“No,” Annie said sharply.
“I still think you’re nuts. What’re you trying to prove, anyway?”
“That I don’t need his money.”
“Or him?” Deb said softly. Annie looked at her and Deb shrugged. “I saw you guys on the dance floor. Things looked pretty cozy, for a while there.”
“You saw the past worm its way into the present. Trust me, Deb. That part of my life is over. I don’t feel a thing for Chase. I can’t quite believe I ever did.”
“I understand. A nostalgia trip, hmm?”
“Exactly. Brought on by my little girl’s wedding...” Annie paused, swallowed hard and suddenly burst into tears.
“Oh, sweetie.” Deb jumped from the couch and squatted down beside Annie. She wrapped her arms around her and patted her back. “Honey, don’t cry. It’s not so unusual to still have a thing going for your ex, you know. Especially when he’s hunky, the way Chase is.”
“He’s getting married,” Annie sobbed.
“Chase?”
“To Janet Pendleton.”
“Am I supposed to know her?”
“I hope not.” Annie hiccuped. “She’s rich. Gorgeous. Smart.”
“I hate her already.” Deb put her hand under Annie’s chin and urged it to rise. “Are you sure?”
“He told me so.” Annie sat back, dug a hanky out of her cleavage where she’d stuffed it after the ceremony and blew her nose. “So I told him I’m marrying Milton.”
“Milton? As in, Milton Hoffman?” Deb rocked back on her heels. “My God, you wouldn’t!”
“Why not? He’s single, he’s dependable and he’s nice.”
“So is a teddy bear,” Deb said in horror. “Better you should take one of those to bed than Milton Hoffman.”
“Oh, Deb, that’s not fair.” Annie got to her feet. “There’s more to a relationship than sex.”
“Name it.”
“Companionship, for one thing. Similar interests. Shared dreams.”
“And you can have enough of those things with Milton to make you forget all the rest?”
“Yes!” Annie’s shoulders slumped. “No,” she admitted. “Isn’t that awful? I like Milton, but I don’t love him.”
Deb heaved a sigh as she stood up. “Thank you, God. For a minute there, I thought you’d gone around the bend.”
“Not only am I sex-obsessed—”
“You’re not. Sex is a big part of life.”
“—but I’ve used poor Milton badly. Now I’ve got to call him up and tell him I didn’t mean it when I introduced him to Chase as my fiancé.”
“Wow,” Deb said softly. “You certainly have had a busy day.”
“A messy day, is what you mean.”
“Don’t kill me for saying this, but maybe you should rethink things. I mean, I know he’s getting married and all, but maybe you do still have a thing for your ex.”
“I wouldn’t care if he were living in a monastery!” Annie’s eyes flashed. “I do not have a ‘thing’ for Chase. I admit, I’m upset, but it’s because my baby’s gotten herself married.”
“You know what they say, Annie. We only raise children to let go of them once they grow up.”
Annie tucked the hanky back into her cleavage, picked up the champagne bottle and headed for the kitchen.
“It’s not letting go of her that upsets me, Deb. It’s that she’s so young. Too young, I’m afraid, to make such a commitment.”
“Well,” Deb said, folding her arms and leaning against the door frame, “you were young when you got hitched, too.”
Annie sighed. “Exactly. And look where it led me. I thought I knew what I was doing but it turned out I didn’t. It was hormones, not intelligence, that—” The phone rang. She reached out and picked it up. “Hello?”
“Annie?”
“Chase.” Annie’s mouth narrowed. “What do you want? I thought we said all we needed to say to each other this afternoon.”
Across town, in his hotel room, Chase looked at the boy standing at the window. The boy’s shoulders were slumped and his head was bowed in classic despair.
Chase cleared his throat.
“Annie... Nick is here.”
Annie’s brows knotted together. “Nick? There? Where do you mean, there?”
“I mean he’s here, in my room at the Hilton.”
“No. That’s impossible. Nick is on a plane to Hawaii, with Dawn...” The blood drained from Annie’s face. “Oh God,” she whispered. “Has there been an accident? Is Dawn—”