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  "Yeah, Rayne Jasper, Max's sister. You know, next door neighbor, my lieutenant. I ran into her a few days ago in the parking lot. She's moved in with Max for awhile. Her place in Billings was damaged pretty badly in the hurricane and she's having trouble with the insurance company settling up." He turned off the stove with a flick of his wrist, picked up a dish towel, and wiped his hands as he leaned a hip against the oven handle.

  "Anyway, I helped her carry up a box, stayed for pizza and beer with her and Max, walked the dog, and agreed to this….What?" He stopped in mid-sentence, his attention on Ford, question in his drawn together brows and narrowed eyes.

  "Rayne Jasper." Ford repeated the name dumbly, thinking, Jasper, Jacobs, maiden verses married or two completely different women? What were the chances in a city the size of Silver Springs? "You walked her dog? Would that be Sunshine?"

  "Then you have met her?

  Ford laughed. "I gave her a speeding ticket last week." He remembered the packed boxes stacked in the back seat of her car. "Likely the same day you helped her move in next door."

  "No shit!" Cory shook his head and tossed the towel on the countertop. "Talk about a small world, huh? A speeding ticket? How fast was she going? Man, I can't wait until she gets here, so I can rag her about that one." He sobered, his smile fading as he looked at Ford. "Are you all right? After pulling a shift of traffic duty, writing tickets and all that shit? There weren't any accidents, were there?"

  "No, I got lucky on that one. And yeah, I'm fine. It was, well, kind of a tough day, full of memories, you know, but I made it through it. The ticket, Rayne's ticket, it was the first one she's ever gotten." Ford leaned back against the counter, ignoring the twinge of guilt that refused to go away. "Even though I ran her, I didn't realize that until I saw her at the mall a few nights ago. We, uh, had dinner at Vilarias."

  Cory narrowed his eyes, studying Ford. Ford saw when realization dawned in his friend's expression. "You had dinner," he said slowly. "And then she slept with you. You're the other guy."

  Apparently, Ford wasn't the only one Rayne had been honest with. He had to admire that. She obviously wasn't trying to play either of them. He nodded. "Yeah, and she's your hot date for tonight."

  * * * *

  Rayne walked across the hall to Cory's apartment, lifted a fist to knock, then dropped it to her side and stepped back. She should go back to Max's and settle on the sofa with a pint of Ben & Jerry's and whatever was playing on A&E. But she'd accepted the date. She had a couple of the processed photos from the day's shoot in her hand. And she wanted to see him again, needed to see him.

  Which was exactly why she should turn her ass around, run back across the hall, and lock herself in Max's apartment. Need to see Cory? Need! Had she gone freaking nuts? What she needed to do was stick to her plan. But, damn, that was hard to do when he said things to her like he'd said that afternoon in the park.

  She sighed, leaned against the wall outside Cory's door, and massaged her temples with the fingers of one hand. All this indecision and emotional bullshit was giving her a headache. She should've gone out with Ford tonight. More, she should've taken his call while she'd been sitting with Cory instead of returning it later. Except, what good would that have done her? The knowledge that she was seeing Ford too really hadn't fazed Cory. She felt both grateful and amazed by that. She also admired him for his view on casual relationships. But what Cory wanted wasn't casual. He'd said as much today.

  Oh, yeah, definitely should've gone out with Ford tonight. Her belly stirred at the thought and she was forced to reconsider that, too. The night she'd spent with Ford had been nothing short of incredible! The conversation, the dinner, the sex had been wonderful. But she'd noticed something in his whisky brown eyes that night, something that danced around inside her, too, something that made more than the air crackle between them.

  Suddenly, she found herself back on the rebound to Ben & Jerry for companionship for the night. Only, Max wasn't home. If she went back to his apartment, she would be alone. No matter how delicious Ben & Jerry might be, they didn't make for good company, and she hated being alone. It was her largest problem in life, her biggest downfall, and one she'd been fighting for as long as she could remember. Solitary life, nearly any solitary time wasn't her thing.

  Which is why you ended up in countless relationships that flopped, followed by a farce of a marriage, she reminded herself as she pushed off the wall and stepped in front of Cory's closed door. It was also why she was trading B & J for a date with a guy she should be running from, one who wanted exclusivity eventually, and one who made her think of things that had little to do with lust and a whole lot to do with the other L word.

  Rayne sighed again and knocked. Cory opened the door in seconds, looking far more appetizing than the food she could smell drifting from inside and that was saying something because the food smelled remarkable. He wore brown Dockers with a pair of brown dress shoes and an oxford shirt the same Jolly Rancher green as his eyes. She was glad she'd gone for the mid-thigh, pale yellow dress that buttoned down the center and matching flats. Casually dressy, comfortable and, if the look in those melted candy eyes were any indication, very sexy.

  A smile bloomed on his lips and he reached for her hand, saying, "Hi," in a husky voice that waltzed through her even as he brushed a kiss to her knuckles. He tugged her inside, casting a cursory glance into the hallway before closing the door. "No Sunshine tonight?"

  Rayne turned, still holding his hand, and faced him. "She's catching the Scooby Doo marathon on Cartoon Network. She has the hots for the Great Dane detective."

  He laughed into her eyes and her heart thudded. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me." He pulled her to him. Her front molded to the solid wall of his body as he leaned down for a kiss. He tasted as scrumptious as he looked, all warm and sweet and soft, and she lost herself in the kiss, in him. "Dinner is nearly done," he told her when he finally pulled back. "I thought we would start with a salad and a glass of wine."

  "That sounds great." Did she sound as breathless as she felt after that kiss? She couldn't tell, so she decided not to say anything more for a minute, to give herself time to recoup from the toe curling contact with him.

  The apartment was a flipped mirror image of Max's, down to the light beige carpet and gleaming white walls. Buttery brown leather furniture decorated the living room, accompanied by end tables, a coffee table and entertainment center of a mahogany wood. She took it all in as Cory led her to the shared dining area where a square table sat with place settings for two and long white taper candles on either side of a slender vase with a single red rose in the center.

  "It's lovely." She smiled up at him, both surprised and charmed by his attempt at romance.

  "I thought you might enjoy it. Are those the pictures we took today?"

  "They are. Well, only a couple of them. I didn't finish with the rest yet." She handed him the photos and watched as he studied them, his expression blank. A faint sound caught her attention. Was that running water? A shower maybe? "Is someone else here?"

  "My roommate." Cory nodded but didn't look up from the pictures. "He's in the shower. I didn't realize he'd be home tonight. He'll be leaving soon, unless you decide you want him to join us."

  Why would she want his roommate to join them? The question was on the tip of her tongue, but she stopped herself from putting it to voice. Come to think of it, it might not be a bad idea. The other man could work as a chaperone of sorts. Surely having Cory’s roommate in the room would prevent any conversation from becoming too heavy. As for the desires swirling inside her, the other hunger growing deep that mere food could not feed, well, until she got her emotions back on track, maybe she should continue to starve that particular hunger awhile longer.

  The water shut off followed by the sound of a shower curtain being pushed to one side. Rayne focused her attention on Cory. "What do you think?"

  "They're…," he hesitated, flipping between the photos once, twice, a third time, "
weird. They're great, though," he quickly back peddled. "The resolution, the, um, imaging, they're exceptional. It's just strange to see myself this way."

  "What a way to insult the lady, Cory."

  The smooth, deep baritone voice made Rayne's breath catch in her throat. She slowly lifted her head, knowing her eyes were growing wide but unable to stop them. Equally slow, she turned, feeling like a character in a horror movie who knew the killer was right behind her, knew she had to turn around, but didn't want to do it.

  Only this was no killer standing behind her, his thumbs hooked into the pockets of a pair of skin tight Wranglers, a solid black T-shirt with long sleeves pushed to his elbows, and hair that he'd obviously towel dried. Ford smiled at her in the way he had that made her knees weak, and the room swayed. Damn, the man and the intoxicating effect he had on her.

  "Hi." The word was simple, casual, and yet she felt it move her all the way to the soles of her feet.

  Rayne blinked at him as shock exploded in her head, temporarily blowing all ability to think, to speak. When her voice finally returned, the only word that formed on her lips was, "Shit."

  Both men laughed. Laughed!

  "Somehow I never seem to get the reaction out of her that I expect." Ford shook his head, still chuckling. "She always manages to surprise me."

  "Same here, dude." Cory glanced up from the photos, shot a smile first at Ford and then at Rayne, then returned his attention to the pictures.

  Rayne gaped at him, at them. "Exactly what is that supposed to mean?" She planted her fisted hands on her hips, suddenly indignant. They were laughing at her! And exactly how did they expect her to react to this situation. Ford and Cory, the two men she'd only begun to date in the last week, were roommates and she hadn't even known.

  "Sweetheart, I've seen you embarrassed to the point of blushing, so sexily hot and aroused, you make the air crackle around you, utterly confused to the point you can hardly speak, happy and laughing, angry and sputtering, and now stunned and speechless." Ford ticked them off on his fingers as he stepped toward her.

  "She's not completely speechless. She said shit," Cory pointed out, amusement in his voice.

  "Oh, hardy har har." Rayne shot him her best death glare over her shoulder.

  "And sarcastic, too." Ford's grin grew wider as he pulled her into his arms. He was solid and warm and smelled impossibly good and masculine and she couldn't stop her arms from winding around his neck. "I'm starting to find myself waiting with bated breath for what you'll do next. One thing's for sure, there's never a dull moment with you."

  Rayne swallowed and fought not to lose herself in the whisky brown eyes, not to drown in the innate sexual intoxication that consumed her every time she was near him. "I know what I should do next. I should kick your ass all the way out the door."

  Ford lifted a sexy brow, his gaze dancing with amusement. "I bet you probably could. But you won't have to tonight." He brushed a kiss to the tip of her nose. It was a light peck, a friendly graze of his lips to her flesh. It was the kind of kiss Max might have given her, actually had given her many times in their lives. Yet when Ford did it, the sensations that swamped her in no way felt sisterly. "I'm on my way out."

  "Where are you going?" she heard herself ask.

  He shrugged. "I thought I'd catch a cab to the Paradise Lounge, hang out and have a few drinks. I don't want to get in the way here and ruin your date with Cory."

  Cory. Dear God, for about forty-five seconds, she'd actually forgotten he was there! How could she have forgotten?

  "Unless you want him to stay," Cory said from behind her. "I don't have a problem with it."

  Why didn't he have a problem with Ford staying? Rayne pulled back, stepping out of Ford's arms, and turning so she could see both men. What happened to Cory wanting exclusivity eventually? And Ford, well, she wasn't exactly sure what he wanted. How the hell could she know what she wanted while standing between these two wildly magnetic and attractive men?

  Did she want Ford to stay?

  Yes.

  No.

  Fuck!

  A part of her had been dying to see him again but not tonight. Tonight, she was supposed to be on a date with Cory. She wanted to be on a date with Cory. Except, maybe having Ford here too would keep things between her and Cory from becoming sticky, keep them on the level she wanted them, casual, friendly, and completely nonexclusive.

  "I need a drink," she muttered and pressed the middle finger of both hands to her temples. The hint of a headache she'd felt out in the hall began to really make itself known.

  "Yikes! I think we're making the sexy woman's head hurt." There was amusement in Ford's tone but pure concern in his eyes.

  "Are you all right, Rayne?" Cory touched her lightly on her arm, his fingertips caressing from her wrist to her elbow.

  "Yes. No. Ugh!" Rayne let her hands fall to her sides with a slap. "Is this some kind of set up or something? I don't know, some kind of new millennium version of Candid Camera."

  Ford chuckled and she glared at him. "It's not funny, Detective Harris," she scolded through gritted teeth.

  "I'm sorry." He sobered, or gave it a valiant attempt at least. The corners of his lips were still twitching. "It's just, damn, you're fucking sexy when you're pissed and confused."

  "Pissed and confused, you got that right. I don't understand. Is this your way of setting me up so you can bust me down for dating both of you?"

  "Why would we do that, Rayne?" Cory's voice was a soft shock after her slightly less-than-a-roar outburst.

  She whirled on him. "I don't know, Cory. Why would you?"

  “Look, calm down, baby." Ford moved closer, his large hands closing gently yet firmly on her upper arms. "We didn't know. Okay? Neither of us knew we were seeing the same woman until tonight. Hell, less than an hour before you showed up."

  "We've both kept crazy schedules lately," Cory chimed in. “Ford's more than mine because he's got this huge case he's working on. We've been passing each other coming and going and sometimes not even then."

  "Until tonight." Ford's hands moved to her shoulders and started to massage, lightly, slow. It felt good. Rayne let her eyes drift closed, let her neck fall slightly forward as a bit of the anger, the confusion, and the tension left her. "I came in tonight to find Chef Nox had turned our kitchen into an herbal five-star restaurant for a woman named Rayne Jasper. As for myself, I was already into my first beer, planning to take it to my room where I figured I would lay on the bed, stare at the ceiling, and indulge in my favorite fantasies about a woman named Rayne Jacobs. Where did the Jacobs come from, anyway?"

  Yeah, like she wanted to talk about that right now. “Ex-husband.”

  “I kind of figured.” Ford nodded. “Care to tell us more?”

  “Real loser, thought I was in love, figured out it was only lust.” Eyes still closed, she gave them the quickest summary of that forgettable chapter of her life that she could. “Married too quick, regretted it almost instantly. It’s really not all that complicated. One of those rush in, rush out kind of things.”

  “Then you weren’t married for long?”

  “Five grueling months, two excruciating weeks, six nerve racking days, ten torturous hours, and twenty-nine haunting minutes.”

  “Wow!” Cory barked a laugh. “It was really all that, huh?”

  “That was putting it mildly. Um, guys, I believe we got a little off subject here.”

  "You’re right.” Cory nodded and took over the conversational ball. “We, Ford and I, started talking and found a common denominator between the two Raynes."

  Rayne lifted her head and opened her eyes at that.

  "Sunshine." All three spoke in unison.

  "Got it in one." Ford chuckled. "Although, come to think of it, the little devil dog gives me an exhibition tug of war show with a black lace bra and then goes all sweet angel dog for Cory and lets him walk her around the block. If you ask me, I’d say it is Sunshine who is setting you up."

&nbs
p; Rayne laughed. She couldn't help it. The idea of her sweet, little puppy staging something to pair Rayne with not one, but two hunky guys was just too funny.

  "There, that's better." Cory touched the corner of her lips with a knuckle. "Do you believe us now?"

  Rayne nodded and looked at them both. "But you aren't mad. Neither of you are the least bit angry with me." And she couldn't, for the life of her, fathom why. Not that she necessarily wanted them to be. She certainly didn't want them mad and yelling at her or, God, going to blows over her or something. Still, talk about not giving the expected reaction. In all her experience with men, even those who claimed to love her but really could’ve cared less, none of them would have been as, well, blasé as Ford and Cory were being now.

  "We have no reason to be." Ford shrugged. "You were honest with both of us. We both knew you were dating someone other than us." He seemed to think about that for a second and then asked, "Are you dating someone other than us?"

  "No!" God, she could barely handle the two of them!

  "Well, okay then." Ford nodded and grinned that boyish grin that had her toes melting.

  Rayne looked to Cory. "You're truly okay with him staying tonight?"

  Ford clapped his hands. "I'll get the wine while you two talk this out."

  Cory waited until Ford was out of the room before he replied. "I'm truly okay with him staying." He grazed the back of his fingers down her cheek. "His being here won't change a thing. Well, not much."

  There was conviction, determination, and something else in his eyes she couldn't define, something that made her heart trip wildly. Oh, but it would. Ford's presence tonight would change a lot.

  "It's all in what you want, Rayne," Cory told her in a voice barely above a whisper. "Always what you want."

  What she wanted. Dear God! She wanted him. She wanted Ford. "Then I want him to stay," she said because the last thing she needed was to be alone with either of them tonight. She would find safety in numbers instead, because no way would she fall for them both. A woman couldn't fall for two men at once. Could she? It went beyond the probability of all emotion. Didn't it?