“So tell me what you’re looking for in a man,” Mitch said.

“You must be picky to have remained unmarried in Lover’s Valley, where marriage is practically in the air everyone breathes and sung to babies in their cradles.”

Crystal’s hands went to her hips. “I know what you’re hinting at—that I never got over you—and it’s simply not true.”

“Do you want to know why I never married?” Mitch asked, his grin teasing.

“No.” She turned her back as if to leave. Her curiosity was burning, but she’d have stuck a pin in her eye before admitting it.

“I’ve thought about you a lot,” he said softly.

Her heart froze. “You have not,” she said weakly.

“I have. How could I forget you?”

She couldn’t stand it any longer. “Why didn’t you show up that night?” she asked in an anguished whisper. “What was it?”

“I can’t tell you,” he said. “The story isn’t mine to reveal….”

Special Order Groom
Tina Leonard

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tina Leonard loves to laugh, which is one of the many reasons she loves writing Harlequin American Romance books. In another lifetime, Tina thought she would be single and an east coast fashion buyer forever. The unexpected happened when Tina met Tim again after many years—she hadn’t seen him since they’d attended school together from first through eighth grade. They married, and now Tina keeps a close eye on her school-age children’s friends! Lisa and Dean keep their mother busy with soccer, gymnastics and horseback riding. They are proud of their mom’s “kissy books” and eagerly help her any way they can. Tina hopes that readers will enjoy the love of family she writes about in her books. A reviewer once wrote, “Leonard has a wonderful sense of the ridiculous,” which Tina loved so much she wants it for her epitaph. Right now, however, she’s focusing on her wonderful life and writing a lot more romance!

You are cordially invited to a surprise wedding!

Bess, Martin and Elle Jennings are pleased to finally announce the marriage of Crystal Star Jennings to Mitch McStern Saturday at noon in the school gymnasium.

Please keep the secret from the bride and groom.

Fireworks to follow.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter One

“All I’m saying is that you’d rather have people think you’re a lesbian than go out with a man in Lover’s Valley, Texas,” Bess Taylor declared to her daughter.

“Probably,” Crystal sighed as she stuck another pin into the skirt of a bridal gown. “Mother, can you come up with some new lines, please? Just because I haven’t dated in a while is no reason anyone would wonder if I’ve changed my sexual preference.”

“It’s not normal,” Aunt Elle mentioned in her soft voice. “It’s not normal that you don’t have someone in your life, Crystal.”

“Why? Why is it not normal? I have a busy life. I run a bridal salon. I’m busy dressing brides every day of the week. Why is that not normal?” She glared at the contingent of two women and one uncle who were grouped around the dressmaker’s dummy, pleading with her to change her bachelorette ways.

Every day in her salon, she saw how tense, how stressed brides were. If anything, she had less interest than ever in jumping into one of her own beautiful gowns. In fact, she’d pretty much lost interest in men as a subspecies when her high school sweetheart, Mitch McStern, dumped her the night of the prom to go with Kathryn “the Prom Queen” Vincent. If the right man came along, she would regain interest, she was positive. He just hadn’t arrived.

She shook her head, perplexed. “Why?” she asked them again. “Why am I not normal?”

“Because you’re dressing brides but you don’t get married yourself,” Uncle Martin stated.

“Oh, and if I were a mortuary owner, I wouldn’t be normal unless I died. Then I would be experienced, right?”

Aunt Elle touched her shoulder. “We want you to be happy. You can’t go on living other people’s dreams forever. We think you should go away for a while, Crystal. Let us run the business for you.”

“Go find a man, honey,” her mother joined in. “He’s out there somewhere.”

“I doubt it. And even if he was, I’m sure I wouldn’t run into him.” She hadn’t enjoyed the pain of being left for another woman. Or left at all. She’d learned fast from that one experience. “I’m happy. Why can’t you three see that?”

She stared up at her family. They loved her, they really did. Why couldn’t they see that she didn’t need a man to feel complete?

“I’m getting old, Crystal,” her mother began.

“Please don’t start playing that harp. You’ve been playing it since I was twenty-five.”

“And I’ve been more than patient! You’re going to be thirty tomorrow! What next? Forty?”

Crystal tried not to smile at her mother’s horrified tone. “Look, Mom, if it was that easy, I’d get married just to make you happy. But it’s not. Great guys just don’t grow on trees, okay?”

“They’re all happy.” Uncle Martin pointed out the window. “See all those couples walking along, enjoying a June summer day in Lover’s Valley, the closest thing to God’s country?”

Crystal was slowly losing command of her serene posture. “I do. But they’re not me! If it was that simple, if I could just reach out the door and grab an eligible male, don’t you think I would?” She wouldn’t, but she wanted to win the argument and send her relatives home so she could finish the last-minute alterations on a dress for a bride who’d enjoyed marital relations a little too soon and now couldn’t be shoehorned into her gown.

“You might not do it, but I would!” Aunt Elle cried, her normally soft voice growing loud with daring. “I’d reach out the door and grab the first man I could if you’d just agree to go out on a date with him, Crystal Star Jennings! I can’t bear the thought of you being a wallflower all your life.”

“Well, then go ahead,” Crystal said through gritted teeth. “But don’t blame me if the guy you grab is connected to a furious wife. I’ll swear I had nothing to do with it. I have a weapon, and I’ll protect myself.” She brandished the pin cushion, which cuffed her wrist.

“Go ahead,” Bess urged. “She said she’d go out with any single male you pulled in. It’s just like fishing, sister. Catch us a big one!”

“All right! I will!” Aunt Elle got to her feet. Uncle Martin held the door open and Bess held Elle by the back of her summer dress so she could lean far out into the path of pedestrians—and latched onto the first male sleeve in reach of her fingertips, pulling it with all her might into the bridal salon.

Crystal’s jaw dropped when Elle reeled in her catch, a six-foot-two, ebony-haired, bedroom-blue-eyed hunk…of Mitch McStern. “Not you again!” she exclaimed, wishing with all her might Aunt Elle’s delicate fingers hadn’t been so dastardly.

“Hi, Crystal,” Mitch said.

“Turn him loose, Aunt Elle,” Crystal snapped.

“You said you’d go—” Bess began.

“I know what I said. I don’t have to fall in with a silly prank. A setup.” She turned her back, stuffed the closed sign up in the window and refused to look at any of them. “You can all leave now.” She heard feet shuffling, but didn’t turn around.

Mitch cleared his throat. “They’ve gone. It’s just me, Crystal.”

She told her heart not to beat so fast. She begged her blood not to rush through her veins. With all her will, she pleaded with her ears not to hear the wonderful, heartbreaking baritone of the voice she hadn’t heard in thirteen years.

It was no use.

He was probably married. Heaven only knew, he probably had crowns in every tooth, maybe even six children and no less than two extra inches on his waistline, but she’d never gotten over him.

Never.

Chapter Two

“At the risk of appearing obvious,” Crystal said to Mitch, “the store is closed.”

He knew as well as she did that it was only closed to him. “Please don’t throw me out on my ear, Crystal.”

The years had left little trace of the girl he’d wanted to dance the night away with at the high school prom. This Crystal was taller, probably five-nine in her stockings if she removed the navy pumps she wore. Her hair was pulled into a serviceable bun-thing, with two red Chinese sticks impaled in the back of the thick honey-blond hair. She might have been trying to give an impression of competence, with her summer dress of navy and white print covering her knees, but wisps of hair had defied the torture of the sticks and escaped, framing her sweet heart-shaped face.

She couldn’t fool him. Soft, delicate Crystal was hidden beneath that practical, no-nonsense veneer.

“I have nothing to say to you,” she said.

Her brittle voice could match ice for hardness. “Can I ever make it up to you for not showing up that night?”

“No. You cannot.” She drew a deep breath. “Mitch, it might have just been a silly dance to you, but I looked forward to it from the moment you asked me. The crush I had on you was immature, possibly, but it was innocent and deep. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine you would leave me waiting at home, first sitting upstairs waiting eagerly for the doorbell to ring, then peeking surreptitiously out the window, straining to see if you were walking out your front door.” She shuddered, her hand tracing over the wedding gown she’d been pinning. “Silly me, I thought you’d had an accident. A flat tire, or worse, a wreck, on the way home from school. But I believed you were coming.” She met his gaze now, her hazel eyes full of remembered pain, before she drew herself upright. “Of course, life does goes on. No need to rehash the past. But I’m certain you can see why I’d prefer not to spend an afternoon of auld lang syne.”

“There was a reason,” he said softly.

“Which I have no interest in hearing, years after you left me high and dry for Kathryn. I heard you looked very handsome when you were crowned king that night, and that she was a very beautiful queen. One can only assume you realized you had a better chance of racking up that win with someone other than me.” Opening the door of the salon, she gestured for Mitch to exit. “I wish Aunt Elle hadn’t pulled you in the door, because I’d forgotten about you. It’s up to me to send you back out.”

There was little he could do. She didn’t want him around, and he couldn’t blame her. His heart tugged, a cruel, painful sensation. He had actually come here hoping to talk to her. Aunt Elle’s magical fingers wresting him inside had seemed like too kind a fate.

He moved outside onto the sidewalk. She stared at him, her cheeks pink spots in her pale face. Her eyes were huge and her full lips trembled. He remembered quite clearly how those lips felt against his, though he’d been so unskilled at kissing he probably hadn’t tapped the vein of pleasure kissing Crystal could offer. They’d been young, and those kisses had been earnest and affectionate and sweetly loving.

“Crystal,” he said haltingly, “the night before the prom, when we—”

“Don’t say it!” Her voice came out in an agonized gasp. “Don’t you dare mention that night! If I never see you again, my fondest wish will come true!”

And then she closed the door of the bridal shop.

TRAITOR! HE’D BEEN ABOUT to mention the one thing she’d never told anyone, never would tell anyone. Crystal’s heart beat wildly, despite the hand she’d thrown against her chest to calm herself. She could only pray he’d never told anyone about the wistful night of discovery they’d spent in a field, far from prying eyes.

She had loved him so much. Maybe it had been the flush and fury of first love, but all her soul had been behind her giving him the gift of her innocence. She’d thought Mitch would be hers forever.

Nothing was forever. That lesson had been learned the hard way, and it was one she wouldn’t forget, no matter how handsome the man Mitch had become. He’d branded her, in some mysterious way she’d never understood—and her heart was still his.

The last thing she wanted was for him to discover that unfortunate fact. It was simply too humiliating to have given herself to a man who’d never thought about her again after he’d—

The mortifying words echoed in her mind before she could stop them. Gotten what he’d wanted.

She stiffened. That night of secret loving had happened years ago. She wasn’t prisoner to such mortifying memories now. Her life was full. She’d moved past what had followed, her utter despair and the quiet sorrow of her family as they’d tried everything they could to heal her broken heart.

She’d gone off to college and received a business degree. Then she’d opened her own store and dedicated herself to making sure that other women’s dreams came true, just the way they had always imagined them. She understood the notions of the foolish, lovestruck heart better than anyone.

And if she closed herself up in her tiny red brick cottage at night and sometimes thought about her youthful lover as she sat with her five cats, three dogs, pair of lovebirds and a teacup, well, that was no one’s business but hers.

She was happy with her life, and she was going to stay that way.

“EGADS, ELLE, YOU COULDN’T have done that any worse if you’d rigged it,” Martin said. The three dejected family members sat in the dining room of the family home.

Elle’s dainty shoulders crumpled with apology. “My goodness,” she murmured faintly. “Who would have thought he’d be standing outside?”

Bess’s lips folded. “We are in hot water with Crystal, you can be sure of that. Why, she looked stunned, rooted to the floor, the same way she looked the night he didn’t—”

“Sh!” Elle commanded on a moan. “I simply can’t bear thinking about that horrible night. Why, my princess in her pretty gown, and that cad not having the decency to…well, I guess it’s murky water under the bridge. The brigand.”

“It was, until today,” Martin said woefully. “Wonder what they said to each other?”

“I doubt Crystal let him say very much at all. As is perfectly appropriate, I suppose.” She sounded uncertain. “If I weren’t so shocked to see that scamp, I’d have…I’d…”

“You’d what?” Martin said, sitting up to tap his pipe.

“It’s curious that he’s back in Lover’s Valley,” Elle interrupted, her voice thin and high with hope. “Do you suppose he was outside the store for a reason?”

“Like buying a dress? I shouldn’t think he was the shopping type,” Bess stated flatly.

“But what if he knew Crystal owned the Lover’s Valley Bridal Boutique? How could he not know? His parents would have told him. Any of his high school jock friends would have told him,” Elle said excitedly. “Anybody might have mentioned it.”

“Even if he’d decided to try to explain for the prom night that didn’t happen,” Martin cut in, “his words would fall on deaf ears, so we need not speculate on that. Far better for us to concentrate on how we’re going to get ourselves out of the doghouse with Crystal.”

“You’re right.” Bess nodded, though a glimmer of hope had been doused in her soul. “As unmotherly as this may sound, on the eve of my daughter’s thirtieth birthday, I would almost be willing to forgive Mitch if he…”

Elle’s blue eyes were huge behind her silver-rimmed spectacles perching on her delicate face. “If he what?”

Possibly she was abnormal. Certainly she didn’t wish her daughter any further pain. Quite the opposite! She wanted her to experience the joy of happily-ever-after.

Unfortunately, she and everybody else in this room knew that Mitch wasn’t the man to unlock her daughter from her self-imposed ivory tower. “Never mind,” she said sadly. “At least we’ve planned something special for Crystal.”

“We’ve never given her a surprise party before. It should be a lively occasion,” Elle said. “I expect to see Crystal smiling then. And maybe she’ll forgive us for the shock our meddling gave her today!”

Their hopeful smiles faded as they remembered the undisguised panic on Crystal’s face when Mitch had landed among them.

“Or maybe not,” Bess said.

Chapter Three

Mitch hadn’t known what to expect yesterday upon seeing Crystal. As he’d stood on the pavement, trying to gather his wits to go in and offer a long-overdue apology, he’d tried to imagine what she looked like. If she’d changed at all. How she’d come to open a wedding boutique when she’d dreamed of medical school.

He’d attended med school, and become a surgeon in Dallas. Anything that needed removing or suturing, he could fix with skill. Not broken hearts or shattered souls, his or anyone else’s. His work was the physical.

Crystal’s appeared to be the stuff of dreams.

Yet, she seemed to studiously avoid any pretense of the romantic herself. No one who had a hot date after work dressed like she did. Gone was the giggly girl who’d loved faded blue jeans and glittery fingernail polish.

The Crystal he’d just met was professional. Not about to let her hair down. Refined. He’d once thought her name suited her, because she glowed with an inner warmth that sent prisms of color dancing over the otherwise plain surfaces around her. In her mother’s house, there was a crystal chandelier that sunlight had touched in the afternoons as they sat in the parlor talking about nothing more than rainbow prisms and future dreams. Crystal had been warm and colorful, like those prisms.

Now she was beautiful and icy and without color. Crystal without light.

He fully remembered how much fire she’d once possessed. He wanted a chance to warm her again.

But he was not in a position right now to even dream of warming Crystal. He had troubles of his own right now—which was why he was taking a breather here in Lover’s Valley.

Mitch swallowed, grabbing at the invitation that sat before him on the table at his parents’ home, where he was staying a few nights as he tried to sort out a family dilemma. His parents lived across the street from the home where Crystal had grown up. She no longer lived there, of course, but Martin, Bess and Elle would never give up the family seat. It was a stately two-story white building, with columns out front that spoke of Southern gentility. People in Lover’s Valley wondered why two sisters and a brother still held on to a house that was too big for them to keep up and that would bring them a pile of money should they decide to sell. Real estate in this neighborhood had skyrocketed, due to the wonderful architecture and enormous lots.

When his family moved into town his senior year, he’d fallen immediately head over heels for the girl across the street. She was always in motion, having girlfriends over and boys pick her up in their cars.

He’d decided right then and there that location was everything, and he was in a prime position to win Crystal’s heart. He had, the same way he helped the football team or the debate team win, using his determination and his charm to win, convince and score.

She’d been so much more than a score. His lips pressed together tightly as he remembered the way moving into her tight body had felt. Heaven and hell all at once. Pain and pleasure in agonizing extremes. The most beautiful thing he’d ever experienced in his life.

To this day he treasured their fumbling, tender joining.

This invitation to Crystal’s party tonight, which had his parents’ names on it, would not include him. Mitch knew that too well. Bess would think it rude to hold a party in her house without inviting his parents. All the parked cars and noise in front of their houses would strain a relationship everyone was eager to keep as neighborly as possible. Their families had remained cautious friends, mostly because no one knew of the night of passion Crystal and Mitch had shared.

His name was not on the invitation, because no one had expected him to be in Lover’s Valley. Even if they had, he would have only been invited because of Bess’s good manners. It was a surprise party, and the worst possible surprise he could give Crystal was to show up on her birthday.

Still, he could send a small token of the esteem in which he’d always held her.

BESS, ELLE AND MARTIN could hardly sit still as they waited for Crystal to arrive. After she was safely in their care, Martin would spirit her off on a convenient “errand,” which would take up thirty minutes. This would give the guests time to be greeted and then hidden in the decorated great room. When Crystal and Martin returned, wouldn’t she have a nice surprise waiting for her?

Tonight, everything was going to go smooth as velvet. “I’m edgy,” Bess announced, as if her brother and sister couldn’t tell by her pacing.

“I just hope Crystal shows up.” Elle fretted, patting her hair as she stared into a sideboard mirror. “I worry about her deciding to work late or some other foolishness.”

“Since she may be slightly put out with us from yesterday, perhaps I should call down to the shop,” Martin suggested.

“Maybe so.” Bess peered out the upstairs window at the street. “Call her, Martin. Make sure she hasn’t forgotten that we invited her over for a ‘family birthday dinner.”’

They shared a nervous glance.

“I believe I will. No reason to leave anything to chance, or to Crystal’s work ethics.” Martin went to the rotary phone that sat atop an old rolltop desk in the hallway. He dialed the number swiftly, then listened for a few moments. “She’s not picking up. Maybe she’s gone home to feed her pet menagerie before coming over.”

“You don’t think they’ll bring him, do you?” Elle murmured from her place at the window. Without realizing it, she’d been staring at the McStern place ever since they’d gone upstairs to keep their vision trained on the street for Crystal’s appearance.

“I should think not!” Bess stated. “It would be impolite to do that to Crystal on her birthday. Besides, I doubt he would want to come. I’m sure they had very little to say to each other yesterday. And why should he invite himself tonight when he didn’t bother to show up for the big night?”

“I don’t know.” Elle sighed, shaking her head. “It worries me that Crystal may believe we knew Mitch was staying at his folks and told him to pay her a call at the shop.”

Bess straightened, as if a two-by-four had gone up the back of her dress. “I may be a nosy neighbor, I may be a bit of a well-meaning busybody, but I would never hurt my daughter. Surely she knows that.”

“We were pretty overbearing in her shop,” Elle reminded her, “as we primed the pump for tonight so she’d give extra consideration to all the handsome, eligible men we invited.”

“Yes, but we never suspected…you’re right,” Bess said suddenly. “Maybe that’s why she’s not here. She’s angry with us because she thinks we set her up by sending Mitch down there.”

“Well, she has every right to be.” Martin put the phone down and took a seat on a cushioned chair in the hallway. “Crystal most probably suspects we were matchmaking. Which we were, just not with our neighbor in mind. We had no way of knowing he’d be in town, and even if we had known…”

He trailed off. Bess thought that was a minor dilemma they’d been spared. “Oh, dear, what a quandary!” She paced for a moment before snapping her fingers. “If Mitch shows up tonight, which would be the height of ill manners, we will endeavor to keep them apart. There are enough rooms in this house to achieve that.”

Elle nodded. “That way she’ll know we weren’t trying to run her life. Uh, aren’t trying to run her life.”

“Exactly,” Bess agreed.

The doorbell rang, and the three shot downstairs. Bess couldn’t see anyone through the panes of the front door, so she cautiously opened it.

Outside, a small neighborhood boy staggered under the cumbersome girth of an enormous garden bouquet of salmon-and-white garden roses. Bess recognized the child and relieved him of the burden. “How lovely!”

Martin plucked the note from the roses. “It’s addressed to Crystal.”

Elle chucked the little boy under the chin. “Thank you, honey. Are you a secret admirer of Crystal’s?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

“No. He is,” the child said, pointing across the street at Mitch’s home before speeding off.

The threesome gaped at one another.

“I don’t think this bodes well. Crystal’s definitely going to think we’re up to something,” Bess warned.

“I’d read the note, but I think that comes under the heading of spying or snooping, something I’m not ready to stoop to,” Martin said, replacing the note in the roses.

“Oh, dear,” Elle moaned. “Wouldn’t he just complicate things for us on Crystal’s second big night? The night we’re planning to relaunch her into the dating stream?”

“No need to upset her.” Bess swept the flowers into the kitchen, putting them in a vase and burying the card among the stems. “We’ll tell her about the flowers after the party.”

They went into the front dining room to survey the hors d’oeuvres they’d labored over. The tablecloth shone white and lacy under the light. Peach candles glowed in tall silver holders. “I wish she’d come on,” Bess grumbled. “I want Martin to run her off on the ‘errand’ before the guests arrive.” All the tension of the evening was beginning to build in her muscles and in the back of her neck. She didn’t want anything to spoil the surprise for Crystal. This should be a night of happiness for my daughter.

“I’ll try her house again,” Martin said. “And the shop.”

“You need not bother. It’ll be a few more minutes before she gets here,” Elle said suddenly, letting the lace panel of the drape fall back into place. “She just went into Mitch’s house.”

CRYSTAL HAD TO FORCE herself to move past Mitch into the hallway. Her heart beat quickly, enough to make her feel even more nervous than she already was. He stared at her with curious eyes, and every instinct screamed that she’d made a mistake in coming. “I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday,” she said, her tone crisp to cover her discomfort. “Not that I appreciate the joke that was played on me, of course. But I overreacted to something that was, after all, only a joke.”

His eyes widened. “I didn’t play a joke on you, Crystal. And I certainly understood your reaction. Actually, I was quite stunned to be jerked inside your store.”

“It’s hard to believe you,” she murmured. “My trio of loving family members had just been stating their feelings about my unwed status. And then, presto! Available high school boyfriend appears, like a canned man. Instant relationship. Or at least I suppose they’d hoped it would be.”

“I’m not available,” he corrected her, “nor would I be a candidate for a canned man, as you put it.”

Her lips parted just a fraction, though she caught herself before her mouth fell completely open. “Not available! I haven’t heard anything about you being married.” Then she blushed, because she had as much admitted she’d been keeping an ear attuned to his bachelor status.

“Oh, you mean available as in unmarried!” he exclaimed, as if he hadn’t known all along that was what she’d meant. A twinkle gleamed in his eyes. “Since you’re inquiring, actually, I am currently unattached.”

“I was not inquiring,” Crystal said, her feathers totally ruffled. “It makes no difference to me at all. I’m a very happy single woman, and I couldn’t care less about any man!”

“Ooh, that sounds angry.” He pulled her by the hand into the sitting room. “Care to talk to me about it?”

“No!” Jerking her hand out of his, she glared at him.

He appeared nonplussed. “Oh. I just thought maybe you had some issues with men you’d like to talk about.”

“I wouldn’t discuss them with you, even if I did have men issues, which I most certainly do not!”

“Well, clearly something’s going on, if your family is jerking strange men off the street to go out with you.” He sucked his teeth in a “poor Crystal” emphasis as he shook his head. “Think of me as your big brother, ready to counsel you.”

If Crystal could have steamed, she would have. “The last person I would ever want to help me with any psychological trauma is you. You are no big brother figure in my life, Mitch McStern!”

“I see it now,” he murmured.

“See what?” she demanded, cursing herself for falling for his ploy.

“That fire you used to have. Ah, Crystal, I thought you’d lost your shine for good. All you needed was a little heat, and the radiance is reflecting right back off your transparent heart.”

He pulled her into his arms, giving her a kiss that was guaranteed to melt any remaining ice she might have possessed. Crystal struggled at first, outraged, before slowly allowing herself to give in to the memories. He still kissed the same, wonderfully gentle and deep, taking his time with her. She was special in his arms. He had the power to make her feel that way. If he was heat to her ice, she was liquid water now, flowing smooth and wet.

She gasped when he pulled away from her. His hand swooshed a fast smack to her fanny, and she jumped away from him as if lightning had zapped her. “Oh!”

“A kiss for good luck, and a spanking to grow on. Happy birthday, Crystal.”

“How dare you?” He stood looking at her smugly, and Crystal wanted to smack him upside the head with a sofa cushion.

The phone rang, startling both of them. She whirled to leave.

“Uh-uh,” he said, grabbing hold of her wrist. “No running off in a huff or the previously offered apology is moot.”

“I’m not apologizing for being angry now!” Crystal tried to loosen her wrist but she couldn’t. His grip was strong, and his grin was huge. He was toying with her!

He reached to answer the phone, and she considered sending a fast kick to his ankle. But he shook his head at her, warning her in case she made that mistake. The way things were going, they’d end up on the floor in a wrestling match, and that would do no good for the little composure she had left.

“Elle? How are you doing? I haven’t seen you, well, since yesterday, I guess. I would have liked to spend more time with you and Martin and Bess,” he said, catching Crystal’s complete attention. “Everything happened so fast. Maybe next time we can visit longer. Why, yes, she is here,” he practically crooned, enraging Crystal totally. “We were just remembering the good old days.”

Wildly, Crystal tugged at her wrist, determined to get away from him. Without seeming to pay her much attention, he drew her against him, holding her tightly against his side.

“Sure. I can do that. You, too, Elle.”

He hung up the phone and grinned at her.

“They’re expecting me. Let go of me,” Crystal commanded.

“I can’t. They said they can’t meet with you for another thirty minutes, and would I mind keeping you occupied in the meantime. I said I was more than happy to do so.”

“I don’t need to be kept occupied!”

“Your aunt Elle said you did. And I’m delighted to do my neighborly duty.” He ran a finger along the side of her face, brushing back the wisps of hair that now escaped the dangerously loose knot.

Traitorous chills raced through her veins. “Mitch, let me sit on the sofa. I don’t want to be this close to you.”

He let go of her. “Methinks you protest too much, but that’s okay. You always had a hard head. Let’s sit down and chat about our schoolmates.”

“I don’t want to make idle conversation.” Her heart was still hammering from their kiss. How could he act so nonchalant about it? No one had ever kissed her the way he did. Sadness overwhelmed her. The truth was, she did want a man—the right man for her! How could she ever find him when he had to compete with what Mitch could do to her with a simple kiss?

“Oh, don’t be a spoilsport.” He patted the leather sofa where he’d taken a seat. “You’re safe with me. Your aunt asked me to keep you company for a few minutes while they finish cooking something. You can stay here without losing your cool.”

Her temper began to rise again. “I believe you grabbed me, not the other way around.”

“Well, a guy should remember his ex-girlfriend’s birthday, or he wasn’t much to start with, right? I like to think I have some romantic qualities.”

She ground her teeth, not taking the seat he’d offered. He lounged on the leather sofa, completely unaffected by her stern expression. “Any guy who has two dates to a senior prom most certainly has delusions of romantic grandeur. As for me, that’s not what I look for in a man.”

He perked up. “So tell me what you are looking for. You must be picky to have remained unmarried in a town like Lover’s Valley where marriage is practically in the air everyone breathes, piped through the water systems, and sung to babies in their cradles. And you run a bridal shop, too.” He shook his head. “Maybe you got hung up on one man and couldn’t find anyone to live up to him.”

“Absolutely not!” Her hands went to her hips as she glared at him. “Mitch, I know what you’re hinting at, that I never got over you, and it’s simply not true. I’ve dated a lot of men. I am waiting for the right one. There is no good-through date stamped on me, I’ll have you know!”

“Lucky for you this is the twenty-first century, or you’d be called a spinster, you know,” he said, his tone reasonable. “I’ve always thought that was such an ugly term. Spinster, maiden aunt, it all speaks to lonely, unloved existences, in my mind.”

“Thankfully, your mind is not what counts where I’m concerned,” Crystal snapped.

“Don’t you want to know why I never married?” Mitch asked, his grin teasing.

“No.” She turned her back as if to leave. “I am not going to play this ridiculous game with you. I knew that was what you were leading up to all along.” Her curiosity was burning, but she would have stuck one of her straight pins in her eye before she admitted it.

“Okay,” he said agreeably. “We won’t talk about me. Let’s talk about you. Now that you’re a successful business owner and an avowed recluse, what’s the next goal in your life plan?”

“To live through the next fifteen minutes with you,” she said between gritted teeth as she turned to stare at him again. “Why I ever thought I needed to apologize to you is beyond me.” Why she still found him attractive was another mystery, too unpleasant to delve into deeply. Why, why, why?

And he seemed to know her thoughts as he reclined against the sofa arm, gazing at her. His eyes sparked with mischief and reckless fun, much the same as in more youthful days. But now…now he was so much more handsome. No young boy, but a grown man broad of chest and shoulders, his muscled arms not nearly concealed enough by the clinging white polo shirt. Darn him. Though his eyes were still those of her teenaged Romeo, his face had planed into maturity. A five o’clock shadow surrounded well-formed lips, those lips that had just left her breathless with a kiss every bit as heart-stealing as their cherished kisses of the past.

“Now, Crystal, admit you’re glad to see me.”

“I don’t think telling lies is honorable.”

He vaulted over the sofa back to stand in front of her. “I’m glad to see you,” he said softly. “I’ve thought about you a lot.”

Her heart froze, suspended like a cold rock in her chest. “You have not,” she said weakly.

“I have. How could I forget you?”

She couldn’t stand it any longer. Common sense told her she didn’t want to know, but her foolish heart was already crying to know the answer. “Why didn’t you take me to the prom?” she asked on an anguished whisper.

“I wanted to. I was looking forward to it.” He reached up, finally snagging the red Chinese sticks and removing them so that her hair fell to her shoulders. Laying the sticks on the sofa table, he pulled her into his arms. “I couldn’t,” he said, brushing a kiss against her lips. “I just found myself in a position I couldn’t extricate myself from,” he murmured against her mouth, before tasting deeply of her.

He pulled back and his words brushed her lips. “Crystal, I tried to talk to you a hundred times after the prom, and you ignored me every time. You wouldn’t return my calls. Never replied to my notes—which, by the way, I saw torn up in the trash after we cleared out our lockers. You didn’t attend our graduation night party, and I knew then that you’d avoid me at any cost.

“And you did, didn’t you, Crystal? And today I’ve just teased you a lot to keep from scaring you off again. I didn’t want to lose you then—” but I can’t have you now, he finished silently.

Crystal clung to him as if there were no tomorrow. There were no family members waiting on her, no birthday dinner with just her relatives woefully eyeing the carefully counted candles on her homemade birthday cake. She was seventeen again, and nothing would ever come between her and Mitch. Nothing.

“What was it?” she asked on a gasp, feeling his thigh part hers and push against the serviceable dress she’d worn to work.

“I can’t tell you,” he said. “All I can tell you is that I wish it had been you I was with that night.”

Stunned, she stared up into his eyes. He ran a thumb lightly over her lips. “Why can’t you tell me?”

“The reason is confidential. I would be breaking Kathryn’s confidence to tell you.”

Splinters of jealousy flew into her heart. “I was never sure how Kathryn got to be part of our big night. When did the two of you get to be such good friends?”

“She had a problem that she came to me for help with.” Mitch gazed at her, his expression longing. “I can say no more than that. You have to trust me, Crystal. I wanted to be with you.”

A long moment passed as she weighed whether she really wanted to ask the question that popped into her mind. Most likely, she didn’t want to know. “Did you kiss her?” she asked, her face flaming as soon as she said the words.

After a moment, he gave a single nod. Crystal’s heart shattered all over again. There was nothing else she would ask, because he’d given her the answer she needed. He’d made love to her the night before; she’d thought their shared first time meant something.

But he’d kissed Kathryn the very next night.

“I have to go! I have to get out of here.”

She flew to the front door and outside before he could stop her. Sprinting across the street, she noted that her house was brightly lit, which was unusual. Her family was usually very energy-conscious. But she had to get away from Mitch and their past and the pain, and she couldn’t stop to admire how pretty the house looked with all the lights bedecking the evening.

She threw open the door and slammed it behind her, gulping air as she realized she’d left her hair ornaments at Mitch’s, so that her usual snug do was a tousled mop. Her lips had been kissed of lipstick and felt larger than normal. She had to get her makeup on and her hair up before her family’s sharp eyes noticed—

“Surprise!”

Crystal screamed as it seemed a hundred people leapt out at her from behind sofas and curtains and tables. Her hand flew to her throat and then to her uncustomarily mussed hair.

The added shock was too much for her already skittish blood pressure. Before Crystal could stop herself, she slid to the parquet floor in a faint.

Chapter Four

Crystal thought she was waking from a nightmare when she opened her eyes to see Frank Peters staring down at her. “Are you all right, Crystal?” he asked.

Even in their high school days, Frankie had been a menace. Girls weren’t safe in his car. He was too darn handsome for words, and he by golly knew it.

She wanted no part of him. “I’m fine,” she whispered. Now go away, nightmare.

Lincoln Lark, who’d once held the record for most yards rushed in a season for the Lover’s Valley Vikings, tried to help her to her feet. “Let me carry you,” he offered. “I’ll put you on the sofa.”

Lincoln hadn’t come by his record by accident. He rushed for yardage the same way he rushed for women. Crystal wanted no part of him, either, having seen him snap the back of homely Penny Parson’s bra while she was fishing around in her locker. He’d laughed uproariously at her yelp of surprise and pain. Crystal hadn’t thought the “turtle snap” was very funny. “Go away, Lincoln,” she said, as gently as possible, giving him a little push. “I can get up by myself.”

“Aw. You’re always saying you can do everything by yourself, Crystal Jennings.” Barney Fearing was the third head that clouded her vision. “Only woman in Lover’s Valley who’d have three strong, handsome men offer to help her, and stubbornly stay lying on her back just to show everybody how independent she is. Come on, you old party pooper. Can’t believe you hit the ground at your own surprise party.”

She eyed Barney, her gaze narrow. He was always less tolerant of her than the other high school guys, possibly since they’d once gotten into a water-balloon-throwing contest and she’d hit him square in the zipper so that he’d gone around for a couple of hours looking like he’d peed his jeans. Not only that, but the balloon had hit him hard enough to send the color rushing from his face. The girls had cheered her, but Barney had been respectful of her aim after that. He’d begun treating her like a kid sister he had to protect.

He wasn’t acting so brotherly now. She frowned at him.

He ogled her legs. “If you don’t get up, I’m going to forget I’m a gentleman and look up your dress. When you faint, Crystal, you show a maximum amount of skin.”

She gasped, and either he pulled her to her feet or she shot there by furious propulsion.

“Jes’ kiddin’,” he said with a toothy grin.

But she’d gained her feet only to come face-to-face with Mitch. Crystal stifled a moan, wondering if she’d pass out again.

“Here, Doc,” Barney said. “This is the most hardheaded woman in all the valley. Got a cure for that?”

The room became still as night. Crystal flushed cold all over. Not a single soul in the room was unaware that Mitch had dumped her. Fascinated curiosity captured everyone’s attention.

He eyed her coolly, assessing, most likely, the mark he’d left on her unruly hair and swollen lips. “Haven’t seen one in the Physician’s Desk Reference,” he said maddeningly. “Hardheadedness isn’t something that necessarily demands a cure, though. And should the patient want to be cured, that would require a doctor of psychology. It’s not my field.” He winked at her, playing to the audience.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, exasperated with his audacity.

He shrugged. “When you fainted, Mom called me over to check you out. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” She’d been completely fine until he’d stormed back into her life. “I’ve never fainted before. Never. You needn’t have bothered yourself on my account. I’m sure it was just an allergic reaction to something.”

He grinned at her.

“Come on,” Barney said, hauling her into the great room. “You’ve got about a hundred old chums here to talk to. You don’t have time to have a panic attack. Me and Frank and Lincoln’ll take care of you in case you start getting woozy again.”

Crystal groaned inside. She felt physically ill. But her mother and Uncle Martin and Aunt Elle were beaming like sunshine, delighted with their surprise party, and she’d be damned if she’d disappoint them. Taking a deep breath, she smiled at all of the guests crowded into the great room and flowing across the hallway into the parlor. “Thank you all so much for coming,” she said loudly. “What a wonderful surprise!”

Then she went over and kissed her family, with her three over-eager knights at her side.

Mitch, she noticed when she glanced over her shoulder, merely leaned up against the door she’d fainted against, his grin as irritatingly wide as a canyon.

MITCH HUNG AROUND, even though his medical services were no longer required. Aunt Elle pressed a drink into his hand, and Martin managed to get him into a discussion about the skin on Martin’s upper arm that had turned brown in an odd-shaped patch. Mitch recommended a specialist for him to see, and then Bess spirited him into the kitchen so she could thank him for the roses displayed on the table.

“Crystal doesn’t know you sent them,” Bess confided. “We didn’t have a chance to tell her.”

“That’s all right.”

She didn’t say anything to that, and Mitch suddenly wondered why he’d been lured into the kitchen, away from the guests. Away from Crystal. “Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked, wondering if she perhaps had a reason for keeping him in here with her.

“Well, you could put some olives on top of those crackers with the spread on them, and arrange a little garnish beside that cheese ball.”

He glanced in the direction she indicated. Tiny olive slices sat atop different types of spread, and perfectly placed rows of crackers lay waiting beside a tempting cheese ball. His lips folded. “You’ve already done that, Bess.”

She looked up, her attention clearly elsewhere. “Oh, you’re right. How silly of me.”

“Can I carry them out to the guests for you?”

“Oh, no, Mitch. You just sit right down here and make yourself comfortable.”

He sat but decided Bess had a motive. “Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Why, no!” She gave a high laugh. “I just haven’t seen you in so long I thought I’d allow myself to monopolize your time for a little while. Neighbor’s privilege, you know.”

Through the serving window, he could see Crystal being squired around the room by Frankie, Lincoln and Barney. She now wore a feisty red dress with a short, knife-pleat skirt that swayed gently just above her knees when she slow-danced to the three-piece band on the patio. After Crystal had sufficiently gained her footing, Elle had spirited her upstairs to give her a “birthday present,” which turned out to be the hot red number and matching sparkly heels. She’d pulled her blond hair up into a glamorous fall of curls and applied siren-red lipstick to her sweet, heart-shaped lips. The severely professional Crystal had disappeared with a wave of Elle’s nimble fingers. He had to give them credit: Elle and Bess on a manhunt for Crystal was a formidable quest. One of those unsuspecting but eager lunkheads drooling on Crystal would find his finger skewering a wedding ring if he wasn’t careful.

He shook his head. “So this isn’t a surprise party as much as open season for Crystal.”

Bess’s fingers hesitated over the cucumbers she was paring. “Whatever do you mean?”

“The knights invited to pay court to your daughter.”

She gave him an innocent look. “I have no idea of your meaning, Mitch. We merely invited everyone who was still in Lover’s Valley who was Crystal’s age and our acquaintance.”

None too smoothly, Frankie put his hand at the small of Crystal’s back, only to collide with Barney’s hand, which was already there. Both men jerked their hands away from Crystal and glared at each other. Lincoln took advantage of this break in bodily possession to claim Crystal for a dance. Mitch grinned at the pained look on Crystal’s face, though it was instantly replaced by a polite smile.

He shifted on the chair and snagged a cucumber from the neat row Bess had sliced. She smacked his hand without rancor and continued cutting.

“You look very nice, Bess.” It was the truth, but he could tell his compliment flustered her. She wore an elegant dress of blue silk, long-sleeved and to her knees, perfect for church.

“Don’t flatter me, Mitch. It’s not my big night,” she told him, her tone brisk.

“Well, maybe I should go tell the bride—I mean, the belle of the ball—how nice she looks.”

“No!” The line of cucumbers she’d been nervously slicing fanned into disorder as her head jerked up. “I mean, don’t go just yet.”

Grabbing a cracker off the round plate, he popped it into his mouth, trying to figure out what Bess really wanted. After a second, he had it. “I get it. You don’t want me around Crystal. Why didn’t I see that?”

“Not necessarily, Mitch,” Bess said, her tone lacking conviction. “We let you have half an hour with her while the band was unloading and the guests arrived.”

“Oh, I see. And now I shouldn’t monopolize her because the other guys need a shot at her, right?”

Bess pursed her lips. “Any person who is being honored with a party in his or her honor makes certain every one of the guests has a moment of his or her time,” she informed him huffily.

“And technically, I’m not a party guest.”

“No, technically you’ve already had your moment with Crystal this evening,” Bess reminded him. “This isn’t personal, Mitch, it’s simply good etiquette. Besides, I haven’t seen you in ages. I didn’t even know you were in town until…until we saw you at Crystal’s shop.”

He tapped the older woman lightly on the hand, which had ceased chopping the cucumbers. “You’ve chosen bachelors number one, two and three. I’m not part of the equation.”

Bess sighed and shoved the vegetables into a bowl. “I’m not matchmaking, Mitch. If I were, I’d make certain any good male with decent financial prospects was within reach of Crystal. I’m keeping you in here with me because you’re trouble.”

“Why am I trouble?”

She smacked the knife down onto the counter. “I may be old, Mitch McStern, and I may not have a medical degree, but anyone with two eyes in their head could see the fit Crystal was in when she returned from your house. Why, she practically flew in here like demons were after her! And,” she said, wagging a finger at him, “don’t think I didn’t notice that Crystal’s lip gloss was on your lips when you came rushing over to attend to her faint.”

He rubbed quickly at his lips, but they felt the same as always.

“I thought so,” Bess said softly. “Guilty, Mitch, guilty.” She took a deep breath. “You understand that you can’t play with her heart now, don’t you, honey? There’s no way I can allow it. If her father was alive, I’d have him speak to you, but as it’s just me and you’ve brought up the subject, I’ll have to be blunt. Your senior year romance put Crystal off dating for a long time. She never did let her heart go into anything after that. Now she lives other people’s dreams. This time,” Bess said, tapping Mitch on the chest, “you stay away. Please. She shouldn’t have to lose another thirteen years of herself just because you’ve blown back into town.”

“Bess, it was your—”

“I’m sorry, Mitch.” Her large hazel eyes filled with tears. “You say I’m husband-hunting for Crystal. I say, you’re right. Is that so wrong, Mitch?” She swallowed, her lips moving convulsively. “She is the child of my heart, my only child. Is it so wrong that I want to see her happily married like her father and I were? Is it wrong to want that for my daughter, my only child, the light of my existence? Did you ever think about her name, Mitch? Crystal Star. Some people might think that was silly. Some might think it was hoity-toity.” She exhaled, shaking her head. “In my eyes, she is as beautiful as crystal, as radiant and special as a mystical star.” A measure of time passed before she spoke again. “I’ve been patient with Crystal all these years, knowing her heart was shattered. But a mother sometimes has to provide the nudge. I don’t think I’d be doing my duty by my daughter if I didn’t act in her best interests. She’s thirty years old tonight, Mitch. If I could put it in a box, I’d give my only child lifelong happiness for her birthday—and true love. Can you offer her that?”

They stared at each other for a long time. Bess’s gaze didn’t falter. Mitch shook his head.

“I’m glad we had this talk,” he said.

“So am I.” Bess went back to arranging a tray. “I don’t need you out there making the other guys suffer by comparison.”

Mitch grinned at her. “Give me the knife. I’ll practice my surgical skills on those cherry tomatoes.”

She sniffed and scooted knife and tomatoes his way. “I’ve got enough vegetables set back for canning that I can keep you in here chopping all night.”

He laughed out loud. “I might as well stick around and see which sheikh Crystal chooses.”

“Don’t interfere,” Bess said, pointing her finger at him again.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he agreed, pointing right back at her, imitating her bantam stance.

Bess sighed, but it was rueful. “The day I laid eyes on you when you first moved here, I knew you were trouble, Mitch McStern. I said, that boy’s gonna be a real heartbreaker.”

“No, ma’am,” he assured her. “I’m a heart-fixer. Says so on my medical degrees.”

“We’ve already had enough excitement this evening with Crystal fainting. You just sit in here, son, before you get my blood pressure up so high I end up busting a valve.”

“I’d fix it,” he assured her, his eyes twinkling.

“The last thing I’d ever want you doing is messing around in my chest cavity,” Bess stated. “Just sit right there where I can keep my eyes on you, and maybe the rest of this evening won’t end up being a disaster!”

CRYSTAL DUTIFULLY DANCED with Frankie a second time, promising herself that since she’d now given each of the football legends a second dance, she would make herself go over and say hello to Mr. and Mrs. McStern. Mitch’s parents talked and laughed with another couple from Lover’s Valley as they watched the slow-circling couples move around the floor. Obviously the McSterns were having a good time, so Crystal tried not to feel guilty that she hadn’t gone over to them. Mrs. McStern had been concerned enough to call for help when Crystal fainted—and even if she had summoned the man responsible for Crystal’s attack of lightheadedness, Crystal owed her thanks. After this dance I will do it, and just hope Mitch doesn’t try to talk to me when I do.

Of course, he hadn’t made much effort so far to get within a foot of her. Maybe dancing with the birthday girl was a pleasure he was willing to forego since he’d already had the pleasure of kissing her spineless. When Crystal had danced with Lincoln, she’d kept her body turned just enough that he couldn’t rush for yardage past the scrimmage line of her waist. Hampering Barney from holding her so tightly that everyone would assume an engagement was in the offing was a feat, but she managed it. Now, she had to deal with Frankie.

During all this nearly body-bruising physical maneuvering, somehow her eyes kept seeking out Mitch on the stool in the kitchen, keeping her mother company. She didn’t mean for her gaze to wander to him, but when she began to develop a headache from her body being moved one way while her eyes went another, she forced herself to quit surreptitiously glancing his way. Even though she told herself he didn’t notice her furtive assessment of him, her feelings were somehow hurt that he paid more attention to wheedling snacks out of her mother than to her. The way he’d kissed her had put zing into her heartbeat for the night. I’m still not over him, Crystal realized sadly.

It depressed her, all the more so because he never looked her way. Frankie slid his hand too near the curve of the wow!-red skirt, which fell in a pleat over her posterior so nicely. A seamstress like Crystal couldn’t fail to appreciate the craftsmanship of the dress, but she absentmindedly ground the red high heel Aunt Elle had insisted she wear onto his toe. He gasped in pain but she merely smiled, her expression innocent.

“Good thing there’s a doc in the house,” Frankie wheezed tightly.

Her smile evaporated. “You won’t need one if you stop trying to get into the end zone, Frankie.”

“Dang, Crystal, how can I help it when you’re just about the only unmarried woman in Lover’s Valley who doesn’t have horse teeth or a backside broad as a barn?”

“That’s not nice,” she reprimanded him. “For one thing, it’s a prejudicial view, and for another, all those women are high school acquaintances of ours and very sweet.”

“I know,” he grumbled. “But I don’t want to marry a gal who has a great personality. I want to marry a gal that looks like a firecracker in a red dress!”

She eyed him narrowly. If she looked like such a pyrotechnic explosive, why wasn’t Mitch blown away? “I think you should reconsider your play options.”

He looked at her earnestly. “Truly, Crystal, you’re the only woman in Lover’s Valley who is single of her own hardheaded choosing. And ain’t you ever heard heartbreak is attractive on a woman? Makes a guy just wanna cuddle her and hold her tight,” he said, crushing her to him, “and protect her from all the mean old tackles in life!”

She ground her teeth to hold back her reply while she counted slowly to ten, mentally composing herself. The gentler-version reply never formed in her mind as the room suddenly went silent except for the soft orchestral strains from the band.

Kathryn “the Prom Queen” Vincent walked into the great room. She was just as petite as ever, her smile still cheesily bright, ever the cheerleader. But the size of her stomach wasn’t hidden by the elegant black dress she wore.

She was heavily pregnant, and she was alone.

Chapter Five

Crystal swallowed as Kathryn’s eyes met hers. Why did my family invite her? was the first thought that shot through her mind.

Her second thought was that Kathryn looked very uncomfortable, either from her pregnancy or from being the center of attention. It didn’t matter. She’d made an effort to dress up and come to Crystal’s party, even bringing a brightly colored gift, and Crystal knew good manners like she knew sequins on a bridal gown.

“Kathryn,” she said, walking over to the woman she’d once called her best friend. “How lovely of you to come.”

“Thank you.” Kathryn’s voice wavered a little. “Tom couldn’t make it. I…I hope it’s all right that I came alone.”

Kathryn’s brown eyes seemed to speak of loneliness. Crystal remembered that her husband, Tom Trent, traveled a lot, the only one of the football buddies who’d ever managed to get past his small-town roots in some fashion.

“Of course it’s fine. I’m glad you could be here.” She took the present Kathryn offered her, admiring the silver-and-purple wrapping. “Thank you so much.”

“It’s just something small, a…a small thing to put in your house. I heard you liked animals,” Kathryn said nervously, staring up at Crystal.

“Do I ever. Come get a drink. We have Perrier water and a few other things.”

“Thank you.”

Crystal walked her over to the bar. Her mind flew with a thousand questions, none of which seemed like a safe topic to introduce. Kathryn seemed more ill at ease than ever, and it dawned on Crystal that she couldn’t leave the watermelon-shaped ex-cheerleader alone at the drink bar with no one to talk to. And no one seemed in a big hurry to rush over and greet the prom queen.

Crystal frowned as she fixed a Perrier. “How have you been?”

“Oh, fine,” Kathryn said airily.

Too defensively flip to be candid. Crystal stared at Kathryn. Long seconds passed. Why wasn’t anyone coming over to welcome one of the most popular girls in their class?

Suddenly, Mitch appeared at their side. “Hello, Kathryn,” he said warmly.

“Hi, Mitch.” The cheerleader’s smile was relieved.

“Care to dance?” he asked.

“And keep a brave front?”

“The only other option is to fold in the face of scrutiny.” He grinned at her, his expression daring.

After a moment, she nodded. “All right. Ever my knight whether in jeans or a tux.”

“Excuse us, Crystal,” he said, “Kathryn and I are going to enjoy a dance for old times’ sake.”

Crystal forced her jaw not to drop, but it was like holding up a concrete bridge. Once again he’d referred to that ill-fated night—so casually! Never mind that he’d gone off to dance with the woman for whom he’d dumped her, a move guaranteed to thrill the spectators. She felt exposed and ridiculed.

Barney Fearing pulled her out onto the floor. “Come on, Miss Red-Hot. Let’s not stand there like you just turned to stone.”

“Oh, hush, Barney!”

He chuckled. “Not that I expected you to thank me for being such a gallant and pulling you out of a pickle, but you could act like you’re enjoying yourself, Crystal. It’s bad for my reputation as a ladies’ man to have you treat me as if I smell like boiled cabbage.”

“I’m sorry.” She focused on Barney, making herself take a deep breath so her heart would stop racing. “You’re a true gentleman to save me from myself.”

“I know,” he said with a big smile. “Now, why don’t you quit eyeballin’ over thataway and affix your purty eyes to my handsome face? That way nobody’ll know your heart’s bleeding red as that sexy dress.”

Some irritation poured into her spine, a little at a time. “Affix my purty eyes to your handsome face?”

“That’s right. Is there anything in this room you’d rather be gazing upon?” His grin was wide and gleeful.

Crystal smiled ruefully. “No.”

“I didn’t think so. Mama always said I was a sight for sore eyes. And I reckon yours are sore as anybody’s tonight.”

She shook her head. “Barney, you’re different from the other men, I’ll have to give you that.”

“I know. Quality shows.”

Crystal laughed. “So…how come you haven’t settled down?”

He winked at her. “Because I couldn’t go out with my buddies anymore if I did.”

“I’m not sure I believe that.”

“Sometimes me and Frankie stay over at Linc’s until one o’clock in the morning,” he assured her.

“But if you had a wife, you wouldn’t have to do that.”

“Fine lecture coming from the most eligible woman in the Valley.”

“I’m not… Eligible isn’t how I describe myself.”

“How do you?”

“I don’t know,” she murmured. “Happy?”

“Alone?”

“Well, yes. I have my five cats, three dogs, et cetera, and my bridal salon. I never feel alone,” she said, vaguely wondering if she was telling herself or Barney the truth.

“Maybe you and I should get married, since we both think marriage is too much trouble,” he suggested.

“Maybe so.” She laughed, not taking him seriously. “I don’t cook.”

“I don’t vacuum.”

“It would make my mother deliriously happy.”

“I’d have to beat the hell out of Mitch every time he came around,” Barney continued.

She stared at him, her eyes stretched wide and her smile frozen.

“Jes’ kiddin’,” he said. “But in the three minutes you’ve had your eyes affixed to my handsome countenance, I estimate Mitch’s looked at your legs once every five seconds.”

“My legs?” she whispered.

“And all the rest of ya.” Barney waltzed her so that she couldn’t glance at Mitch no matter how badly she wanted to. “You two ever gonna get together?”

She frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Jes’ seems that you’ve got some unfinished business, which makes it hard for the rest of us bachelors.”

“You just said you preferred being single.”

“I know. And you just said you liked being single, so how come you’re not insisting you don’t want to get together with him?”

He had the slyest grin lighting his face. Crystal sighed. “Barney, you never have given me the respect the other guys did. I think you’re still smarting from my good aim.”

“You got lucky with that water balloon,” he told her. “I was in P.E. class with you, so I know you couldn’t hit the basket when you stood right under the net. But it’s not that I don’t respect you, Crystal. I probably just see myself in you. Kinda lonely, and kinda not sure what to do about it.”

She hesitated in his arms, surprised.

He kissed her smack on the lips.

“But at least I’ve got good aim,” he said with relish.

AFTER THAT, CRYSTAL AVOIDED the football trio, Mitch and Kathryn as they all stood around talking. She circulated among the other guests, and spoke with the McSterns. After a while, she cut her birthday cake and opened the gag birthday gifts, most of which had to do with her single status. Kathryn’s gift was a painted dog bowl that was darling, a fact Crystal reluctantly admitted to herself. She was even more astonished to turn it over and see Kathryn’s name on the back. “You painted this yourself?”

“Yes. I did. The invitation said to bring a gag gift, so I hope you don’t mind I brought something for your pets.”

“I didn’t know you were such an artist!”

Kathryn’s gaze bounced to Mitch and then back to Crystal. “I’ve had a lot of time to myself for the past couple of years. I decided to take up pottery. Fortunately, I’m having a little success with it.”

“Wait a minute,” Crystal said. “I’ve got a black teapot and cup at home that reminds me of this. It’s rimmed in white and has pink-and-red roses scrolling across the bowl.”

Kathryn blushed. “That sounds like my design.”

“I had no idea,” Crystal murmured, studying the oval shape of the dog bowl. Dogs and dog bones chased across the front in a cheery pattern, and at the bottom of the inside a red beribboned bow was painted. “Thank you, Kathryn. It’s almost too pretty to use. But I will.”

For some reason, the gift made Crystal a little sad. She finished opening gag gifts, and then, miraculously, the evening drew to a close. With relief, Crystal showed guests to the door. She thanked each one for coming. The band packed up their instruments and departed.

Her family’s bright eyes watched her as she closed the door for the final time.

“That was very sweet,” she told them. “Thank you.”

“Did you have fun?” Bess asked.

“I actually did.” Crystal hugged them all. “I’m glad it was a surprise party, because if I’d known I’d be facing that, I would have been nervous for a week. I think your birthday present gave me some extra courage, Aunt Elle.” She flipped her skirt to show the perfect pleats. “And the shoes, Mom. And of course the lovely necklace, Uncle Martin.”

“There’re flowers in the kitchen from Mitch we didn’t give you yet,” Bess admitted.

She halted, her emotions back on the skids. “Flowers?”

“We’re so sorry!” Aunt Elle cried, clasping her hands. “We didn’t want you…you know. Upset!”

“So we didn’t tell you about them. We were afraid it would ruin your evening,” Bess told her.

Crystal went into the kitchen, her heart fluttering as she saw the lovely roses. “Oh, my,” she murmured.

“Here’s the card,” Martin prompted.

“Thank you.” She opened it, her pulse beating with excitement.

Happy Birthday to a beautiful lady. Mitch.

She stuffed the card back into the envelope.

“Aren’t you going to tell us what it says?” Martin asked hopefully.

“No. It’s just typical Mitch. Nothing of substance.” Crystal headed for the front door, carrying gifts to load into her car. When she was done, she came back inside and hugged each of them again. “I truly had a wonderful time,” she said to her family. “For once in my life, I felt like a real Cinderella.”

She blew them a kiss and breezed out the door, her twinkly red heels catching shine from the porch lights.

Bess looked after her daughter wistfully. “May the clock never strike midnight for you when you finally meet your handsome prince,” she whispered.

THE FLOWERS, BESS NOTED immediately, somehow were left in the kitchen. “I don’t know that Crystal left them on purpose, but I somehow suspect she did.”

“It’s possible. Although I was very proud of the way she comported herself, both with Mitch and when Kathryn showed up alone,” Elle commented as she began hand-washing china plates.

“Couldn’t not invite her,” Bess said defensively. “She is married to Tom, and they’re both members of Crystal’s class. Tom would have heard about the party from Barney, Frankie and Lincoln.”

“Goof, Goober and Goobus,” Martin stated decisively, reaching for a cup towel to dry the dishes. “Do you really think those leftovers could catch Crystal?”

“No.” Bess shook her head. “But they sure did slobber all over her tonight, didn’t they?”

“We didn’t have to try too hard to keep Mitch away from Crystal, although his eyes might have well been glued to her.” Elle examined a crystal flute for lipstick. “Did you intentionally monopolize him, sister dear?”

“I most certainly did. I told him under no circumstances was he to encroach upon Crystal’s relaunch into society. It’s not fair that just when I decide to help her help herself, he shows up again!”

“Oh, my,” Elle breathed. “And he still sat in here with you most of the night. Clearly not cowed by the dragon.”

“Oh, hush.” Bess waved a silver fork. “He was the perfect gentleman to dance with Kathryn after everyone treated her like she had sand fleas.”

“I feel sorry for Kathryn. I think Crystal did, too,” Martin said.

“Somehow disaster was averted, and I am thanking my lucky stars it was. When Crystal fainted, I thought the whole evening was going up in smoke.” Bess frowned. “You know why she fainted, don’t you?”

Martin and Elle swiveled to stare at her.

“Because Mitch had been kissing her.”

“Oh, my.” Elle perked up. “Did he tell you that?”

“He didn’t have to. I could tell by the way she stayed away from him as if he were dog poo. And then when I asked him, he all but admitted it. So I had to tell him to leave her alone. If her father were here, I’m sure he’d do the same.” After a moment of self-righteous silence, Bess paused to look up. “He would, wouldn’t he?”

The threesome was very still.

“I hope I did the right thing,” she murmured. “We did agree that keeping them apart was the proper route.”

“Yes, we did.” Martin nodded.

“We certainly thought we were acting in her best interest,” Elle agreed.

They were quiet again for a moment.

“You know, I’ve got a sudden hankering for a drive,” Bess said. “I need some fresh air.”

Martin snapped his fingers. “I forgot to give Crystal her gag gift, didn’t I? We could just run it over to her house while we’re out for our drive.”

Elle raised her eyebrows. “You didn’t buy her a gag gift.”

His shoulders slumped. “No, I didn’t.”

“Never mind,” Bess said, suddenly energized. “We’ll just run these pretty posies of Mitch’s by her house. The more I think about it,” she said, lifting the salmon-and-white garden roses from the vase, “I’m positive she didn’t mean to leave without his gift!”

“MITCH!” CRYSTAL EXCLAIMED after getting out of her car. “What are you doing here?”

He stood on her porch, holding a bottle of something that looked suspiciously like champagne. “Waiting for you, princess.”

“Oh, please. That line won’t get you in the door.” She walked up to him, eyeing the bottle with unease. “What do you want?”

“To talk to you.” He held up the champagne to ward off her protests. “Talk only.”

“We don’t require champagne to talk.” She’d had a glass of champagne at her party. Somehow it didn’t seem wise to combine more bubbly with heartbreak, no matter how much her every sense called out to give in and enjoy Mitch’s very exciting kisses.

“You’re right.” He smiled, and her resistance registered a devastating crack. “But Crystal, I would really like the chance to speak to you.”

She had to step closer to the front door so that she could mentally distance herself from temptation. “I…I have to work tomorrow. And I’ve celebrated enough, thank you.”

“To be honest, I wasn’t thinking about your birthday as much as I’m trying to bribe you.”

“Bribe me?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” He sighed. “I won’t deny I enjoyed kissing you tonight, Crystal. But when I went over to your folks’ house, your mother gave me a stern lecture about staying away from you. I realized she was right.”

Crystal was totally amazed. “I would have thought my mother would push you into my life.”

He shook his head. “Quite the opposite. She made me realize how inconsiderate I was to…force my attention on you. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I’m sorry.”

With a jolt of astonishment, Crystal knew she didn’t want Mitch to regret kissing her. In fact, just seeing him on her porch had given her a delicious sense of shivery pleasure. Not that she would allow herself to fall for him again, but the thought that he might still feel something from the past the same way she did was tantalizing. “So, if you’re not here to ravish me into a champagne haze, why are you here?”

“Do you mind if I come in? It’s something I’d rather discuss somewhere other than your porch.”

No way was she falling for this. Once he was inside her house, she might never get him out. He was still inside her heart, refusing to leave. “How about if I meet you later this week at the coffee shop?”

For once the smile left his face. “Crystal, look. I promised your mother I wouldn’t pursue you. I won’t. I would like to share your birthday with you, I won’t deny that. But I really need a favor from you.”

This from the man who’d dashed over to make certain she was only faint and not suffering a medical trauma. She sighed. “Can we agree on fifteen minutes, then? I really have to get up early in the morning.”

Mitch nodded, handing her the champagne. “I’ll set my watch. It’s got an alarm guaranteed to bring police running if I’m not gone.”

Rolling her eyes, Crystal unlocked the door. Three large bodies whistled through the opening, furry heads with enthusiastic tongues licking both her and Mitch, tails whipping their legs.

“No wonder you don’t want a man,” he observed. “You have your own ‘honey I’m home’ greeting squad.”

“Sit, Thor.” She pushed down a giant Great Dane that looked more horse than dog. “Sit, Igor. No, Nip. No nibbling on Mitch’s trouser leg.” The rest of the roll call was averted as she shooed the canine crew toward the back door.

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