“Why would I have a problem? You were always a part of this group. You belong here as much as anyone.” She sounded fine, but her smile felt brittle. She drew a breath and tried to relax. “But I didn’t realize you’d kept in touch with the others.”
“I didn’t. Blair and I ran into each other through a mutual acquaintance. She invited me to the reunion. I had nothing else planned so here I am.”
“Here you are,” Ava echoed faintly.
He returned her cautious smile. “It’s good to see you. You’re looking well.”
“Am I? That’s kind of you to say, but I’m feeling a bit of a mess these days.” She touched her ponytail, wishing she’d taken a little more care with her appearance. Wishing she’d worn the navy sheath rather than the black pants and sweater. “You, though...” She trailed off, taking in the fitted charcoal slacks and jacket. She sighed and dispensed with discretion. “You look fantastic. I kind of hate you right now.”
He laughed, a soft, intimate sound that wrapped around her like an embrace. “Why are you feeling a mess?”
“Oh, work. Life.” She shrugged. “The usual.”
His gaze deepened as he searched her face. “Can’t be more than a temporary setback. I hear impressive things about you.”
She stared back at him. “You do? Oh, that’s right. You said you ran into Blair. She’s biased, you know.”
“I doubt she needs to be in your case. She tells me you’re an attorney.” He leaned a shoulder against a post as he observed her in the waning light. “It’s nice to know you followed through with your dream of law school. I can’t remember you ever wanting to do anything else.”
“Yes, although I didn’t go into practice with my dad. I work for the DA’s office in Houston.”
“Challenging work, I imagine.”
“It can be.” She shoved her hands into her pockets as she gazed at him across the terrace. There was a surreal quality to their casual conversation after a decadelong separation. Ava tried to decide if the meeting was easier or harder than she had imagined it would be. “You have me at a disadvantage. I haven’t heard anything about you. In all these years...not one word.” Her voice took on an accusatory edge despite her best efforts.
His voice held no such edge. “I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“It was. But I can still be curious, can’t I? What have you been up to since college? Are you married, single...? What do you do for a living?” The questions tumbled out before she could stop them.
There was a slight hesitation before he answered. “I’m still figuring out what I want to do. I’ve been at loose ends since I left the army.”
She went completely still. “You were in the service?”
“You didn’t know? I enlisted the day after graduation.”
Ava felt as if the wind had been knocked from her lungs. “I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You know why.”
“The others...?”
“I didn’t tell anyone. It seemed best that way. After you left, there was nothing keeping me in Austin. My grandmother was dead. Most of our friends had scattered.” He canted his head, still watching her. “I needed a purpose and I found one.”
“The army,” she murmured. “For how long?”
“Eight years.”
“Were you overseas?”
“Afghanistan for a time.”
She closed her eyes. “I wish I’d known. I should have known.”
“Why?”
“It doesn’t seem right, you over there in that nightmare and the rest of us here getting on with our lives.”
“It was my choice. And for what it’s worth, it was the second-best decision I ever made.”
Now it was Ava who hesitated. “What was the first?”
“Telling you how I really felt. Laying all my cards on the table. I never had to look back with regret. I never had to wonder ‘what if.’”
Her hackles rose in self-defense. “You assume that I have?”
“I never said that. I speak only for myself.”
The conversation was getting a little too intimate for comfort. Ava felt a sense of relief at having survived their first encounter, but now she searched for a subtle excuse to go her own way, even though a part of her wanted to just stand there and stare at him forever.
She opened her mouth, but before she could utter a sound, a scream pierced the night, jangling her nerves and freezing her to the spot. For a moment, she stood in horrified silence, unable to breathe, unable to move until a second scream propelled her straight into Dylan Burkhart’s arms.
* * *
DYLAN’S FIRST INSTINCT was to pull her tightly to him, protect her from whatever danger lurked on the property, but that wasn’t a good idea for so many reasons. Too many years had passed and he had a job to do. He held her for only a moment before sliding his hands to her shoulders, subtly keeping her at bay.
“Did you hear that?” she asked on a breath. “Sounded like it came from directly above us.”
“Hold on.” He shifted his position, putting his body between her and the shadowy grounds as he moved out from under the terrace to scan the second-story bedrooms. Only one of the windows was lit against nightfall. He saw a movement in the room and then, a second later, a female figure appeared in the balcony doorway.
“Blair?” he called up to her softly.
She rushed out on the balcony, clutching a white robe to her chest. “Dylan?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m not hurt, but you’d better get up here.” Her hushed voice quivered with excitement. Or was that panic?
“What’s wrong?”
“Just come up, okay?”
Ava caught his arm, her eyes wary and anxious as he moved back under the lattice cover. “What’s going on?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.” He gently untangled his arm. “Wait here while I go have a look.”
“What? No! Are you crazy? I’m not waiting out here alone in the dark.”
“Then come inside.” He took her hand, pulling her toward the French doors. “I’ll be back down as soon as I can.”
“If Blair’s in trouble, I should go up there and help her. Dylan, those screams—” She broke off. “Wait a minute. How is it you’re still so calm? You don’t even seem surprised. It’s almost as if you—”
“As if I what? You heard her. She said she’s fine. There’s no cause for panic.”
“You don’t scream like that if you’re fine.”
“Then why are we standing here arguing?” he asked in exasperation.
“That’s a very good point.” She brushed past him to the doorway.
Dylan hesitated for only a moment before catching up with her and taking the lead. He bounded up the stairs two at a time, pausing on the landing to take stock. A crystal chandelier tinkled overhead in a draft. Farther down the hallway, a door clicked shut. He turned his ear to the sound, holding up his hand to silence Ava when she would have questioned his caution.
Blair had