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a man walking by. Only he didn’tkeep walking. He stopped at her front gate and let himself in. The wineglass nearly slipped from her fingers as she watched Ethan Hendrix stroll toward her.
    â€œHello, Liz.”
    He was as tall and handsome as she’d remembered. Broader and a little older, but only in that good way men age. It was too dark for her to make out his exact features, but if she had to guess, she would say he was happy to see her. At least he was smiling.
    She blinked, not sure he was real, but the image didn’t go away, which was confusing. Why would Ethan be pleased she was back in town?
    She clutched her wine in both hands. Standing up made the most sense and was also polite, but she wasn’t sure she could manage it. Her legs felt a little wobbly as she stared at the first man she’d ever loved. If she’d had another glass of wine, she probably would have admitted he was the only man she’d ever loved, but why go there now?
    â€œEthan,” she said, startled to have his name on her lips after all this time. She’d yelled at him, cursed him, cried for him and begged—but only in her mind. In the past twelve years, she’d never once spoken his name. Except once…to his wife.
    â€œI thought I saw you earlier,” he revealed, moving closer and shoving his hands in his front pockets, a smile tugging at his lips. “At the race. I tried to get to you, but there was too much of a crowd. You’re back.” The smile turned into a grin. “You look good.”
    She looked what?
    Gathering all her strength, she set the glass on the porch, then pushed to her feet. After crossing her arms over her chest, she realized she still had to tilt her head slightly to meet his gaze. Time had not caused him to shrink.
    â€œIt’s not what you think,” she began. “I’m not here to make trouble.”
    Confusion flickered across his face. “Why would you be?”
    â€œI’m here because of my brother and his daughters. This isn’t about anything between us.”
    The grin faded into a straight line. “About that,” he reflected, then shrugged. “I was a kid and a jerk. I’m sorry.”
    As apologies went, it wasn’t much of one. Not when compared to his incredible rejection of both her and their son, but Ethan had never been big on accepting responsibility for his relationships.
    For him, it was all about how things looked. After all, he was a Hendrix. A member of the founding family. Upholder of all things good and right. A girl from the wrong side of the tracks was good enough to sleep with, but a guy like Ethan would never want anything more.
    â€œWhatever,” she muttered. “I didn’t know my brother had moved back and I didn’t know about his daughters. Until Melissa wrote me. That’s why I’m here. It’ll be two weeks. Three at most. I’ll stay out ofyour way, just like you asked.” Commanded was more like it, but this didn’t seem like a good time to bring that up. She was tired and dealing with too much already. A fight with Ethan would only complicate the situation.
    She shook her head, her temper rising just a little. “But I will point out you don’t own the town, and you don’t have any right to tell me where I can or can’t be.”
    â€œI know,” he said, moving a step toward her. “Would it help if I said I have no idea what you’re talking about?”
    The lazy smile returned. The one that always had the ability to make her stomach flip over a couple dozen times.
    â€œI wanted to welcome you back,” he continued. “And tell you I think it’s great you’ve been successful with your books. Even though I’m not sure I like the part where you kill me over and over again.”
    Now he wasn’t the only one who was confused, she thought. He wanted to talk about her books?
    â€œYou deserved it,” she