Dani turned, finding Harper standing behind her, her hair still damp from her shower. She didn’t know what liberties she could take now…now that they’d slept together. She would take as much as Harper would allow, she supposed. Because yes, last night had been perfect. So different than the affair she’d had with Tara. And certainly different than the fumbling teenagers she and Traci had been. When she’d dared to dream about having a lover…a lover she didn’t have to hide…those dreams were never as vivid as what she’d experienced with Harper. She hesitated going to her, though. It was now the light of day; they were no longer in bed, naked, touching. Harper tilted her head, studying her. Could she read her mind? Did Harper sense her uncertainty? She must have. She leaned closer, touching her lips lightly, then lingering there, enough for Dani to feel the heat spring up between them again. What liberties could she take? She opened Harper’s robe, finding her naked, as she’d hoped. Their kiss deepened and Dani felt herself being pulled closer, her clothed body pressing against Harper’s naked one. She wanted to rip her own clothes off. She wanted to pull Harper back into bed. She wanted to turn the lights out and pretend it was still the wee hours of the morning, pretend that they had all the time in the world.

But they didn’t. They had a stalker.

Still…Harper was the one to end the heated kiss, the one to take a step back…not her. Harper tightened the robe again, cleared her throat, and repeated her question.

“So…your grandmother’s?”

Dani nodded, only then realizing she still had the heart-shaped locket in her hand. She looked at it, the shiny surface worn smooth by years and years of being touched, of being rubbed between fingers. The inscription on the back was all but worn away. My Love.

“She never had a wedding ring. Or an engagement ring, for that matter.” She smiled, remembering the story her grandmother had told her many times. “They eloped. Drove all the way to Vegas to get married. They couldn’t afford rings so he got this for her. She never took it off, not even after he died.” She looked at Harper. “So when she gave it to me…when she took it off and gave it to me…well, I guess I should have known something was wrong.”

“I’m sorry.”