“Then you and I will pack our bags and be gone.”

“I can’t wait,” she breathed. “I want to be with you.”

“Me, too.”

“I love you, Franklin.”

“I love you, too, baby.”

BILL’S MEXICAN GRILL had fabulous food, but it wasn’t known for its ambiance. The restaurant was casual, bordering on tacky, which left Gracie in something of a clothing dilemma.

She wanted to look fabulous. After all, she and Riley were about to be the center of attention for the entire evening. People who saw them together would talk about it with their friends and she wanted to make sure that one of the things they said was how great she looked.

It was only fair. The last time she’d generated this much talk with her crush on Riley, she’d been fourteen and, as her mother’s neighbor Mrs. Baxter had mentioned, unfortunate-looking. All arms and legs with a completely flat chest, hair that never looked good, no matter what she did to it, braces and acne that had defined her face. Yuck.

Time and growing up had changed all that. She might not be a beauty queen, but she had left “unfortunate-looking” far behind. She wanted to celebrate her curves, her glossy hair and perfectly blemish-free complexion.

She stared in the mirror, ignored the electric curlers piled on her head and considered the blue sleeveless dress she held in front of herself. While it was pretty and had a low cut front, she thought it was a bit too obvious. Sort of an “oh, look, I’m on a date” dress. But she did want to wear a dress or at least a skirt because pants just seemed too-something. Wrong, maybe. Plus she’d not only shaved her legs, she’d fake-tanned and the color had come out really nice.

“Khaki skirt?” she mused aloud. “Khaki skirt with my pale blue twin set?”

The twin set in question was kind of fun with a little beading and appliqué work. She’d bought it for pennies on the dollar at a consignment store up in Palos Verdes the previous fall when all the rich women were getting rid of their summer wardrobes.

She dug through her closet, searching for the skirt, then stopped when she heard someone pounding on her front door. A quick glance at her watch told her it couldn’t be Riley. It was barely after six.

Gracie grabbed the skirt and tossed it on the bed, then headed for the front of the house. She pulled open the door and had to hold in a groan when she saw Vivian standing there.

Tears poured down her sister’s face. She stood hunched, as if she’d been battered one too many times.

Gracie’s first instinct was to offer sympathy. Then she remembered this was the sister who wanted the uber expensive wedding, but refused to actually commit to getting married.

“What’s up?” Gracie asked.

Vivian stepped into the house and choked on a sob. “It’s over. With Tom.”

“Again?” Gracie asked, then winced when she realized that sounded kind of unfeeling.

“You don’t get it,” Vivian told her through her tears. “Before, all those fights, it was me. I kept telling him the wedding was off and walking out. I j-just wanted some attention from him. He seemed to be so quiet and serious lately. But after last night, when I walked out again, he came by to s-see me this morning. He said it was over. For real. That I w-wasn’t ready to be married to him or anyone.”

She covered her face with her hands and continued to sob. Gracie moved close and patted her shoulder. She knew she should probably be hugging her sister, but that didn’t feel right. They weren’t that close anymore.

Vivian reached in her jeans pocket and pulled out a tissue. “He said I’m too immature, that he loves me, but he’s not going to see me anymore until I grow up.”

“I’m sorry,” Gracie said softly.

Vivian shook her head. “I don’t know what to do. He won’t talk to me. He really means it. He said every time I called off the wedding I really hurt him, but that I didn’t seem to care. He said I only thought about myself in all this. That I was wrong to make Mom take out a loan to pay for our wedding. He said I was a spoiled brat and that I should be ashamed of myself.”

The tears started anew. Gracie hovered next to her, not sure what she should say.

“Have you talked to Mom?” she asked in desperation.

“N-no.” Vivian sniffed and wiped her face. “She’s going to be really mad about all this. She’s told her friends everything about the wedding, and how great it’s going to be. If she has to go back and say it’s off, she’ll just die.”

Gracie had a strong feeling her mother would be far more upset about the money that couldn’t be refunded. “I’m sure her friends will understand.”

Vivian looked at her. “Are you kidding? They’ll gloat about it. That’s how they are. Their daughters’ weddings didn’t get canceled. Mom is going to kill me.”

“I know this all seems really horrible right now,” Gracie said as she rubbed her sister’s back. “It hurts and there doesn’t seem to be a solution, but it will get better. Now you have some time to figure out what you really want. Is Tom the guy you want to spend your life with?”

“Of course he is. That’s why I wanted to marry him. I only said I was canceling the wedding to get him to pay attention to me.”

“Why didn’t you just ask for his attention?”

Vivian rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Like anyone ever does that. Have you ever even had a boyfriend?”

“Lots. And I learned a long time ago that playing games was never smart. Vivian, did you listen to what Tom said to you? He wants you to be honest with him.”

“No guy wants that.” She straightened and squared her shoulders. “Okay, I can fix this. I’ll just show up at his place wearing nothing. He’ll have to let me in then. Once I’ve got him in bed, I can convince him of everything. Okay. Yeah. That’s a good plan. It will be fine.” She gave Gracie a watery smile. “I gotta go get ready. Thanks for listening. I’ll let you know when Tom agrees to the wedding again.”

She waved, then hurried out of the house. Gracie closed the door behind her and leaned against the frame. She felt as if she’d just had a close encounter with an alien from a different planet. Did Vivian really think she could seduce her fiancé back into marriage? Gracie had only met Tom a couple of times but from what she’d seen, he seemed like a rational, sensible sort of man. His points about her sister were all valid. She hoped he was strong enough to force Vivian to grow up a little, but who knew. Of course if he was weak enough to be done in by a naked woman in his hallway, then he deserved what he would get.

“Not my problem,” she said as she turned back toward her bedroom. She caught sight of the clock in the hallway and shrieked. It was nearly six-thirty and fabulous took way more than thirty minutes.

RILEY PAUSED outside of Bill’s Mexican Grill and squeezed Gracie’s hand. “If you keep breathing that fast, you’re going to hyperventilate. We don’t have to do this. We can leave now and I’ll call Mac from the car and tell him we’re having take-out at my place.”

Gracie shook her head. Her normally straight blond hair moved in a cascade of curls that had him itching to touch. Makeup emphasized her wide eyes and full mouth. She was gorgeous.

The clothes were just as good. A short skirt emphasized her long, tanned legs. A kind of sweater thing hugged breasts he knew to be soft, erotic and luscious. She was a poster girl for sexual desire and he wanted to subscribe to get the autographed set.

“I can do this,” she said, her voice low and determined.

He’d been so busy thinking about how much he wanted her, it took him a second to catch up. “Dinner?”

“Uh-huh. I’ll be fine. I’m completely okay with this. I have nerves of steel. I’m invincible.” She glanced at him. “Do I look okay?”

He grinned, then lightly kissed her cheek. “You’re beautiful. I’ve been impressed for a long time, but now I’m in awe.”

“Wow. Awe works.” She leaned close. “Whatever happens, promise you won’t leave my side?”

“My word of honor. Ready?”

She nodded and pushed open the door to the restaurant.

Inside the combination of voices and mariachi music from the bar assaulted them. He knew the restaurant would be quieter in the back, where Mac had booked their table. Riley gave his name to the hostess standing in front.

“The rest of your party is here,” the teenager said with a smile. “If you’ll follow me.”

She wove her way through dozens of tables. Gracie gripped his hand hard enough to snap bone.

“People are staring,” she whispered. “I can feel it. Oh, God, this was a really, really bad idea. It’s because we’re together. How could we do this?”

He pulled his hand free and wrapped an arm around her waist. “You’re fine. If anyone is staring it’s because you look like a goddess. Every guy in the place wants you.”

That made her laugh. “Oh, please. On what planet?”

“I’m serious. If I’d known how great you were going to turn out, I might have paid attention to you all those years ago.”

She snorted. “I was fourteen. I could have been a goddess and you still would have ignored me.”

“The age difference seemed bigger back then,” he admitted. “Plus the whole go-to-prison thing. You were jailbait.”

“I’m not anymore.”

He squeezed her closer. “Is that an invitation?” he asked in a low whisper.

“You bet.”

He was about to say that dinner no longer interested him when he saw Mac and Jill sitting at a table in the corner. The other couple rose and waved them over.

“Hi,” Jill said brightly, as she settled back in her chair. “We saw this corner table was open and thought we should grab it while we could. It’s much less conspicuous.”

Gracie winced. “Because people are going to talk, right? That’s what you’re saying. I knew it. I think I’m going to be sick.”