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brother finally got himself a girl.” Her smile was eager, genuine. She threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around Honey’s shoulders. For a moment, it looked like Jessica was going to squeeze Honey half to death. “Oh, you’re so cute! I could eat you up with a spoon.”
    That was just like Jessica. One minute on the warpath, the next minute full of smiles.
    The kettle went off on the stove with a sharp whistle. Jessica walked back into the kitchen to make the coffee. “It’s been a long time since Jack had a girlfriend. It’s because of his job. He never meets anyone decent. Just criminals.” Honey flinched, but Jessica had her back turned, oblivious. “Dating in this city is brutal. It’s not like high school. Jack used to date all the time back in high school. Cheerleaders. Tennis stars. Even that one girl—the one you mooned after for a year. What was her name?”
    “I don’t remember,” Jack said quickly.
    “You must. You were head over heels for her. I have a good memory for that sort of thing.” Ever the proper hostess, she retrieved a third mug from the cabinet for the surprise guest. “Actually, come to think of it, her name was Honey, too. Isn’t that peculiar? Honey Moore.”
    Honey jerked away, stumbling back a few steps. Her eyes had gone wide, and she looked like a cornered animal searching for an escape route.
    “She broke your heart,” Jessica said casually. “Crushed it into a million little pieces, and she made you look like a fool.” The scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the apartment.
    Her voice had a teasing edge when she continued. “But that has to be someone else. Only an idiot would still be hung up on the same girl after twelve years.”
    “Jack’s not an idiot.” Honey spoke quietly but firmly. “Anyway, we’re not dating. I needed a place to stay the night, and Jack was kind enough to oblige. He’s a real gentleman.”
    “Sure, that’s why you were flopping around on the ground in your underwear.” Jessica turned around. “You’re her, aren’t you? The same Honey.”
    “It’s none of your business,” Jack said.
    Honey cleared her throat. “There was an accident at my house last night. I don’t have anything else to wear.”
    “Oh.” Jessica flushed. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to imply—” A nervous pause. “I’m sorry. There are some clothes in my car. I can see what I have that might fit you.”
    “I’d appreciate that.”
    Things had definitely changed. Back in high school, Honey wouldn’t have taken help from anyone. Not while there was still life in her body. A scholarship student who wore clothes bought at a thrift store and carried a canvas backpack with an ink stain on the bottom, all she’d had was her pride. Now she watched quietly as Jessica walked out the door.
    With just two of them, the apartment should have seemed bigger. Less crowded.
    It didn’t. Honey’s slight form dominated the space.
    “You were in love with me, Jack?” Her voice was a low murmur, rough like raw silk. “I thought you’d have more self-respect.”
    “Sweetheart, there was a time I would’ve walked over broken glass to hear you say my name.”
    “And now?”
    “It’s been a long time. Things have changed.” Jack wasn’t the same person anymore. Back then, he’d been willing to fall in love at the drop of a hat. These days, he didn’t even know if he could still fall in love at all.
    Sometimes he thought about what it might be like to go home to a woman who loved him. He couldn’t see it. Too many nights spent pulling double shifts, and he’d come home to find all his clothes on the front lawn. A woman could only put up with so much.
    Other cops had wives and families. They worked their shifts and they went home. Jack’s problem was that he didn’t know how to leave his work at the office. All he’d ever wanted to be was a cop—the best cop that he could be, working his way slowly up through the ranks. In another ten years, he’d