One dark eyebrow rose. “I don’t think so.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t be such a guy. This could be fun. Just think of it-we could be part of a great love match.”

“Colin and Betina?” He sounded doubtful.

“Sure. Betina has a serious thing for Colin. I was skeptical at first because Betina changes her men with the rhythm of the tide. A long-term relationship for her is a week. But that’s because she’s afraid to really care about someone. She had a bad early marriage years ago. Anyway, she’s liked Colin for a long time, and that liking has grown into something more. Something significant.”

She paused, waiting for him to grasp the importance of the information. Obviously he missed it, because he said, “I’m not getting involved.”

“You have to. It’s not like you’re doing anything else with your time.”

“We’re going to ignore my work and the effort I put into avoiding you?”

“Oh, yeah. There’s hard duty. A beautiful single woman desperately wants you in her bed. Poor Jack. Your life is pain.”

She could think of a thousand ways he could have reacted, but she never expected him to smile.

“You think of yourself as beautiful?” he asked quietly, sounding almost pleased.

Meri shifted on the bed. “It was a figure of speech.”

“The last time we talked about your appearance, you said you were a freak.”

She didn’t want to think about that, but if he insisted…“The last time we talked about my appearance, you emotionally slapped me, trampled my heart and left me for dead.”

His smile faded. “I’m sorry. I should have handled that differently.”

“But you didn’t. I wasn’t asking for sex right that moment.” She didn’t want to be talking about this. It was too humiliating. “My point is, Betina is crazy about Colin and I’m pretty sure he likes her. Which is where you come in. I want you to find out for sure.”

“What? No.”

“Why not? You’re a guy, he’s a guy. You can ask him if he likes Betina.”

“Should I pass you a note in homeroom?”

“I don’t care how I get the information, I just need confirmation.”

“You’re not getting it from me.”

She remembered his being stubborn but never this bad. “Have I mentioned you’re annoying? Because you are.”

“I live to serve.”

“If only that were true. Look, they’re both great people. They deserve to be happy. I’m just giving them a little push.”

“Did you need a push with Andrew?”

She sighed. “I wondered when you’d bring him up.”

“You’re nearly engaged. Why wouldn’t I be curious?”

She tried to figure out what he was thinking from his tone of voice, but as usual, Jack gave nothing away. It was one of his more annoying characteristics.

“We met at a charity auction,” she said. “There was a pet fashion show to start things off. Somehow I got tangled up in the leashes and nearly fell. Andrew rescued me. It was very romantic.”

“I can only imagine.”

She ignored any hint of sarcasm in his voice. Maybe knowing there was another man in her life would make him a little less arrogant.

“He was funny and charming and I liked him right away. We have so much in common. What movies we like, where we go on vacation. It’s been really fun.”

It had been fun, she thought, remembering all the good times with Andrew. But she’d been on this coast for nearly six months. They’d had a chance to get together only a few times, although they talked regularly. Their relationship seemed to be on hold and she obviously didn’t mind. Something she was going to have to think about.

“Is he a genius, too?” Jack asked.

“No, he’s delightfully normal. Smart but not too smart. I like that in a guy.”

“What do you know about him? Did you check him out?”

“Of course. He’s just a regular guy. Not in it for money.” Her good mood faded. “Is that your point? That no one could possibly want me if it wasn’t for the money?”

“Not at all. I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy. Blissfully so. Andrew’s the one. We’ll be engaged as soon as I get back to D.C.” Which wasn’t actually true but it sounded good.

“Congratulations.”

Jack had ruined everything, she thought bitterly as she stood. Her buzz, her great evening.

“Just because you don’t believe in letting yourself care about people doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t real,” she told him. “Some of us want to connect.”

“I hope you do. I hope this is everything you want.”

“Why don’t I believe you? What aren’t you saying?”

“That if Andrew was so important to you, you wouldn’t stay away from him for six months.”

She walked to the door. “Who says I have?”

With that, she walked out and closed the door behind her.

It was only a few steps to her room, and she was grateful for the solitary quiet when she entered. After flicking on a few lights, she crossed to the window and stared out at the night sky.

It was a perfect night for viewing the stars, but she wasn’t in the mood. Not even on her brand-new telescope. She hurt too much and it was hard to say why.

Maybe because Jack was right. If Andrew was that important to her, she wouldn’t stay away from him for six months. But she had, and it had been relatively easy. Too easy. If she were really in love with him, wouldn’t she be desperate to be with him?

Finding the engagement ring had shocked her. She hadn’t known what to think about his proposing. She’d been happy, but a part of her had known that it was time to put off the inevitable. That closure with Jack was required.

She’d known about Hunter’s friends coming to stay at the house. She’d taken the consulting job in California, hired on as the caretaker of the house and had waited to confront the man who was holding her back. Once she got her revenge on Jack, she would be fine.

“That’s what’s wrong,” she whispered to herself. “I’m still waiting to punish him. Once Jack is reduced to dust, I’ll be able to give my whole heart to Andrew. It’s just going to be another week or so. Then I’ll be happy.”

Jack spent a restless night. He told himself it was because he’d had coffee too late in the day, but part of the problem was Meri’s words. Her claim that he didn’t connect.

Late the next morning, he saved the files on his computer and opened the top desk drawer in his temporary office. There was an envelope inside, along with a letter.

The letter had been waiting for him the first day he’d arrived. He’d recognized the distinctive handwriting and had known it was from Matt. The battered appliances in the kitchen had been another clue. His friend might be able to program a computer to do heart surgery, but Matt couldn’t do something simple like work an electric can opener.

For some reason, Jack had avoided the letter. Now he opened the envelope and pulled out the single sheet of paper.

Jack-

When I read Ryan’s note that called this place a “love shack,” my first thought was, what a load of BS. But now I think he may have been onto something. He was also right about how wrong we were when we compiled our universal truths about women. Remember those? Yeah? Well, now you can forget ’em. We had no idea.

As for me, here’s what I learned during my month at the cabin: the most important work you’ll ever do has nothing to do with the job. And it’s work you can’t do by yourself. But when you find a partner you can trust and the two of you do that work together, it pays better than any career you could imagine. And the perks? You have no idea…

Have a good month, pal.

Matt.

Jack read the letter again. He’d figured out a long time ago that he didn’t know squat about women. Not that it mattered, as he never got involved. As for Matt and his other friends, sometimes he allowed himself to miss them. To wonder what it would have been like if Hunter hadn’t died. Because Hunter was the one who had held them all together. Without him, they’d gone their separate ways. There were times when he-

He stood and shook his head. Okay, he needed more coffee or something, because there was no way he was spending the rest of the morning in his head.

He went downstairs and poured himself coffee. He could hear Meri and her team talking in the dining room.

“String theory is ruining theoretical physics,” one of the guys said. “Everything has to be defined and explained, which is wasting a lot of time. Sure there’s a why and a how, but if there’s no practical application, then why bother?”

“Because you can’t know the practical application until you understand the theory.”

“It’s not a theory. It’s equations. Compare string theory to something else. Something like-”

They kept on talking, but even thought Jack knew they were probably speaking English, he had no idea what they were saying. He knew string theory had nothing to do with strings and maybe something to do with the universe. The word vibrating was attached to the idea in his head, but whether that meant string theory was about vibrations in the universe or just so above him that it made his teeth hurt, he wasn’t sure.

“All very interesting,” Meri said loudly over the argument. “But it has little to do with the project at hand. Get back to work. All of you.”

There was a little grumbling, but the discussion shifted back to something that sounded a lot like solid rocket fuel. Not that Jack could be sure.

After grabbing his mug, he stepped out onto the deck. Hunter would be proud of Meri. She’d turned into a hell of a woman.

He pulled out his cell phone and hit redial. Bobbi Sue answered on the first ring. “You’ve got to stop calling me,” she told him by way of greeting. “I swear, you’re starting to get on my nerves. We’re all capable here. We can do the job. You’re just bored, and let me tell you, I don’t like being punished for your mood swings.”