“This is not a good idea,” Marina murmured, even as she held out her wineglass. “Twenty-four hours ago, I was curled up like a dog on the bathroom floor. I should give my stomach time to recover.”

“It has,” Todd said confidently. “Besides, you were the one who was going to put frosting on perfectly good brownies. Isn’t this better?”

The “this” in question was a bottle of red wine. It was after midnight. She and Todd had made love a second time then dozed off, only to wake up starving. He’d pulled on jeans and had given her a T-shirt to wear, then they’d made their way to the kitchen where they’d found mostly defrosted brownies on the counter.

She inhaled the scent of the wine, then took a sip. It was smooth and dark, with absolutely no bite. “Not bad. Let me guess. You have a wine cellar in the basement.”

“The house doesn’t have a basement, but there is a temperature and humidity controlled wine cellar.”

“Naturally.” She thought of the lone bottle of chardonnay she kept in her refrigerator…for special occasions, of course. “And if I wanted a bottle of Dom Pérignon?”

He shrugged. “What do you think?”

That he wasn’t what she’d expected. That he was a whole lot better and that made him dangerous.

She took the brownie he offered, then followed him to the sofa in the family room. At some point he must have turned on a stereo because she could hear soft music in the background.

They sat facing each other, the night settling in around them. She felt a sense of intimacy and connection—neither were very smart.

“Todd,” she began, not sure exactly what she wanted to say.

“I know.”

“How can you? I don’t even know what I was going to say.”

He set his wineglass and brownie on the coffee table, then leaned in and kissed her. “You’re going to say that this is a complication neither of us needs. That we have a wedding to plan and that we’re about to become related by marriage—again. That staying friends instead of lovers makes the most sense.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s probably what I was going to say,” she admitted, letting herself get lost in his dark eyes. “Not that tonight wasn’t great.”

“Agreed.”

“And that you’re not nearly as toady as I thought you’d be.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Toady?”

She grinned. “You know what I mean.”

“You mean I’m sophisticated and charming. A man of the world, unlike the boy-nerds you usually date.”

“Something like that. And I’m refreshingly intelligent and together, with just a hint of sass and a fabulous grasp of the English language, unlike those stick figures you usually date.”

“You are all those things,” he said and kissed her again. Then he wrapped his arms around her and eased her onto her back on the sofa.

She stared up at him. “We’d agreed this was a bad idea to continue.”

“We’ll end things tomorrow,” he said as he kissed his way along her jaw.

“It is tomorrow.”

“Not until the sun comes up. That means we have all night.”

She wrapped her arms around him and gave herself up to his seduction. All night sounded just about perfect to her.

“They’re arguing about the color of the shutters,” Willow said as she carefully pulled an impossibly tiny plant from the soil and carefully placed it in a plastic container. “I’m sorry I ever mentioned shutters. I don’t mind handling the remodel, but I hate it when they start e-mailing me separately.”

Marina found herself mesmerized by the quick and expert movements of her sister’s fingers. Willow poured in the potting mix, tapped it down, made a hole, plucked a slender plant from the tray and settled it in its new home.

“I’m thinking purple,” Willow said. “You know—to match the elephants.”

Marina blinked. “What elephants?”

Her sister sighed. “I knew you weren’t listening to me. What’s going on?”

“There are going to be elephants?”

“No.” Willow sighed. “Marina, what’s up? You’re not yourself. Do you feel okay?”

If she ignored the faint protest of sore and stretched muscles, then she was exceptional. She and Todd had made love past dawn. While she was impressed with his ability to be ready time after time, she was also pretty pleased with her own performance. She would guess that she’d had more orgasms in the last twenty-four hours than maybe in all her previous life.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Just a little tired.”

“Uh-huh.” Willow didn’t look convinced. She walked to the door of the back room at the nursery and closed it, then put her hands on her h*ps and stared at her sister. “Start at the beginning and talk slowly. I don’t want to miss anything.”

“There’s nothing to say.” Which was a big, fat lie. “Well, not all that much.”

“I’m going to stand here and glare at you until you tell me.”

Marina smiled. “You’re not actually glaring. It’s more of a semiscowl.”

“Marina!”

“Okay, okay. I’m fine. Everything is fine. It’s just…” She felt her mouth curve up in a very satisfied smile. “Friday Todd and I did some tasting at a caterer. When I went back to his place to discuss flowers with a floral designer, I started to feel really bad. We both had food poisoning. I ended up spending the night there, practically chained to the toilet.”

“And that’s what you’re smiling about?”

“No. But Todd was great. By yesterday we were feeling better. He asked me to stay—in the guest room. So we had dinner and watched a movie and then, well…”

Willow’s eyes widened. “Ohmygod! You had sex with Todd Aston the Third. I’m going to get a million dollars!”

Marina held up both hands. “Number one, I’m not marrying him, so you can let your dreams of the million dollars go. If you’re so hot to open a nursery, talk to Kane. He would do anything for you.”

Willow shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m going to raise the money on my own. If you’re not willing to marry to get it for me, then I’ll get a loan or something. Which, by the way, is so not the point. You had sex with Todd?”

Marina smiled. “I did. It was great. He’s nothing I’d imagined. I like him.”

Willow moved close and hugged her. “That’s great. Yea for you.”

“It’s not great. It’s weird and uncomfortable and we’re not going to be together that way again.”

Willow stepped back and stared. “Excuse me? You’re glowing. I’ve never seen you glow before. No one walks away from glowy sex.”

“I will. We both will. We talked about it and this is the most sensible plan. Look, we’re already related by marriage through Grandma Ruth. It’s going to happen again when Julie and Ryan get married. Todd is in our lives forever. A relationship with him wouldn’t go anywhere.”

Willow returned to her plants. “Why not? He’s single, you’re single. That’s an excellent start.”

“We don’t have anything in common. We’re from different worlds. On a more basic level, he doesn’t trust women at all. Having heard about his past, I kind of don’t blame him. And I’m not totally healthy in that area, myself. I have issues.”

Willow collected another plant. “You’re not Mom. You’re not going to lose yourself in a man.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You don’t, either. I know you’re too scared to try. You’ve always chosen safe guys. Guys who adored you but who could never, in a million years, actually touch your heart. You’ve never risked falling in love, so you can’t know what you’ll do. None of us want to be like Mom. None of us want to give up everything for a man. So don’t. Be strong. Be your own person. But take a chance.”

It was really good advice. A sensible person might even consider it. But in this case, Marina refused to be sensible. There was too much to lose.

“Even if I let myself fall for him,” she said. “He’d never love me back. He refuses to get that involved.”

“There’s always a first time.”

“Not for him.”

“You’re wrong,” Willow told her. “There’s a first time for everyone. Look at Kane. But you have to be willing to take the chance. You can’t find perfect happiness unless you’re willing to risk the pain. Is a half life of being safe really worth never finding your soul mate?”

Marina thought about their mother. Naomi had only ever loved one man and she’d spent her entire life having her heart broken by him over and over again.

“The soul mate thing is highly overrated,” she murmured.

“No, it’s not,” Willow insisted. “But love does require faith. If you can’t have that, you’ll never know. What if Todd’s the one? Are you really willing to let him walk away? At least Mom spends some of the time happy. When Dad’s with her, all is right with the world. If she didn’t have those moments of joy, the rest wouldn’t be worth it.”

Marina wasn’t convinced those brief moments were worth anything. Not when the pain was so great and there was no escape. She’d lived her whole life without a soul mate and had done just fine. It would be a whole lot easier to get over what she’d never had than to risk being destroyed by a man determined to never give his heart.

Eight

Todd checked his watch. He’d arrived a couple of minutes early for his meeting with Marina at the bridal shop, but he wasn’t worried about her keeping him waiting. She wasn’t the type.

He’d wondered if seeing her again after their long night together would be awkward, but now that he was here, he only felt anticipation. Not a good thing, he thought grimly. She wasn’t the type to play the no-strings game and he wasn’t willing to accept anything else. Even for her.

So he would forget what happened and look at her only as his cousin’s fiancée’s sister. A distant acquaintance. Someone he liked, but didn’t care about. Wasn’t interested in. Wouldn’t get involved with.

His good intentions lasted right up until she burst into the bridal shop, looking rushed and five kinds of gorgeous.

“I know, I know,” she said as she stepped inside and grinned at him. “I’m a minute late. How you must resent me for treating you so badly. Next thing you know I’ll be making you hold my purse while I try on clothes and call you snookums.”

He laughed with her and their gazes locked. Within seconds the rest of the world ceased to matter. There was only this moment and the woman in front of him.

Wanting made him hard and need made him step toward her. The sensible part of his brain was outvoted. The only thing that made sense was Marina in his arms.

One of them moved first. He didn’t know if it was him or her and it didn’t matter. But before he could reach for her, a fortysomething saleswoman walked up to them and sighed.

“How wonderful,” she said. “I can always tell when a couple is really in love. You two have brightened my day.”

It was like being dropped headfirst in a big, icy pool of reality. He stepped back. Marina did the same and then they avoided looking at each other.

Great, he thought grimly. Now things were going to be awkward. He’d never wanted that. Making love with Marina had been the most fun he’d had in a hell of a long time. Not just the sex, although that had been record-setting. But just hanging out with her. Relaxing, being comfortable.

“We’re, ah, not getting married,” Marina said with a smile that looked more forced than happy. “I’m Marina Nelson. You’ve spoken with my sister Julie. She’s the bride who’s hiding out in China right now and making everyone else do her dirty work for her.”

“Oh, of course.” The woman looked between them. “My mistake. I’m Christie.”

Todd introduced himself and they all shook hands.

“I have some ideas of what your sister might like,” Christie said. “She was very specific about all her no’s, which makes things easier. I understand you’ll be trying things on and then getting her feedback?”

Marina nodded.

“That’s fine. Usually we don’t allow brides to take pictures until they’ve actually put a deposit on the dress, but Julie made special arrangements with the owner, so we’re good on that. You have a camera?”

Todd patted his suit jacket. “Right here.”

“Good. All right, Marina. Let’s dress you up like a bride. I understand you and your sister are about the same size and height?”

The two women disappeared down a hallway. Todd found a comfortable chair and a table full of financial and sports magazines. A few minutes later Christie appeared and asked if he would like anything to drink.

He accepted the offer of coffee, then settled in to read. But he couldn’t seem to concentrate on the article. Instead he remembered Marina’s teasing expression when she’d first walked into the shop and felt a return of the pleasure he’d felt at that moment.

What the hell was up with that? he wondered. Liking her wasn’t one of his rules. Wanting more was even worse. He knew the danger inherent in the situation…the betrayal that would follow. It always had. No woman was to be trusted.

But for the first time in years he found himself wanting to break his own rules. To see if maybe, possibly, Marina was different, even though he knew she couldn’t ever be.