“Mom and Dad, this is Heath Champion, and I know what you’re thinking. It sounded phony to me, too. But he was born Campione, and you’ve got to admit the name Champion is good for marketing.”

“Very good for marketing,” Kate said approvingly. Her favorite bracelet, an engraved gold cuff, clinked against Nana’s old charm bracelet. At the same time, she shot Annabelle an inquisitive glance, which Annabelle pretended not to see, since she still hadn’t figured out how to explain why the man they knew as her most important client had shown up as her date.

Tonight Kate was clad in one of her St. John knit suits, the champagne color perfectly matching her ash blond hair, which she’d worn in a jaw-length Gena Rowlands pageboy for as long as Annabelle could remember. Her dad sported his favorite navy blazer, a white shirt, and a gray necktie the same color as what remained of his curly hair. Once it had been auburn like hers. An American flag pin graced his lapel, and as she hugged him, she drew in his familiar daddy scent: Brut shaving cream, dry-cleaning fluid, and well-scrubbed surgeon’s skin.

Heath started pumping hands. “Kate, Chet, it’s a pleasure.”

Although Annabelle had met her parents earlier for breakfast, her brothers had only flown in a few hours ago, and she exchanged hugs with them. Doug and Adam had inherited their blond, blue-eyed good looks from Kate, although not her tendency to carry a few extra pounds at the waist. They were looking especially handsome tonight, hard-bodied and successful.

“Doug, you’re the accountant, right?” Respect shone in Heath’s eyes. “I heard you made VP at Reynolds and Peate. Very impressive. And, Adam…The top heart surgeon in St. Louis. It’s an honor.”

Her brothers were honored right back, and the men did a friendly little shoulder slapping. “Read about you in the paper…”

“You’ve built quite a reputation…”

“…amazing client roster you have.”

Her sister-in-law used perfume like bug repellant, so Annabelle hugged her last. Overly tanned, aggressively made-up, and undernourished, Candace wore a short black strapless dress to showcase her toned arms and trim calves. Her diamond studs were nearly as big as Sean Palmer’s, but Annabelle still thought she looked like a horse.

Heath gave Candace his double whammy—sexy smile and patented dead-eyed sincerity. “Wow, Doug, how’d an ugly guy like you manage to land such a beauty?”

Doug, who knew exactly how good-looking he was, laughed. Candace gave a coquettish toss of her mahogany brown hair extensions. “The question is…How did a girl like Annabelle manage to talk a man like you into joining our silly little family party?”

Annabelle smiled sweetly. “I promised he could tie me up afterward and spank me.”

Heath enjoyed that, but her mother huffed. “Annabelle, not everyone here is familiar with your sense of humor.”

Annabelle turned her attention to the stranger in the room, Adam’s latest conquest. Like the others, including his ex-wife, this one was well tailored and attractive with square features, a blunt-cut dark brown bob, and a total lack of charm. Just the sight of those thin, unsmiling lips announced that her brother had chosen still another emotionally robotic female.