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wake up and get a cup of coffee on only her second morning back without coming face-to-face with her greatest nemesis.
    Well, part of that may be true, but she’d be damned if he’d keep her from her daily shot of caffeine a second longer.
    Marching forward, she grabbed a ceramic mug from the cupboard just above Connor’s right shoulder and poured herself a cup of rich, black coffee from thestill-hot carafe. She crossed to the refrigerator to add a dollop of milk, then leaned back against the opposite countertop to stir in a spoonful of sugar.
    She took a sip, savoring the sweet, creamy brew before Connor’s voice interrupted her momentary enjoyment.
    â€œSo if Nick knows you’re here, and he knows I’m here, I guess that means he thought the two of us could act like mature adults and stay together in the same house for a while without killing each other.”
    Beth swallowed another great gulp of coffee before spearing him with a saccharine grin. “He’d have been wrong.”
    â€œCome on, Beth Ann.” He set his coffee on the counter with a clink, sliding his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans as he shifted to face her more fully.
    She cringed at his use of both her first and middle names together, hoping he didn’t notice. If he did, he would call her that all the more just to annoy her, the same as he had when they were kids.
    â€œCan’t we get along well enough to rattle around this place together for a few days? I’ll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine.”
    I’d rather chew broken glass, she thought, downing the last of her coffee, then moving to refill her cup.
    â€œI sincerely doubt it,” she told him bluntly, not bothering to look at him. Pivoting on the ball of her bare foot, she started from the room. “I’ll find somewhere else to stay.”

Four
    C onnor watched her saunter out of the room, unable to decide whether he’d won or lost that round. Lost, would be his guess.
    He should have taken the opportunity to talk to her like he’d wanted to last night. To sit down with her and discuss their relationship. That night seven years ago, when they’d done something they shouldn’t have, and how it had affected them to this day.
    Instead, he’d been so surprised by her sudden appearance in the kitchen doorway that he’d let her goad him into arguing with her.
    Truth be told, it had been kind of fun. She’d stood there in that frilly little excuse for a nightgown…shoulders bare, breasts heaving, bottom hem barely covering the area where he prayed panties had been.
    It was too much for him to imagine her naked under there. He was already hard and throbbing just from her mere presence. Knowing she wasn’t wearing underwear would have caused smoke to pour out of his ears for sure.
    As it was, a cold shower and a quick dip into a sub-zero freezer weren’t out of the question.
    Her nose had been pointing up in the air, her glacial gaze implying he was no better than a piece of chewing gum she might scrape off the bottom of her steel-heeled stilettos.
    She was a snob, but she hadn’t always been like that. Hadn’t been anything like that before college. And then he’d seduced her, taken advantage of her, and he was very much afraid he was responsible for the woman she was today.
    A successful entertainment attorney, with her own firm, making more money in a year than he’d probably earn in a lifetime? Sure. But also a cold, calculating professional who put her career ahead of her family and personal happiness.
    The old Beth would never have let anything come between her and her parents or brother. The new Beth had purposely moved over two thousand miles away and didn’t come home unless it was absolutely unavoidable.
    It was his fault she’d grown so distant from her family, but damned if he knew what to do to fix the problem.
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    â€œYou’ve got to be