LITMIR.BIZ

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the cake.”

      Lisa ran upstairs, gathered her things and put them into her bag. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and paused. She swayed back and forth, watching the fabric move in fluid motion, then spun on one foot and watched the dress fan out and swirl around her legs.

      “Katarina’s quite a seamstress. All three of you looked beautiful in your dresses.”

      Lisa turned. She swallowed a lump of embarrassment at being caught doing something so childish. Adam was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossing his chest. The MacIntyre men looked handsome as ever in their tuxes. Adam was no exception. “Thank you. You and your brothers clean up pretty nicely yourselves.” She turned to find her purse. “I thought you were taking the cake to the van.”

      “Pastor Mike had already taken care of it. I thought I’d better see if you had anything else to carry down. Mike doesn’t think his car will make it, so I offered to give him a ride home, too.”

      After a quick glance to make sure she had everything, Lisa slipped into the leather coat Katarina had loaned her. “Sorry for the delay.” She felt her cheeks heat up again and grabbed her purse.

      “Not a problem. I rather enjoyed watching your little dance.”

      She faced Adam, waiting for him to move out of the way. “It was terribly rude of you not to let me know you were there.”

      “Did you expect me to join you?”

      She tried to take her eyes off his dark brown gaze and his wide smile. “Dream on. My boyfriend would not appreciate me dancing with someone else, even if you and I are practically related.”

      “Then again, he’s not here, is he?”

      Lisa tried to get past Adam. “We’re keeping the pastor waiting.”

      Adam chuckled. “Pastor’s going to have a long wait if he’s waiting on me. I dodged that bouquet.”

      “You are a true cad,” she said, pushing her way past him. “If you think I was implying…” She stopped and spun around to face him again. “I didn’t…” Lisa lifted her finger to lecture him, then decided it wasn’t worth the effort and continued down the stairs.

      Adam followed. “Everyone knows this MacIntyre will avoid the altar at all costs.”

      “Doesn’t appear to be an immediate problem, does it?” Lisa snapped, picking up her pace.

      “You ought to talk.” Adam smiled.

      Lisa ignored his remark.

      Pastor Mike looked up as Lisa and Adam made their way down the stairs. “I need to go get my briefcase from my car. I’ll meet you at your truck.” Mike opened the door and stepped outside. A strong gust of wind blew past them, rattling the chandelier.

      Lisa sucked in a breath of icy air and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she saw the bridal bouquet blow loose, right into her hands.

      Lisa ducked as another piece flew past her and hit Adam in the chest.

      Lisa stared at the bouquet in horror.

      “Not superstitious, huh? Tell you what,” Adam suggested. “Let’s keep this our little secret.”

      “Keep what a secret?” Lisa countered. She tossed the bouquet on the stairs. “I didn’t see a thing.”

       Chapter One

      One Year Later

      Lisa Berthoff switched the cellular phone to her other ear and eased the sporty rental car to the shoulder of Highway 1.

      “Lisa, Francie here. I need you in Colorado to do the story on a bed-and-breakfast. We’re backlogged for weeks. Your ticket’s waiting at the airport. Leaves this afternoon.”

      “When?” Lisa’s voice rose an octave. She looked longingly at the Pacific Ocean. Tell me I’m not hearing this. “Come on, Francie. I finally make it to the coast just in time for the migration of the whales, and you send me off to cover a bed-and-breakfast?” She shouldn’t complain. A job was a job, even a temporary assignment.

      “What’s wrong? Did you finally meet someone to take your mind off of Dale?”

      “That’s not it at all. He did me a favor by leaving. I was just hoping to see the sights while I was here this time. I’ve been going full speed for months. Give me a couple of days.” She hoped her hard work would pay off soon. Lisa had bailed the magazine out of more binds this past year than she had had dates.

      “Sorry to tell you this, dear, but we really need you to get moving on this right away.”

      Lisa moved the phone to the other ear as the editor explained the circumstances. One of these days, she would be able to be picky. Until then… “Of course I’ll cover the story. I hope everything goes okay for the Greens and their baby.”

      “This place is north of Denver somewhere. Let me see here…Loveland. Hmm. Loveland—Valentine’s Day. There’s your angle. Get it?”

      “I get it. And I’m familiar with the area. My sisters live—”

      Her no-nonsense editor’s voice broke her off. “Pull this one off, Lisa, and Steve’s agreed to put you on the payroll full-time.”

      Those magical words caught her attention, even though she knew better than to get her hopes up. “Promises, promises,” she said. “You know as well as I do Steve’s been stringing me along for months.”

      “He’s serious this time….”

      She paused, barely allowing Francie enough time to finish her explanation. “I’m already interested,” she said impatiently. “I didn’t say no, did I?”

      Lisa jotted down the airline and flight information. “E-mail me the specifics. I’ll be in touch.” She pressed End and set the phone in her bag.

      Lisa glanced at her watch. “Francie, how could you do this to me again!” She had less than three hours to get to the airport, return the rental car and pick up her ticket. Lisa quickly reviewed the route on her map and took one last longing look at the waves hitting the jagged shore. Footloose and fancy-free. I knew it would catch up with me. Farewell, San Francisco. Another time.

      The cash machine at the airport was out of money, ticket lines were frustratingly long and breakfast had worn off hours ago. Lisa slipped her boarding pass into her pack and ran down the concourse, her camera case bouncing along on built-in wheels.

      When she reached the gate, the door was closed. Looking out the window, she saw her suitcase tossed into the luggage compartment beneath the airplane. She ran to the next desk and asked the agent for help. Moments later, a flight attendant met her at the end of the walk. “That was close,” she said cheerfully. “We’re just starting our preflight check.”

      “This flight does go to Denver, right?” Lisa asked breathlessly.

      “Certainly does.” The attendant read the row and seat number. “Take your seat quickly, please, Ms. Berthoff. We’ll be taking off momentarily.”

      “Sorry, I’m not usually so late.” Lisa secured the pack on her shoulder. “My editor called just as I was headed to the Monterey Peninsula. So much for shooting the whales this year.”

      The woman’s eyes opened wide. “Shoot?”

      Lisa laughed. “I’m a photojournalist.” She braced her camera case on her hip to squeeze through the aisle. “Only damage this thing can do is if it lands on someone.”

      The woman laughed. “I see. Have a nice flight.” She opened an overhead compartment and helped secure Lisa’s bag.

      “Thank you.” Lisa clicked her seat belt just before the plane backed away from the terminal.

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