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to find a nice side door into the parking lot. “I suppose I’ll see you later.”
    “Definitely.”
    She hoped she looked steadier than she felt as she beat a hasty retreat to the elevator. Thank God Bonita had agreed to be her date tonight, so she wouldn’t have to face him alone. The thought gave her comfort as she collected her belongings and found a side staircase. At the bottom of the stairs, sunlight beamed through the plate-glass exit doors. Salvation.
    Her high heels clicked as she walked through the quiet parking lot. At the top of the hill, near the doors of the club, she could hear laughter as the first few wedding guests made it through the receiving line and began to make their way toward their cars. She hurried to beat the crowd out of the parking lot, eager to reach the safety of Come Again and a normal afternoon with clients.
     
     
    Ryan glanced at his watch. He’d been standing in the receiving line for at least thirty minutes and he was still sweating because the first woman to shake his hand had been the cashier from the sex shop this morning. She had recognized him immediately, and he’d had to talk fast to convince her to keep his afternoon appointment with Crystal a secret. She had made him grovel. He wasn’t sure how the hell she had done it, exactly. There was just something about her that told him he wasn’t going to get what he wanted by pushing. Instead, he had begged, much to the amusement of her hulking, tattooed boyfriend.
    There had been a small pileup in the line before she had agreed to stay quiet, reminding him they would see each other again at the reception tonight. It wasn’t a threat, but he had felt warned nonetheless. Her date had said nothing, but his narrow-eyed scrutiny made it clear he was more than willing to back her up in any way she required.
    Neither one of them needed to worry. He wasn’t going to hurt Crystal. He just wanted to talk to her, ask her the questions he’d wanted to ask ten years ago. See if he could get some closure. As he automatically smiled, shook hands and greeted wedding guests, he realized he was full of shit—he wanted more than answers from Crystal. He wanted her, had never stopped wanting her, and in spite of the fact she’d blown him off last night and all but ignored him today, he didn’t think she was indifferent to him. It hadn’t been dislike or annoyance in her eyes when she asked him not to touch her—it had been fear. He could understand why she might feel regret or even guilt about what had happened ten years ago, but he’d never given her any reason to fear him.
    He checked his watch again. Four-thirty couldn’t come soon enough.

Chapter Four
    Crystal unlocked the back door of Come Again and ducked into her office to change.
    She pulled her work clothes out of their bag and slid into her black spandex stretch mini, black satin-and-leather demi-bustier, black garters, fishnet stockings and four-inch stilettos. She buckled a silver belt made of interlocking spikes around her waist and shrugged into her comfortable black cashmere cardigan. This outfit projected just the right amount of badass sex guru enhanced with the confidence born of a really well-broken-in sweater.
    As she dressed, she thought about all the ways she had recreated herself after her gift had manifested itself. Her name had been the first thing to change. She had left Crissy behind with her shame and her fear and embraced Crystal instead. She chose to date women, not men. She wore black leather and dramatic makeup as a uniform, an outward sign of the confident woman she had become.
    She was no longer at the mercy of the emotions around her. Ryan might be in Norton, but seeing him did not catapult her into the past. She was in control. She was not in danger. She just had to get through tonight and he would be gone.
    Again.
    The thought caused a pang. Uh-oh.
    She dug in her purse for the darkest lipstick she owned and outlined her lips. She would not allow