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well, I got a little distracted.”
    Andre sniffed. “Can’t blame you there. The girl’s smoking. I saw her in the lobby yesterday and definitely conjured up some mental pictures her fiancé wouldn’t have appreciated.”
    Jace tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. “Believe me, I had the same thoughts down on the beach. I flirted with her and, up until she realized who I was, she was giving me all the positive signs—like she was interested.”
    “Huh. That’s surprising. She and the doctor are supposed to be some power couple. She stays behind the scenes but he talks about her all the time on his radio show. Their whole image is based on that ‘we’re the super happy All-American couple, so let us help you be that way, too.’” Andre’s snide tone made it clear how he felt about that sentiment.
    Jace released a frustrated breath and lifted his head. “See, that’s what I don’t get. If things are going that awesome for her, why was she out there alone at three in the morning looking so lost? And where the hell was her fiancé? He should be looking out for her. She could’ve drowned.”
    “She seems pretty tough to me. I doubt she needs anyone watching out for her.”
    “Trust me. Evan always needed someone to do that even if she thinks she doesn’t.”
    “Maybe, maybe not. Twelve years is a long time. People change.”
    He grunted. “No one changes that much.”
    “You should let it lie, man. She obviously doesn’t want to reminisce with you and if you push it, you’re going to piss her off and risk her saying something to the doctor. Stay focused on why you’re here.”
    Jace stood and stalked over to the mini-fridge to grab a beer. Yes, why he was here. That’s what he needed to concentrate on. Dr. Dan Witter could be the key to dragging Jace’s sales numbers out of the drastic decline they’d been in over the last year. Between the struggling economy and the financial hit he took from his divorce, Jace’s once thriving business was on shaky ground.
    If the good doctor agreed to feature Wicked as the best adult store and website for couples on his sure to be a hit new TV show,
Reignite the Flame
, Jace could almost guarantee that he’d get enough of a bump in business to stabilize his current location and expand the chain.
    It was make it or break it time, and make it was the only option he’d consider. He would rather die than admit to his parents that he’d fucked up yet again, that he’d made the wrong decision walking away from his lucrative financial planning job to pursue his passion.
    He tipped back the beer and took a long swallow. He just needed to steer clear of Evan. That’s what he should’ve done when he was nineteen and that’s what he needed to do now. He wasn’t the guy looking out for her anymore. If there were things amiss in her life, it was none of his business. And even if he had wanted to make it his business, she’d certainly made it clear she had no intention of talking to him about it.
    He turned back to Andre. “You’re right. No use dredging up the past with her anyway. I just wanted to make sure she was doing okay, and I guess she is.”
    Andre sat forward, setting his feet back on the floor. “So what’s the deal with you two anyway? How do you know her? Old flame?”
    Jace leaned against the wall, feeling his lack of sleep. He didn’t want to talk about this right now—or ever really—but he knew Andre would put on his police interrogator hat if he tried to brush him off. Jace drained the last of his beer. “She lived with my family for a little over a year when I was in college. She was sixteen the last time I saw her. My parents fostered her.”
    “What happened at sixteen?”
    “She ran away. Without a goddamned trace.” He tossed his bottle in the trash can. “Seeing her again is like seeing a ghost.”
    Andre’s forehead wrinkled. “So you were her foster brother? Man, the way she was looking at you, I would’ve bet money