Tabitha, Court’s orange tabby cat who couldn’t stand me, was waiting around the corner at the bottom of the steps. She pounced out at my feet as soon as I reached the landing. She startled me so much that I yelped and threw my pocketbook in the air as I nearly fell. Tabi darted off. Then she and I glared at each other from across the room as I stooped to retrieve my belongings.

Buster, Court’s lazy basset hound, watched the entire exchange with mild interest, but didn’t bother to get up. He watched me grab a bagel from the kitchen, and then he gave me two tail thumps when I said goodbye to him. The burst of activity evidently wore him out because he shifted his head along the floor and went back to sleep.

The drive to Sam’s house didn’t take long. I tried to think of the exact wording for what I wanted to say to him, but then decided just to improvise when I got there. We were so hot for each other that we might not talk for a while anyway. I had the feeling that we would likely want each other so badly that we would take a ‘screw now, talk later’ approach. I smiled at the thought.

As I turned up the incline, making the approach to Sam’s house on the cliff, I marveled at the impressive structure. It had been built so that it looked like it dangled impossibly out over the lake. Having grown up in Michigan, I had seen my share of gorgeous lake houses, but this one was truly unique and amazing, just like its owner. I grinned with anticipation, already damp at the thought of getting to see Sam soon.

As I rounded the last bend to his house, I noticed a blue SUV parked in his driveway. I frowned slightly at the thought of having to share him with anyone right now, but I was certain that whoever was here would have enough sense to see that we needed to be alone and make a quick exit.

I parked my car, leaving plenty of room for the SUV to back out of the drive. As I walked past the other vehicle, I briefly wondered if it belonged to another woman. After all, Sam was known for being a womanizer. He might be banging one of his plastic-looking, perfect Barbie doll lookalikes in there right now. I squelched the thought and the queasiness it brought along with it.

I tried to shake off my sudden nervousness as I walked up the stone path to Sam’s front door. The massive wood door was surrounded on either side by tall, brightly colored stained glass windows. It was through these windows that I saw movement as I raised my finger to press the doorbell.