she liked it. She liked the contact and the warmth. She felt alive again.

She glanced to the left and watched Nick bury the bottom half of a pipe in the sand. A few minutes earlier, shed gotten a real good look at the fireworks “Uncle Nick had brought his niece. There wasnt so much as one legal sparkler in the sack.

A cascade of gold illuminated his profile for a few brief seconds, and she looked away. She wasnt going to avoid him anymore. She wasnt going to limit where she went because she didnt want to run into him. And she wasnt going to spend the rest of her time in Truly like she had the past month. She had a plan. Her mother wasnt going to like it, but Delaney didnt care.

And she had a wedding to look forward to in November, too. Lisa had approached her again about being in her wedding and Delaney had gladly said yes. She remembered the many times she and Lisa had pinned dishtowels in their hair and pretended to walk down the aisle. Theyd speculated over who would marry first. Theyd hoped for a big double wedding. Neither of them would have believed they would remain single until the ripe old age of twenty-nine.

Twenty-nine . As far as she could tell, she was the only one of her school friends who wasnt at least engaged. In February she would turn thirty. A thirty-year-old woman with no home of her own and no man in her life. The home she wasnt worried about. With three million she could buy a home. But the man. It wasnt that she needed a man in her life. She didnt, but it would have been nice to have one around sometimes. She hadnt had a boyfriend for a while and she missed the intimacy.

Her gaze was drawn again to the dark silhouette of the man lighting rockets from a pipe near the waters edge. He turned at the waist and looked over his shoulder in her direction. A funny little tickle settled in the pit of her stomach, and she quickly glanced up into the night sky.

The town sent up a finale so spectacular it lit the lake like dawn and caught the canopy of Colonel Mansfields pontoon boat on fire. The people loved it and showed their appreciation by setting off their own bombs from beaches and balconies. Happy Dragons, Cobras, and Mighty Rebels burst in fiery showers of sparks. Legal fireworks like Whistling Petes, modified to screech and take flight, buzzed the night sky.

Delaney had forgotten what pyromaniacs the people of Truly were. A shrieking missile whizzed past her head and exploded in a red shower on Louies deck.

Welcome to Idaho. Land of potatoes and pyros.

Chapter Five

The Miatas door handle dug into Delaneys behind as Steve pressed into her front. She placed her hands on his chest and ended the kiss.

“Come home with me, he whispered above her ear.

Delaney pulled back just far enough to look into the dark shadows of his face. She wished she could use him. She wished she was tempted. She wished he wasnt so young and that his age didnt matter, but it did. “I cant. He was handsome, had pecs of steel, and seemed genuinely nice. She felt like a cradle robber.

“My roommate is out of town.

A roommate . Of course he had a roommate. He was twenty-two. He probably lived on canned chili and Budweiser. When shed been twenty-two, a well-rounded meal consisted mostly of corn chips, salsa, and sangria. Shed been living in Vegas, working at Circus Circus, not even concerned with the rest of her life. “I never go home with men Ive just met, she told him and pushed until he took a step backward.

“What are you doing tomorrow night? he asked.

Delaney shook her head and opened her cars door. “Youre a nice guy, but Im not interested in seeing anyone right now.

As she drove away, she looked into her rearview mirror at Steves retreating back. At first shed been flattered by the attention hed paid her, but as the night had progressed, shed become more uneasy. A lot of maturing happened in seven years. Matching furniture became as important as a killer stereo, and somewhere along the way, the phrase “party till you puke lost its appeal. But even if shed been seriously tempted to use Steves body for her own pleasure, Nick had ruined it for her. He ruined it by just being at the party. She was much too aware of him, and there was just too much history between them for her to ignore him completely. Even when she did manage to forget him for a few moments, shed suddenly feel his gaze, like hot irresistible tractor beams pulling at her. But when shed looked at him, he was never looking back.

Delaney turned up the long driveway and pressed the garage door opener on the dash. And even if Nick hadnt been there, and Steve hadnt been young, she doubted she would have gone home with him. She was twenty-nine, lived with her mother, and was too paranoid to enjoy a one-nighter.

After she parked next to Henry and Gwens matching Cadillacs, she headed into the house through the door off the kitchen. A bug light and several citronella candles cast a dim glow on the porch out back, illuminating Gwen and the back of a mans head. It wasnt until Delaney walked outside that she recognized Henrys lawyer, Max Harrison. She hadnt seen Max since the day hed read Henrys will. She was surprised to see him now.

“Its good to see you, he said, standing as she approached. “How do you like living in Truly again?

It sucks, she thought as she sat in a wrought-iron chair across the matching table from her mother. “It takes some getting used to.