“Maybe not, but I think it’s time to bury the hatchet and get on with our lives. Bliss is married now, has her own life with Mason and his daughter, Dee Dee—that’s her, dancing with her father.” She pointed to Mason and a girl of about nine or ten, he guessed, as they danced together. Dee Dee was embarrassed, but Mason swung her off her feet and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Anyway, so Bliss is happy and now Tiffany and J.D. are going to tie the knot, so why dwell on the past? Don’t get me wrong—John and Mom should never have carried on an affair while he was married. Though, come to think of it, if they hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here, would I?” She grinned and the reflection of a thousand tiny bulbs in the chandelier overhead shone in her eyes.

“And that would be a shame.” Luke brushed a lock of her hair off her cheek and saw her smile slowly fade as she stared at him. The pulse at the base of her throat jumped a little and he was lost in her. He forgot the dozens of people in the room, was alone and intimate with her as the world around them slipped away.

“A . . . a big shame,” she said, trying and failing to lighten the mood. She avoided his eyes for a second and he forced himself to think of something, anything other than holding on to her and never letting go.

“So what about you? Both your half-sisters are getting married.”

“I have my career,” she said automatically and sensed her blood heat. Being this close to Luke, feeling the pressure of his fingers on her back caused her head to swim. Oh, Lord, how had she gotten this close to him?

“And that’s the most important thing in your life.”

“Second. Josh is first.” That was a given, but she didn’t want to discuss her son; not with this man who spoke little but asked questions that delved far too deep. Changing the subject was simple. “So, I guess you and I will be neighbors in a couple of weeks.”

“More than neighbors,” he said, and stupidly her heart took flight as the leader of the dance band announced that the musicians would be taking a break.

“More?”

“You’ll be my landlady.”

“Oh.” She let out her breath and laughed. “Good. It’ll give me a little bit of power, won’t it?”

His smile was off-center and sexy as all get-out. “A little. But I’ll be movin’ out myself soon.”