Outside, a small neighborhood boy staggered under the cumbersome girth of an enormous garden bouquet of salmon-and-white garden roses. Bess recognized the child and relieved him of the burden. “How lovely!”

Martin plucked the note from the roses. “It’s addressed to Crystal.”

Elle chucked the little boy under the chin. “Thank you, honey. Are you a secret admirer of Crystal’s?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

“No. He is,” the child said, pointing across the street at Mitch’s home before speeding off.

The threesome gaped at one another.

“I don’t think this bodes well. Crystal’s definitely going to think we’re up to something,” Bess warned.

“I’d read the note, but I think that comes under the heading of spying or snooping, something I’m not ready to stoop to,” Martin said, replacing the note in the roses.

“Oh, dear,” Elle moaned. “Wouldn’t he just complicate things for us on Crystal’s second big night? The night we’re planning to relaunch her into the dating stream?”

“No need to upset her.” Bess swept the flowers into the kitchen, putting them in a vase and burying the card among the stems. “We’ll tell her about the flowers after the party.”

They went into the front dining room to survey the hors d’oeuvres they’d labored over. The tablecloth shone white and lacy under the light. Peach candles glowed in tall silver holders. “I wish she’d come on,” Bess grumbled. “I want Martin to run her off on the ‘errand’ before the guests arrive.” All the tension of the evening was beginning to build in her muscles and in the back of her neck. She didn’t want anything to spoil the surprise for Crystal. This should be a night of happiness for my daughter.

“I’ll try her house again,” Martin said. “And the shop.”

“You need not bother. It’ll be a few more minutes before she gets here,” Elle said suddenly, letting the lace panel of the drape fall back into place. “She just went into Mitch’s house.”

CRYSTAL HAD TO FORCE herself to move past Mitch into the hallway. Her heart beat quickly, enough to make her feel even more nervous than she already was. He stared at her with curious eyes, and every instinct screamed that she’d made a mistake in coming. “I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday,” she said, her tone crisp to cover her discomfort. “Not that I appreciate the joke that was played on me, of course. But I overreacted to something that was, after all, only a joke.”

His eyes widened. “I didn’t play a joke on you, Crystal. And I certainly understood your reaction. Actually, I was quite stunned to be jerked inside your store.”

“It’s hard to believe you,” she murmured. “My trio of loving family members had just been stating their feelings about my unwed status. And then, presto! Available high school boyfriend appears, like a canned man. Instant relationship. Or at least I suppose they’d hoped it would be.”

“I’m not available,” he corrected her, “nor would I be a candidate for a canned man, as you put it.”

Her lips parted just a fraction, though she caught herself before her mouth fell completely open. “Not available! I haven’t heard anything about you being married.” Then she blushed, because she had as much admitted she’d been keeping an ear attuned to his bachelor status.

“Oh, you mean available as in unmarried!” he exclaimed, as if he hadn’t known all along that was what she’d meant. A twinkle gleamed in his eyes. “Since you’re inquiring, actually, I am currently unattached.”

“I was not inquiring,” Crystal said, her feathers totally ruffled. “It makes no difference to me at all. I’m a very happy single woman, and I couldn’t care less about any man!”

“Ooh, that sounds angry.” He pulled her by the hand into the sitting room. “Care to talk to me about it?”

“No!” Jerking her hand out of his, she glared at him.

He appeared nonplussed. “Oh. I just thought maybe you had some issues with men you’d like to talk about.”

“I wouldn’t discuss them with you, even if I did have men issues, which I most certainly do not!”

“Well, clearly something’s going on, if your family is jerking strange men off the street to go out with you.” He sucked his teeth in a “poor Crystal” emphasis as he shook his head. “Think of me as your big brother, ready to counsel you.”

If Crystal could have steamed, she would have. “The last person I would ever want to help me with any psychological trauma is you. You are no big brother figure in my life, Mitch McStern!”

“I see it now,” he murmured.

“See what?” she demanded, cursing herself for falling for his ploy.

“That fire you used to have. Ah, Crystal, I thought you’d lost your shine for good. All you needed was a little heat, and the radiance is reflecting right back off your transparent heart.”

He pulled her into his arms, giving her a kiss that was guaranteed to melt any remaining ice she might have possessed. Crystal struggled at first, outraged, before slowly allowing herself to give in to the memories. He still kissed the same, wonderfully gentle and deep, taking his time with her. She was special in his arms. He had the power to make her feel that way. If he was heat to her ice, she was liquid water now, flowing smooth and wet.

She gasped when he pulled away from her. His hand swooshed a fast smack to her fanny, and she jumped away from him as if lightning had zapped her. “Oh!”

“A kiss for good luck, and a spanking to grow on. Happy birthday, Crystal.”

“How dare you?” He stood looking at her smugly, and Crystal wanted to smack him upside the head with a sofa cushion.

The phone rang, startling both of them. She whirled to leave.

“Uh-uh,” he said, grabbing hold of her wrist. “No running off in a huff or the previously offered apology is moot.”

“I’m not apologizing for being angry now!” Crystal tried to loosen her wrist but she couldn’t. His grip was strong, and his grin was huge. He was toying with her!

He reached to answer the phone, and she considered sending a fast kick to his ankle. But he shook his head at her, warning her in case she made that mistake. The way things were going, they’d end up on the floor in a wrestling match, and that would do no good for the little composure she had left.

“Elle? How are you doing? I haven’t seen you, well, since yesterday, I guess. I would have liked to spend more time with you and Martin and Bess,” he said, catching Crystal’s complete attention. “Everything happened so fast. Maybe next time we can visit longer. Why, yes, she is here,” he practically crooned, enraging Crystal totally. “We were just remembering the good old days.”

Wildly, Crystal tugged at her wrist, determined to get away from him. Without seeming to pay her much attention, he drew her against him, holding her tightly against his side.

“Sure. I can do that. You, too, Elle.”

He hung up the phone and grinned at her.

“They’re expecting me. Let go of me,” Crystal commanded.

“I can’t. They said they can’t meet with you for another thirty minutes, and would I mind keeping you occupied in the meantime. I said I was more than happy to do so.”

“I don’t need to be kept occupied!”

“Your aunt Elle said you did. And I’m delighted to do my neighborly duty.” He ran a finger along the side of her face, brushing back the wisps of hair that now escaped the dangerously loose knot.

Traitorous chills raced through her veins. “Mitch, let me sit on the sofa. I don’t want to be this close to you.”

He let go of her. “Methinks you protest too much, but that’s okay. You always had a hard head. Let’s sit down and chat about our schoolmates.”

“I don’t want to make idle conversation.” Her heart was still hammering from their kiss. How could he act so nonchalant about it? No one had ever kissed her the way he did. Sadness overwhelmed her. The truth was, she did want a man—the right man for her! How could she ever find him when he had to compete with what Mitch could do to her with a simple kiss?

“Oh, don’t be a spoilsport.” He patted the leather sofa where he’d taken a seat. “You’re safe with me. Your aunt asked me to keep you company for a few minutes while they finish cooking something. You can stay here without losing your cool.”

Her temper began to rise again. “I believe you grabbed me, not the other way around.”

“Well, a guy should remember his ex-girlfriend’s birthday, or he wasn’t much to start with, right? I like to think I have some romantic qualities.”

She ground her teeth, not taking the seat he’d offered. He lounged on the leather sofa, completely unaffected by her stern expression. “Any guy who has two dates to a senior prom most certainly has delusions of romantic grandeur. As for me, that’s not what I look for in a man.”

He perked up. “So tell me what you are looking for. You must be picky to have remained unmarried in a town like Lover’s Valley where marriage is practically in the air everyone breathes, piped through the water systems, and sung to babies in their cradles. And you run a bridal shop, too.” He shook his head. “Maybe you got hung up on one man and couldn’t find anyone to live up to him.”

“Absolutely not!” Her hands went to her hips as she glared at him. “Mitch, I know what you’re hinting at, that I never got over you, and it’s simply not true. I’ve dated a lot of men. I am waiting for the right one. There is no good-through date stamped on me, I’ll have you know!”

“Lucky for you this is the twenty-first century, or you’d be called a spinster, you know,” he said, his tone reasonable. “I’ve always thought that was such an ugly term. Spinster, maiden aunt, it all speaks to lonely, unloved existences, in my mind.”

“Thankfully, your mind is not what counts where I’m concerned,” Crystal snapped.

“Don’t you want to know why I never married?” Mitch asked, his grin teasing.

“No.” She turned her back as if to leave. “I am not going to play this ridiculous game with you. I knew that was what you were leading up to all along.” Her curiosity was burning, but she would have stuck one of her straight pins in her eye before she admitted it.

“Okay,” he said agreeably. “We won’t talk about me. Let’s talk about you. Now that you’re a successful business owner and an avowed recluse, what’s the next goal in your life plan?”

“To live through the next fifteen minutes with you,” she said between gritted teeth as she turned to stare at him again. “Why I ever thought I needed to apologize to you is beyond me.” Why she still found him attractive was another mystery, too unpleasant to delve into deeply. Why, why, why?

And he seemed to know her thoughts as he reclined against the sofa arm, gazing at her. His eyes sparked with mischief and reckless fun, much the same as in more youthful days. But now…now he was so much more handsome. No young boy, but a grown man broad of chest and shoulders, his muscled arms not nearly concealed enough by the clinging white polo shirt. Darn him. Though his eyes were still those of her teenaged Romeo, his face had planed into maturity. A five o’clock shadow surrounded well-formed lips, those lips that had just left her breathless with a kiss every bit as heart-stealing as their cherished kisses of the past.

“Now, Crystal, admit you’re glad to see me.”

“I don’t think telling lies is honorable.”

He vaulted over the sofa back to stand in front of her. “I’m glad to see you,” he said softly. “I’ve thought about you a lot.”

Her heart froze, suspended like a cold rock in her chest. “You have not,” she said weakly.

“I have. How could I forget you?”

She couldn’t stand it any longer. Common sense told her she didn’t want to know, but her foolish heart was already crying to know the answer. “Why didn’t you take me to the prom?” she asked on an anguished whisper.

“I wanted to. I was looking forward to it.” He reached up, finally snagging the red Chinese sticks and removing them so that her hair fell to her shoulders. Laying the sticks on the sofa table, he pulled her into his arms. “I couldn’t,” he said, brushing a kiss against her lips. “I just found myself in a position I couldn’t extricate myself from,” he murmured against her mouth, before tasting deeply of her.

He pulled back and his words brushed her lips. “Crystal, I tried to talk to you a hundred times after the prom, and you ignored me every time. You wouldn’t return my calls. Never replied to my notes—which, by the way, I saw torn up in the trash after we cleared out our lockers. You didn’t attend our graduation night party, and I knew then that you’d avoid me at any cost.

“And you did, didn’t you, Crystal? And today I’ve just teased you a lot to keep from scaring you off again. I didn’t want to lose you then—” but I can’t have you now, he finished silently.

Crystal clung to him as if there were no tomorrow. There were no family members waiting on her, no birthday dinner with just her relatives woefully eyeing the carefully counted candles on her homemade birthday cake. She was seventeen again, and nothing would ever come between her and Mitch. Nothing.

“What was it?” she asked on a gasp, feeling his thigh part hers and push against the serviceable dress she’d worn to work.

“I can’t tell you,” he said. “All I can tell you is that I wish it had been you I was with that night.”

Stunned, she stared up into his eyes. He ran a thumb lightly over her lips. “Why can’t you tell me?”

“The reason is confidential. I would be breaking Kathryn’s confidence to tell you.”

Splinters of jealousy flew into her heart. “I was never sure how Kathryn got to be part of our big night. When did the two of you get to be such good friends?”

“She had a problem that she came to me for help with.” Mitch gazed at her, his expression longing. “I can say no more than that. You have to trust me, Crystal. I wanted to be with you.”

A long moment passed as she weighed whether she really wanted to ask the question that popped into her mind. Most likely, she didn’t want to know. “Did you kiss her?” she asked, her face flaming as soon as she said the words.

After a moment, he gave a single nod. Crystal’s heart shattered all over again. There was nothing else she would ask, because he’d given her the answer she needed. He’d made love to her the night before; she’d thought their shared first time meant something.

But he’d kissed Kathryn the very next night.

“I have to go! I have to get out of here.”

She flew to the front door and outside before he could stop her. Sprinting across the street, she noted that her house was brightly lit, which was unusual. Her family was usually very energy-conscious. But she had to get away from Mitch and their past and the pain, and she couldn’t stop to admire how pretty the house looked with all the lights bedecking the evening.

She threw open the door and slammed it behind her, gulping air as she realized she’d left her hair ornaments at Mitch’s, so that her usual snug do was a tousled mop. Her lips had been kissed of lipstick and felt larger than normal. She had to get her makeup on and her hair up before her family’s sharp eyes noticed—

“Surprise!”

Crystal screamed as it seemed a hundred people leapt out at her from behind sofas and curtains and tables. Her hand flew to her throat and then to her uncustomarily mussed hair.

The added shock was too much for her already skittish blood pressure. Before Crystal could stop herself, she slid to the parquet floor in a faint.

Chapter Four

Crystal thought she was waking from a nightmare when she opened her eyes to see Frank Peters staring down at her. “Are you all right, Crystal?” he asked.

Even in their high school days, Frankie had been a menace. Girls weren’t safe in his car. He was too darn handsome for words, and he by golly knew it.

She wanted no part of him. “I’m fine,” she whispered. Now go away, nightmare.

Lincoln Lark, who’d once held the record for most yards rushed in a season for the Lover’s Valley Vikings, tried to help her to her feet. “Let me carry you,” he offered. “I’ll put you on the sofa.”

Lincoln hadn’t come by his record by accident. He rushed for yardage the same way he rushed for women. Crystal wanted no part of him, either, having seen him snap the back of homely Penny Parson’s bra while she was fishing around in her locker. He’d laughed uproariously at her yelp of surprise and pain. Crystal hadn’t thought the “turtle snap” was very funny. “Go away, Lincoln,” she said, as gently as possible, giving him a little push. “I can get up by myself.”

“Aw. You’re always saying you can do everything by yourself, Crystal Jennings.” Barney Fearing was the third head that clouded her vision. “Only woman in Lover’s Valley who’d have three strong, handsome men offer to help her, and stubbornly stay lying on her back just to show everybody how independent she is. Come on, you old party pooper. Can’t believe you hit the ground at your own surprise party.”

She eyed Barney, her gaze narrow. He was always less tolerant of her than the other high school guys, possibly since they’d once gotten into a water-balloon-throwing contest and she’d hit him square in the zipper so that he’d gone around for a couple of hours looking like he’d peed his jeans. Not only that, but the balloon had hit him hard enough to send the color rushing from his face. The girls had cheered her, but Barney had been respectful of her aim after that. He’d begun treating her like a kid sister he had to protect.

He wasn’t acting so brotherly now. She frowned at him.

He ogled her legs. “If you don’t get up, I’m going to forget I’m a gentleman and look up your dress. When you faint, Crystal, you show a maximum amount of skin.”

She gasped, and either he pulled her to her feet or she shot there by furious propulsion.

“Jes’ kiddin’,” he said with a toothy grin.

But she’d gained her feet only to come face-to-face with Mitch. Crystal stifled a moan, wondering if she’d pass out again.

“Here, Doc,” Barney said. “This is the most hardheaded woman in all the valley. Got a cure for that?”

The room became still as night. Crystal flushed cold all over. Not a single soul in the room was unaware that Mitch had dumped her. Fascinated curiosity captured everyone’s attention.

He eyed her coolly, assessing, most likely, the mark he’d left on her unruly hair and swollen lips. “Haven’t seen one in the Physician’s Desk Reference,” he said maddeningly. “Hardheadedness isn’t something that necessarily demands a cure, though. And should the patient want to be cured, that would require a doctor of psychology. It’s not my field.” He winked at her, playing to the audience.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, exasperated with his audacity.

He shrugged. “When you fainted, Mom called me over to check you out. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” She’d been completely fine until he’d stormed back into her life. “I’ve never fainted before. Never. You needn’t have bothered yourself on my account. I’m sure it was just an allergic reaction to something.”

He grinned at her.

“Come on,” Barney said, hauling her into the great room. “You’ve got about a hundred old chums here to talk to. You don’t have time to have a panic attack. Me and Frank and Lincoln’ll take care of you in case you start getting woozy again.”

Crystal groaned inside. She felt physically ill. But her mother and Uncle Martin and Aunt Elle were beaming like sunshine, delighted with their surprise party, and she’d be damned if she’d disappoint them. Taking a deep breath, she smiled at all of the guests crowded into the great room and flowing across the hallway into the parlor. “Thank you all so much for coming,” she said loudly. “What a wonderful surprise!”

Then she went over and kissed her family, with her three over-eager knights at her side.

Mitch, she noticed when she glanced over her shoulder, merely leaned up against the door she’d fainted against, his grin as irritatingly wide as a canyon.

MITCH HUNG AROUND, even though his medical services were no longer required. Aunt Elle pressed a drink into his hand, and Martin managed to get him into a discussion about the skin on Martin’s upper arm that had turned brown in an odd-shaped patch. Mitch recommended a specialist for him to see, and then Bess spirited him into the kitchen so she could thank him for the roses displayed on the table.

“Crystal doesn’t know you sent them,” Bess confided. “We didn’t have a chance to tell her.”

“That’s all right.”

She didn’t say anything to that, and Mitch suddenly wondered why he’d been lured into the kitchen, away from the guests. Away from Crystal. “Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked, wondering if she perhaps had a reason for keeping him in here with her.

“Well, you could put some olives on top of those crackers with the spread on them, and arrange a little garnish beside that cheese ball.”

He glanced in the direction she indicated. Tiny olive slices sat atop different types of spread, and perfectly placed rows of crackers lay waiting beside a tempting cheese ball. His lips folded. “You’ve already done that, Bess.”

She looked up, her attention clearly elsewhere. “Oh, you’re right. How silly of me.”

“Can I carry them out to the guests for you?”

“Oh, no, Mitch. You just sit right down here and make yourself comfortable.”

He sat but decided Bess had a motive. “Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Why, no!” She gave a high laugh. “I just haven’t seen you in so long I thought I’d allow myself to monopolize your time for a little while. Neighbor’s privilege, you know.”

Through the serving window, he could see Crystal being squired around the room by Frankie, Lincoln and Barney. She now wore a feisty red dress with a short, knife-pleat skirt that swayed gently just above her knees when she slow-danced to the three-piece band on the patio. After Crystal had sufficiently gained her footing, Elle had spirited her upstairs to give her a “birthday present,” which turned out to be the hot red number and matching sparkly heels. She’d pulled her blond hair up into a glamorous fall of curls and applied siren-red lipstick to her sweet, heart-shaped lips. The severely professional Crystal had disappeared with a wave of Elle’s nimble fingers. He had to give them credit: Elle and Bess on a manhunt for Crystal was a formidable quest. One of those unsuspecting but eager lunkheads drooling on Crystal would find his finger skewering a wedding ring if he wasn’t careful.

He shook his head. “So this isn’t a surprise party as much as open season for Crystal.”

Bess’s fingers hesitated over the cucumbers she was paring. “Whatever do you mean?”

“The knights invited to pay court to your daughter.”

She gave him an innocent look. “I have no idea of your meaning, Mitch. We merely invited everyone who was still in Lover’s Valley who was Crystal’s age and our acquaintance.”

None too smoothly, Frankie put his hand at the small of Crystal’s back, only to collide with Barney’s hand, which was already there. Both men jerked their hands away from Crystal and glared at each other. Lincoln took advantage of this break in bodily possession to claim Crystal for a dance. Mitch grinned at the pained look on Crystal’s face, though it was instantly replaced by a polite smile.

He shifted on the chair and snagged a cucumber from the neat row Bess had sliced. She smacked his hand without rancor and continued cutting.

“You look very nice, Bess.” It was the truth, but he could tell his compliment flustered her. She wore an elegant dress of blue silk, long-sleeved and to her knees, perfect for church.

“Don’t flatter me, Mitch. It’s not my big night,” she told him, her tone brisk.

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