She looked over at her house. If she went back there, she wouldn’t have the courage to come back. She straightened her dress and knocked on the door.

He didn’t answer.

She frowned and turned to make sure she did see his Jeep parked on the street. She had her back to the door when she felt it open. It stirred the hem of her dress and she turned back around.

“Hi, Tyler.”

He stood there, as if so shocked he couldn’t move. If he was going to leave this all up to her, they were both in trouble. Break it down into steps, she told herself, like a recipe. Take one man and one woman, put them in a bowl.

She really sucked at this.

“Can I come in?” she asked.

He hesitated and looked over his shoulder. “Well, sure. Of course,” he said, stepping back to let her enter. She walked past him, almost touching him, letting him feel the static. This was obviously the last thing he expected, because the first thing he asked was, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” she said, then she saw her.

There was a woman, a petite redhead, sitting cross-legged on the floor, two bottles of beer on the coffee table next to her. She either meant something to Tyler or clearly wanted to. Her shoes were off and nowhere to be seen, and she was leaning forward so that the flowy V-neck of her shirt fell away from her chest slightly. She was wearing a peach-colored bra. It seemed Tyler had two females ready to seduce him that night.

How could she be so stupid? Did she really think he was just sitting here waiting on her? “Oh. You have company.” She started backing away and backed right into him. She whirled around. “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. Rachel is an old friend, passing through on her way to Boston from Florida. She’s staying with me a few days. Rachel, this is Claire, my next-door neighbor. She’s a caterer specializing in edible flowers. She’s incredible.” Tyler took Claire by the arm and tried to lead her farther into the living room. After a couple of seconds he had to pull his hand away quickly, flipping it back and forth as if burned. He met her eyes with a dawning understanding.

“I’m sorry. I really have to go. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“You weren’t—” Tyler said, but she was already out the door.

“Claire?” Sydney called. She was halfway up the staircase before Sydney made it out of the sitting room. “Claire?”

She stopped and turned. “Rachel.”

Sydney looked up at her, confused. “What?”