“No, Jack. I’m going to tell you exactly how much she’s suffering. I’m going to point out that you were her brother’s best friend and that he asked only one thing of you and you couldn’t seem to do it. Not then and not now. I’m going to be the voice in your head-the ugly one that never lets you rest.”

He met her steady gaze with one of his own. “You’re good.”

“I care about her. She’s part of my family. She deserves someone who loves her. Are you that guy?”

He didn’t have to think about that. “No.” He’d never loved anyone. He refused to care. It cost too much.

“Then leave her alone. Give her a chance with someone else.”

“Someone like Andrew?” Jack had a bad feeling about him. He would get his report soon enough and then figure out what to do.

“Funny you should mention him,” Betina said, looking amused. “I guess you don’t know.”

“Know what?”

“He’s here.”

Meri pulled back, stood in front of the open door and wondered if she looked as guilty as she felt. While she and Andrew had agreed that they were on a relationship hiatus, saying the words and having him show up less than four hours after she and Jack had made love for the third time of the night was a little disconcerting.

“You’re here,” she said, feeling stupid and awkward and really, really guilty.

“I missed you.” He smiled that easy Andrew smile-the one that had first drawn her to him. The one that told the world he was pleasant, charming and curious about everything. “Did you miss me?”

She’d spent five months working on her plan to seduce Jack Howington III and nearly a week putting that plan into action. In her free time she’d been consulting for two different defense contractors and working on her solid-rocket-fuel project. Who had time to miss anyone?

“Of course,” she said, resisting the urge to fold her arms over her chest and shuffle her feet.

“Good.” He stepped into the house and put his arm around her. “So this is where you’ve been hanging out.”

“I’ve actually been down in Los Angeles a lot. Remember? The consulting.”

“I know. Is your team here?”

“They’ll arrive in an hour or so.”

“How fortunate.” He pulled her close again. “So we have time to get reacquainted.”

Ick and double ick. She couldn’t get “reacquainted” with Andrew right after having seduced Jack. It was wrong on many, many levels.

She stepped away and looked at him. Andrew was tall like Jack but not as muscular or lean. His brown hair was longer, his blue eyes lighter. Jack was a sexy version of the devil come to life. He played every hand close and gave nothing away. Andrew was open and friendly. He assumed the world liked him-and most of the time it did.

Which didn’t matter, she told herself. There was no need for comparisons. She had a relationship with Andrew and she had nothing with Jack. They’d been friends once, she’d proved her point and now she was moving on. She should be happy Andrew was here. He was part of the moving-on bit, wasn’t he?

Andrew’s blue eyes clouded. “What’s wrong, Meredith? Aren’t you happy to see me? It’s been weeks since we met at The Symposium in Chicago. I’ve missed you. You said you wanted time for us both to be sure about our feelings. I’m still sure. Are you?”

Life was all about timing, Meredith thought happily as Colin walked into the room, saw Andrew and grimaced.

“Oh. You’re here,” he grumbled. Colin had never been a fan.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault, Meri told herself. Andrew was inherently athletic and Colin…wasn’t. She wasn’t either, but she tried and she always forced her team to attempt something new a couple of times a year. She ignored the complaints and reminded them it was good for them.

“Colin!” Andrew said cheerfully, ignoring the other man’s obvious irritation at his presence. “Haven’t seen you in a long time. How’s it hanging?”

Colin looked Andrew over with the same enthusiasm one would use when seeing a cockroach in one’s salad. “It’s hanging just fine.”

Colin poured his coffee and left.

“I think he’s starting to like me,” Andrew said in a mock whisper. “We’re really communicating.”

Despite everything, Meri laughed. “You’re an optimist.”

“Hey, you like Colin and I like you. Therefore I must like Colin. Isn’t that some kind of math logic? You should appreciate that.”

She should, and she mostly did. She appreciated that Andrew was never tense or intense. She enjoyed his humor, his spontaneity and how he seemed to live a charmed life. According to every women’s-magazine survey she’d ever taken, Andrew was perfect for her.

So how had she been able to be apart from him for six months only seeing him for a few days at a time and not really mind?

Before she could figure out the answer, she heard more footsteps on the stairs. She turned, expecting to see Betina, who would be a great distraction. Instead Jack walked into the kitchen.

The room got so quiet Meri could actually hear her heart pumping blood through her body. She felt herself flush as she tried to figure out what on earth she was supposed to say.

Andrew stepped forward, held out his hand and smiled. “Andrew Layman. I’m Meredith’s boyfriend.”

Jack looked him over. “Jack Howington the third. Friend of the family.”

Meri stared in surprise. Jack had used his full name, including the number. Why? He never did that.

The two men shook hands. When they separated, it seemed that they were both crowding her a little.

“So you know Meredith’s dad?” Andrew asked. “You mentioned you were a friend of the family, but she hasn’t mentioned you before.”

“I knew her brother. Meri and I were friends in college. We go way back.”

“Interesting. You never came to D.C.,” Andrew said easily. “I know all of Meredith’s friends there.”

“Sounds like you keep a close watch on her.”

“I care about her.”

“Apparently not enough that you mind a six-month absence,” Jack told him. “You haven’t met all of Meri’s friends here.”

“I already know them.”

“You don’t know me.”

“You’re the past.”

Jack’s gaze was steady. “Not as much as you might think. Meri and I have a history together.”

Meri rolled her eyes. It was as though they were a couple of dogs and she were the favorite tree they both wanted to pee on. While she was sure Jack was more than capable of winning the contest, she was surprised he would bother to play. She also hadn’t expected Andrew to get drawn in. Since when had he become competitive?

“There’s a little too much testosterone in here for me,” she said as she stepped back. “You two boys have fun.”

Meri made her way to Betina’s room and found her friend typing on her laptop.

“Girl emergency,” Meri said as she closed the bedroom door and sat on the edge of the bed. “How could he be here?”

“Andrew?”

Meri nodded. “I had no idea. We’ve been staying in touch via e-mail and we’ve talked a little on the phone, but there was no warning. He just showed up. How could he do that?”

“He got on a plane and flew here. It’s romantic. Does it feel romantic to you?”

“I don’t know,” Meri admitted, still unclear how she felt. “It’s been weeks and weeks. I thought he was going to propose and I thought maybe I would say yes. Shouldn’t I be excited that he’s here? Shouldn’t I be dancing in the streets?”

“We don’t have much in the way of streets, but maybe if you danced in the driveway, it would be enough.”

Meri started to laugh, then sucked in a breath as she suddenly fought tears. “I’m so confused.”

“You slept with Jack. That was bound to change things.”

“It was supposed to make them more clear. I was supposed to be healed.”

“Maybe the problem is you were never broken.”

Meri nodded slowly. Maybe that was the problem. She’d always thought there was something wrong with her and that it could be traced back to Jack’s painful rejection. But what if that had just been a normal part of growing up and, because of her freakishness, she hadn’t been able to see it? What if she’d made it too big a deal?

“You don’t think I needed closure with Jack?” Meri asked. “You don’t think getting revenge on him will move me to a higher plane?”

Betina sighed. “I don’t think anything negative like revenge is ever healthy. You’ve felt emotionally stalled and unable to commit. Was that about what Jack did or was it simply that you needed more time to integrate who you were with who you wanted to be? Being book-smart doesn’t help you grow up any faster or better. Sometimes it just gets in the way.”

“I figured that out a while ago,” Meri grumbled. “You’d think I could deal with it by now.” She drew in a deep breath. “I was so sure that revenge was the right way to go. I knew that if I could just make him want me, then walk away, I’d be happy forever.”

“Maybe that’s still true.”

Meri wasn’t sure. “Like you said-it’s not healthy to be so negative.”

“But it is done,” Betina reminded her. “Deal with what you have now. Closure. So on to Andrew-if that’s where you want to go.”

An interesting idea. The only problem was Meri wasn’t sure what she thought about anything anymore.

“I need to clear my head. I’m going to run. Could you get the group started without me?”

Betina grinned. “I love it when you leave me in charge.”

Later that morning, Jack went looking for Meri. She wasn’t in the dining room with her team, although Betina had told him she was in the house somewhere. He checked out his bathroom, but no beautiful, naked women waited for him. Damn. There were days a guy couldn’t cut a break. Then he saw something move on the balcony and stepped out to find her sitting on a chair, staring out at the view.

She looked up as he joined her. “I was going to use the telescope, but it’s kind of hard to see the stars with all the sunshine getting in the way.”