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Laura reached out and grasped Bryan’s hand. “Corinne was lucky to have you.”

He looked at her, surprised. “What?”

“I can’t imagine anyone loving me so much that they’d make a sacrifice like that to keep me safe and alive. It was a beautiful gesture.”

Bryan didn’t speak for several moments. Laura watched some powerful emotions cross his face. Finally, he squeezed her hand. “Corinne didn’t see it that way.”

Laura smiled kindly. “I’m sure she didn’t. At first.”

Bryan shook his head. “She never saw it that way. She went into a depression and her health continued to decline. Her kidneys failed when Trina was in ninth grade. She fell deathly ill one night, became unconscious. I called 911 and the ambulance took her to the hospital. She never woke up again and, by morning, she was gone.”

Blink of an eye.

Laura suddenly understood. And words failed her. What could she say?

Instead she scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her embrace. He accepted her hug and for several moments, they remained quiet as she tried to offer solace for a hurt that would probably never completely heal.

Bryan ended the hug, then cupped her face and smiled at her. “Thanks.”

She blinked back the tears that had been threatening to fall since he’d told her his story and nodded quickly, unable to speak around the lump in her throat.

She resumed her place on her side of the couch and they both stared at the TV.

Bryan broke the silence after several minutes when he leaned toward her food table. “Are those fried pickles?”

Laura giggled. “Yeah. They’re my favorite snack.”

“You’re kidding?”

She shook her head, narrowing her eyes. “Don’t naysay until you’ve tried them.”

“That’s not what I mean. They’re my favorite too.”

“Really?” She picked up the plate and offered him one. They took turns dipping the heart-clogging delicacies in the ranch dressing she’d poured out into a small condiment bowl and taking a bite.

“Where do you stand on double dipping?” he asked.

She laughed. “It’s totally disgusting. Unless—” she dunked her pickle in for a second dollop of dressing, “—it’s done among friends.”

“I like your standards.” He dipped a second time, then they both went back for dunk three, grinning widely.

They watched the red carpet, making comments on the dresses and discussing the talent—or lack thereof—of the actors as they stopped for their brief interviews with Ryan Seacrest. Several times, Laura consulted her smartphone, looking up the answers to various questions about movies or actors that popped up as they talked.

Bryan laughed. “What the hell did you ever do before a smartphone?”

Laura shrugged. “I have no idea, but my memory used to be a hell of a lot better. Now that I’ve got this thing, I’ve let go of lots of useless info that was just taking up space.”

Bryan raised his eyebrows. “Is that what you call it? Clearing out? Making space?”

Laura gave him a superior look. “If you’re trying to insinuate that my memory isn’t as good as it used to be because I’m getting older, then you, sir, for that insult, have just lost the right to the last fried pickle.”

Laura quickly reached for the pickle, her fingers grasping it just a hairsbreadth faster than Bryan.

“You used to have a better sense of fair play. The Laura I knew back in the day would have split that with me.”

Laura pretended she was going to break the pickle in half, then, at the last minute, she ran her tongue along the entire length, marking the food as hers. “That was then, this is now. This Laura is a bitch.”

She laughed at his narrowed eyes, then took a big bite of the pickle.

Bryan shook his head. “You really shouldn’t have done that.” He moved closer.

Laura tossed down the pickle and started to rise, but Bryan captured her before she could escape. He tugged her onto her back on the couch and proceeded to tickle her.

Laura gasped for air as she laughed uncontrollably, struggling for freedom from his tormenting fingers. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had tickled her, but the memories of helplessness mixed with humor assaulted her. It reminded her of her father and how he would chase her around the house, pretending to be the tickle monster, capturing her and making her laugh. It was a precious memory. A gift. One she’d forgotten, tucked away.

Tears of mirth streamed down her face. Bryan paused, smiling, obviously pleased at having issued what he deemed a suitable punishment. Their exertions left them lying on the couch with Laura beneath Bryan, who had her caged in as he held himself above her on his hands and knees.

Laura’s breathing accelerated. She wanted to blame the tickles, but she’d been around the block long enough to recognize arousal. Desire.

Bryan studied her face. God only knew what he saw there because he bent his arms, lowered himself until his chest lay flat against hers. And then he kissed her.

Laura raised her arms to his shoulders, wrapping them around his neck.

She savored the feeling of Bryan’s lips pressed firmly to hers, his fingers tangling in her hair. She wasn’t sure who raised the bar, perhaps they moved there together, but soon their mouths were open, their tongues touching, tasting, teasing.

Bryan shifted his hands, sliding them under her back, lifting her closer to him. His knees rested between her outstretched thighs and it took all of Laura’s self-control to stop herself from wrapping her legs around his waist and grinding her sex to his.

She wasn’t sure how long they lay there, lost in their hungry kisses. Neither of them sought more than the connection of their lips. Hours could have passed for all the awareness Laura had of her surroundings. All that mattered was she was here, with Bryan.

Please don’t let this moment end.

It took several minutes for either of them to realize someone was knocking on the door. Bryan shifted away, his face inches from hers. They were breathing rapidly, the air around them heated, charged with lust.

“Someone’s at the door.”

She nodded, trying to decide if she gave a shit. The knocking stopped for a moment, then resumed, with Katie’s voice calling out, “Mom?”

Laura pushed on Bryan’s shoulders as they sat up together. “My daughter, Katie. I invited her to watch the red carpet with me, but she turned me down.”

Bryan grinned. “Looks like she changed her mind. We were almost busted. Making out on the couch.”

She laughed quietly, though her heart raced painfully—from unrequited desire and nervousness. What would Katie say when she found Laura here with a man?

She stood up slowly, finger-combing her hair. “Give me a minute, Katie,” she called out.

“You look fine, Laura. Lose the guilty expression and she’ll never know anything happened.”

Laura rolled her eyes. “Were you always this big a smart ass?”

Bryan nodded. “Yep. And don’t play holier than thou with me. I know you too well. You used to give me a run for my money in sarcasm.”

Laura started to protest, then realized he was right. “Shit. I did.”

Bryan rose from the couch and grabbed his coat.

“Where are you going?”

“Home. Spend the day with your daughter. I’ll call you tonight.”

Laura frowned, unhappy with his hasty departure. “You don’t want to talk about what just happened?”

He chuckled. “I sort of thought the kiss said it all. You’re sexy and hot and I want to fuck the hell out of you. Any other questions?”

She shook her head slowly. “Nope. That clears it up.”

They walked down the hallway to the front door. Before she opened it, Laura turned to face Bryan. “Just for the record, I feel the same way.”

Bryan groaned softly. She grinned, and then opened the door.

Katie’s face registered shock when she saw Bryan standing there, but she recovered quickly as Laura introduced them, explaining that Bryan was the old friend from high school she’d mentioned before, with the daughter who was a musician.

Katie shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Bryan said. “I came by to drop off a CD for you from my daughter, Trina. Your mom said you’re a fan of alternative music.”

“I am. Thanks. I can’t wait to listen to it.”

“Well, I’m off. You girls enjoy your party.”

Bryan waved and left, as Laura and Katie went inside.

“I thought you were too busy,” Laura said as they plopped down on the couch.

Katie picked up a bowl of chips as her gaze ran over all the food selections. “I finished up early. Damn, Mom. This is a feast. Why didn’t you tell me you made all this food?”

Laura shrugged, though she was pleased by Katie’s casual tone. For the first time in a long time, Katie sounded like herself. It gave Laura hope. “I didn’t want to put pressure on you since you had work to do.”

“This all looks delicious. Was Bryan going to stay? Did I run him off?”

Laura sensed her daughter was studying her face, so she took care to school her features. “No. He just dropped off the CD and then we chatted for a little while. Reminisced about our high school days.”

“Did the two of you used to date?”

Laura shook her head, wondering what her daughter would say if Laura started going out with Bryan now. God knew she was tempted to take him up on that offer to fuck the hell out of each other. “We were just friends. Never anything romantic.”

“Was he that hot back in high school?”

Laura laughed. “He was cute, in a young boy way. He’s definitely gotten better looking over the years.”

Katie fell silent. Laura feared she’d pushed the conversation too far. “You just missed Meryl Streep on the red carpet.”

“Damn, how did she look?” Katie said, tucking her feet beneath her on the couch, making herself comfortable.

Katie had only started hanging out at Laura’s townhouse since the holidays, forced—probably by Kevin—to participate in the Boxing Day breakfast and gift exchange Laura had planned. Juggling the holidays had been tricky this year thanks to the divorce.

She’d given Mason Christmas Eve with the kids. Then Katie and Kevin had split Christmas Day attending get-togethers at both of their grandmother’s houses, so Laura had gotten to see them briefly on that day, but her mother’s house had been overflowing with aunts, uncles and cousins. Laura had counted no fewer than twelve children under the age of ten. The chaos of the large family get-together hadn’t given her much time to talk to her own kids.

So that had left Laura with December twenty-sixth to open presents with Kevin and Katie. It had been a nice day, low key and relaxed. It had also been the first time Katie had spent any real time at Laura’s house. Since then, her daughter had started dropping by a bit more, joining her for dinner a couple times.

The afternoon turned to evening as they watched the parade of stars, sharing comments about the dresses the actresses wore, laughing at the tacky powder-blue tux a comedian had chosen to sport, and eating way too much. It was like old times.

Several times, Laura allowed her mind to drift back to Bryan’s kisses. When they’d been in the heat of the moment, she’d been swept away by the sensations and ready to invite him to stick around for more.

Thank God Katie had shown up. If there was one thing Laura knew for sure, it was that she wasn’t looking for a serious relationship. Companionship, friendship, a little harmless flirting and kissing with Bryan were all well and good. Anything beyond that and Laura could be in trouble.

Big trouble.

Because a large part of her wanted more.

A lot more.

Chapter Three

Laura Sanders

Did you know in kickboxing in the United States, you’re only allowed to strike with your fists and feet? Isn’t that enough? Ouch.

Bryan put his fork down and leaned back. After another brief one-week stint out of town for work, he had called and invited her out to dinner. “That was delicious. I’m glad you recommended this place.”

She took a sip of her wine. “I love the food here, plus it’s quiet. I’m not sure why people like those sports-themed restaurants so much. The ones with TVs on every available flat surface.”

“I agree. I always leave those places feeling like I’m on system overload from too much stimulation. Flashing lights and loud noise. Drives me nuts.”

She agreed, then laughed, rolling her eyes. “Uh oh.”

Bryan understood her humor. “Yeah. I know. Remind me again, when did we get old?”

“I can’t speak for you, but I stopped being hip around nineteen when I got married and pregnant way too young.”

“I have to admit you seem to have held on to your coolness better than me if the clubbing and red-carpet feasts are anything to go by.”

Laura set her wineglass down and shook her head. “Oh, hell no. You’re just joining in after the second-chance goal. You should have seen me last year. The only things I was missing were the reading glasses on a chain around my neck and orthopedic shoes.”