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across from nibbling on her lower lip with a decidedly wary look in her eyes.
    She was probably waiting for him to apologize. He cleared his throat a bit and that seemed to bring her to life. She leaned forward so her elbows were on the table and she fixed her gaze directly on him. He tried not to notice the way her V-neck T-shirt inched down, revealing just a hint of cleavage. She raked her hair back and her blond curls spilled over her shoulders in a haphazard way—he had a momentary flash of what she would look like in bed in the morning with tousled hair and a sleepy smile.
    But she was not smiling now and her blue eyes were terrifyingly direct. She seemed to see everything about him. Was it his imagination or was she looking into his soul?
    Okay, now he was officially psyching himself out. Be a man and apologize already . He sat up a little straighter in his chair. “Look, Holly, I just—”
    At the same time, Holly started, “Jack, I think I owe—”
    They stopped and shared an awkward laugh.
    The waitress arrived with their bottle of wine and they waited in silence as she poured two glasses. Jack all but lunged for his when she was done.
    When she walked away he tried again. “I’m sorry I left you that night.”
    “I’m so sorry I ran away that night,” Holly blurted out at the same time.
    He was sure his look of surprise matched the wide-eyed shocked on Holly’s face as they each registered what the other had said.
    “Wait, what?” he said.
    “You left me ?” Holly repeated.
    They stared at one another again. She ran away? So she hadn’t been waiting for him to come to her bed that night? All this time he’d been picturing her lying there on the bed, perhaps naked, depending on the particular daydream, waiting for him to return once he’d gotten protection but she—
    “You never came back that night?” He couldn’t tell if she sounded angry or amused. Or both.
    He shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak but was stuck on where to begin. How to explain that he had never wanted a woman more than he’d wanted her that night. The kiss they’d shared had been so hot, she was so passionate. But the moment he’d stepped out of her guest room at the villa and into the bracing night air, the reality of what he was about to do hit him. He was going to seduce his friend’s sister, a sweet, innocent young woman who’d had too much champagne and was high on wedding romance. He knew he couldn’t go through with it no matter how badly he wanted her. “I had a crisis of conscience,” he said. One of her brows arched mockingly and he added, “You weren’t waiting for me?”
    She shook her head and her lips were twitching upward. Amusement seemed to be winning out. “I guess you could call it a crisis of conscience.”
    Their eyes met again and this time they both burst out laughing.
    “So you’re not mad at me then?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “Not as long as you’re not mad at me.”
    He reached a hand out across the table to shake on it. “Friends?”
    She slipped her hand into his to shake on it and he knew then he’d made a mistake. The touch of her warm little hand was all it took to be overwhelmed with awareness of this woman. She jerked her hand back quickly. Had she felt it too?
    They sipped their wine for a moment and then she looked up at him with an adorable little wiggle of her nose. “Hey Jack, what are you doing here?”
    * * * *
    Holly watched Jack toy with his wine glass. Comprehension dawned—Mister Too Cool for School was actually nervous. She’d thought he was here to here to give her hell for running away on him but now she was even more intrigued. She leaned over the table and caught his eye.
    “If Ivy and the baby are okay…” she prompted.
    “Well, uh,” he paused as a steaming tray filled with entrees passed by their table. “Are you hungry? I’m hungry. I’m going to grab us some menus.”
    “Um, okay,” she drawled. She wasn’t trying to be rude,