“So do you, always.”

With a light laugh, Rowena reached for Danas hand. “And you.Mmm , what a wonderful jacket.” She skimmed her fingers along the sleeve of the butter-soft leather. But even as she spoke, she was looking beyond them and out the door. “You didnt bring Moe?”

“It didnt seem like quite the occasion for a big, clumsy dog,” Flynn told her.

“Its always the occasion for Moe.” Rowena rose on her toes to peck Flynns cheek. “You must promise to bring him next time.”

She slid her arm through Flynns. “Come, well be comfortable in the parlor.”

They crossed the great hall with its mosaic floor, moved through the wide arch to the spacious room glowing from the flames in the massive hearth and the light of dozens of white candles.

Pittestood at the mantel, a glass of amber liquid in his hand. The warrior at the gate, Dana thought. He was tall, dark, dangerously handsome, with a muscular and ready build that his elegant black suit couldnt disguise.

It was easy to imagine him wearing light armor and carrying a sword. Or sitting astride a huge black horse and wearing a cape that billowed at the gallop.

He gave a slight and courtly bow as they entered.

Dana started to speak, then a movement caught the corner of her eye. The friendly smile vanished from her face, her brows beetled, and her eyes flashed pure annoyance.

“Whats he doing here?” “He,” Jordan said dryly as he lifted a glass, “was invited.”

“Of course.” Smoothly, Rowena pressed a flute of champagne into Danas hand. “Pitteand I are delighted to have all of you here tonight. Please, be at home. Malory, you must tell me how plans are progressing on your gallery.”

With another flute of champagne and a gentle nudge, Rowena had Malory moving toward a chair. After one look at his sisters face, Flynn chose the better part of valor and followed them.

Refusing to retreat, Dana sipped her champagne and scowled atJordan over the crystal rim of her glass. “Your part in this is finished.”

“Maybe it is, maybe it isnt. Either way I get an invitation to dinner from a beautiful woman, especially if she happens to be a goddess, I accept. Nice threads,” he commented and fingered the cuff of Danas jacket.

“Hands off.” She jerked her arm out of reach, then plucked a canapй from a tray. “And stay out of my way.”

“Im not in your way.” His voice remained mild, and he took a lazy sip of his drink.

Even though Dana wore heeled boots, he had a couple of inches on her. Which was just one more reason to find him irritating. LikePitte , he could have posed for one of the stone warriors. He was six-three, every inch of it well packed. His dark hair couldve used a trim, but that slightly curly, slightly unkempt, slightly too long style suited the power of his face.

He was, always had been, lustily handsome, with blazing blue eyes under black brows, the long nose, the wide mouth, the strong bones combining in a look that could be charming or intimidating depending on his purpose.

Worse, Dana thought, he had an agile and clever mind inside that rock-hard skull. And an innate talent that had made him a wildly successful novelist before hed hit thirty.

Once, shed believed they would build a life side by side. But to her mind hed chosen his fame and his fortune over her.

And in her heart she had never forgiven him for it.

“There are two more keys,” he reminded her. “If finding them is important to you, you should be grateful for help. Whatever the source.”

“I dont need your help. So feel free to head back toNew York anytime.”

“Im going to see this through. Better get used to it.”

She snorted, then popped another canapй. “Whats in it for you?” “You really want to know?”

She shrugged. “I couldnt care less. But Id think even someone with your limited sensitivity would be aware that you bunking at Flynns is putting a crimp in the works for the turtledoves there.”

Jordanfollowed her direction, notedHynn sitting with Malory, and the way his friend absently played with the curling ends of her blond hair.

“I know how to keep out of their way, too. Shes good for him,”Jordan added.

Whatever else she could say aboutJordan —and there was plenty—she couldnt deny that he loved Flynn. So she swallowed some of the bitterness, and washed the taste of it away with champagne.

“Yeah, she is. Theyre good for each other.”

“She wont move in with him.”

Dana blinked. “He asked her to move in? To live with him? And she said no?”

“Not exactly. But the lady has conditions.”

“Which are?”

“Actual furniture in the living room and he has to redo the kitchen.”

“No kidding?” The idea had Dana feeling both amused and sentimental at once. “Thats our Mal. Before Flynn knows it, hell be living in a real house instead of a building with doors and windows and packing boxes.”

“He bought dishes. The kind you wash, not the land you chuck in the trash.”

The amusement peaked, bringing shallow dimples to her cheeks. “He did not.”

“And knives and forks that arent plastic.”

“Oh, my God, stemware could be next.”

“Im afraid so.” ,

She let out a roll of laughter, toasted to her brothers back. “Hook, line, and sinker.”

“Thats something Ive missed,”Jordan murmured. “Thats the first time Ive heard you laugh and mean it since Ive been back.”

She sobered instantly. “It didnt have anything to do with you.”

“Dont I know it.”

Before she could speak again,Zoe McCourt rushed into the room, steps ahead of Bradley Vane. She looked flustered, irritated, and embarrassed. Like a sexy wood sprite, Dana thought, whod had a particularly bad day.

“Im sorry. Im so sorry Im late.”

She wore a short, clingy black dress with long, snug sleeves and an abbreviated hem that showcased her slim and sinuous curves. Her hair, black and glossy, was short and straight with a long fringe of bangs accenting long-lidded amber eyes.

Behind her, Brad looked like some golden faerie-tale prince in an Italian suit.

Seeing them together made Dana think what a stunning couple they made—if you didnt count the frustration emanating fromZoe , or the uncharacteristic stiffness in Brads stance.

“Dont be silly.” Rowena was already up and crossing to them. “Youre not at all late.”

“I am. My car. I had trouble with my car. They were supposed to fix it, but… Well, Im very grateful Bradley was driving by and stopped.”

She didnt sound grateful, Dana noted. She sounded pissed, with that hint of theWest Virginia hills in her voice giving the temper a nice little edge.

Rowena made sympathetic noises as she ledZoe to a chair, served her champagne.

“I think I couldve fixed it,”Zoe muttered. “That may be.” With obvious gratitude, Bradley accepted a drink. “But youd have ended up with grease all over your dress. Then youd have needed to go home and change andyoudve been even later. Its hardly a slap in the face to accept a ride from someone you know whos going to exactly the same place at the same time.”

“I said I was grateful,”Zoe shot back, then took a deep breath. “Im sorry,” she said to the room in general. “Its been one of those days. And Im nervous on top of it. I hope I havent held anything up.”

“Not at all.” Rowena brushed a hand over her shoulder as a servant came to the archway and announced dinner. “There, you see? Right on time.”

* * *

IT wasnt every day you ate rack of lamb in a castle on a mountaintop inPennsylvania . The fact that the dining room had twelve-foot ceilings, a trio of chandeliers sparkling with white and red crystal drops, and a ruby granite fireplace big enough to hold the population ofRhode Island certainly added to the perks.

The atmosphere should have been intimidating and formal, yet it was welcoming. Not the sort of place youd chow down on pepperoni pizza, Dana reflected, but a nice ambience for sharing an exquisitely prepared meal with interesting people.

Conversation flowed—travel, books, business. It showed Dana the power of their hosts. It wasnt the norm for a librarian from a small valley town to sit around and break bread with a couple of Celtic gods, but Rowena andPitte made it seem normal.

And what was to come, the next step in the quest, was a subject no one broached.

Because she was seated between Brad and Jordan, Dana angled herself toward Brad and spent as much of the meal as possible ignoring her other dinner partner.

“What did you do to makeZoe mad?”

Brad flicked a glance across the table. “Apparently, I breathed.”

“Come on.” Dana gave him a little elbow poke. “Zoesnot like that. What did you do? Did you hit on her?”

“I did not hit on her.” Years of training kept his voice low, but the acid in it was still evident. “Maybe it annoyed her that I refused to muck around in her engine, and wouldnt let her muck around in it either, as we were both dressed for dinner and were already running late.”

Danas eyebrows rose. “Well, well. Seems she got your back up, too.”

“I dont care to be called high-handed and bossy just because I point out the obvious.”

Now she smiled, leaned over and pinched his cheek. “But, honey, you are high-handed and bossy. Thats why I love you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” But his lips twitched. “Then how come weve never had wild and crazy sex?”

“I dont know. Let me get back to you on that.” She speared another bite of lamb. “Guess youve been to a lot of snazzy dinners like this, in snazzy places like this.”

“There is no other place like this.”

It was easy for her to forget that her buddy Brad was Bradley Charles Vane IV, heir apparent to a lumber empire that had built one of the countrys largest and most accessible home improvement and supply chains,HomeMakers .

But seeing how smoothly he slid into this sort of sophisticated atmosphere reminded her that he was a great deal more than just the hometown boy.

“Didnt your dad buy some big castle place inScotland a few years back?”

“Manor house,Cornwall . And, yeah, its pretty incredible. Shes not eating much,” he murmured and gave a little nod towardZoe .

“Shes just nervous. Me too,” Dana added, then cut another bite of lamb. “But nothing kills my appetite.” She heardJordan laugh, and the deep male sound of it cruised along her skin. Deliberately, she ate the lamb. “Absolutely nothing.”

* * *

SHE was spending most of her time ignoring him, and taking swipes with whatever time she had left over. That,Jordan thought, was Danas usual pattern when it came to him.

He should be used to it.

So the fact that it bothered him so much was his problem. Just as finding a way to make them friends again was his mission.

Theyd once been friends. And a great deal more. The fact that they werent now was his fault, and he would take the rap for it. But just how long was a man supposed to pay for ending a relationship? Wasnt there a statute of limitations?

She looked incredible, he decided as they gathered back in the parlor for coffee and brandy. But then, hed always liked her looks, even when shed been a kid, too tall for her age and with thatpudge of baby fat still in her cheeks.

There was no baby fat in evidence now. Anywhere. Just curves, a lot of gorgeous curves.

Shed done something to her hair, he realized, some girl thing that added mysterious light to that dense brown. It made her eyes seem darker, deeper. God, how many times had he felt himself drowning in those rich chocolate eyes?

Hadnt he been entitled to come up for air?

In any case, hed meant what hed said to her before. He was back now, and she was just going to have to get used to it. Just as she would have to get used to the fact that he was part of this tangle shed gotten herself into.

She was going to have to deal with him. And it would be his pleasure to make sure she had to deal with him as often as possible.

Rowena rose. There was something in the movement, in the look of her, that tickled something at the edge ofJordan s memory. Then she stepped forward, smiled, and the moment passed.

“If youre ready, we should begin. I think its more suitable if we continue this in the other parlor.“

“Im ready.” Dana got to her feet, then looked atZoe . “You?”

“Yeah.” Though she paled a bit,Zoe clasped hands with Dana. “The first time, all I could think was dont let me be first. Now I just dont know.”