He should've thought of that before he took off without me.

He wanted her to join him.

Fat chance of that.

Annie wasn't willing to forgive and forget. Okay, deep down maybe she could be talked into letting bygones be bygones. Eventually. But as her mother had pointed out, she wanted Vance to admit he was wrong, which was something he seemed incapable of doing. That being the case, she ignored his pleas. If she sent him one email a day, he should consider himself lucky. Maybe it was petty and immature, but she made sure he knew she wasn't sitting around pining for him. In fact, she mentioned Craig's and Jason's names at every opportunity.

To be honest, the thought of joining him in Europe did appeal to her, but she'd never let him know that. Besides, she had a year of school left before she got her MBA and she wasn't going to drop out now just to spend a month or two on vacation. As Vance had so incisively said, she had responsibilities responsibilities. He would no doubt realize soon enough that everyone everyone had responsibilities. had responsibilities.

Annie opened today's first email from Vance, read it and then settled back to mull over this latest bit of news. Vance was returning home at the end of August. His parents had deposited money in his account so he could get his ticket changed. He was heading home.

Annie's first reaction was sarcastic. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that wonderful? At the same time, she couldn't help feeling kind of good, knowing that Vance would be in Seattle again. However, she was determined that their relationship wasn't going to slip back to what it had been. For that matter, she wasn't sure she wanted to be with him at all. At the same time, she couldn't help feeling kind of good, knowing that Vance would be in Seattle again. However, she was determined that their relationship wasn't going to slip back to what it had been. For that matter, she wasn't sure she wanted to be with him at all.

Vance had been secretive, insensitive and a jerk, and that was just the beginning of the list of character defects she'd compiled. If he a.s.sumed everything would remain status quo between them, he was in for a shock.

Annie generally waited a day or two before she replied to any of Vance's emails. She carefully composed a response and then reviewed every word before she pressed the send b.u.t.ton.

She decided not to reply yet. Instead, she emailed Jason. She planned to stay in touch with Royce's grandson, Craig, too; he'd been a lot of fun this past week. They had a great time putting together the prom for their grandparents. She thought it was really cool that Craig's grandfather and her grandmother had gotten together again after fifty years. Those two were crazy about each other. It reminded her of the way Max looked at her mother-and her mother at him.

She almost felt sorry for Max because after the past week it was pretty obvious that her parents would reunite. The truth was, she actually liked Max. Her problem with him was simple-he stood, or used to stand, between her mother and father.

"I figured I'd find you here."

Annie looked up to see her father. She checked her watch. "Hi, Dad."

"Hi," he said, and slid into the booth across from her.

Annie closed her computer. "I didn't think we were leaving for another couple of hours."

"We aren't. I was hoping you'd be alone so we could chat."

The waiter approached, and her father waved him off with a grin.

"What's up?" she asked. Reaching for her gla.s.s of iced tea, she sipped through the straw.

Her father crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward. "Did you notice how well things are going between your mother and me?"

Annie nodded.

"I think we might make a go of it."

"I hope so." However, Annie didn't discount her mother's feelings for Max. "Don't get overconfident, Dad," she warned.

"I won't. All I want is a second chance." He shifted uncomfortably. "I know I shouldn't be asking you this."

"What?"

He shook his head. "Never mind."

"Dad. Just ask me, okay?"

He didn't speak right away. "I know your mother got a phone call from Max the other night while we were at dinner," he finally said.

"Everyone knew about that."

"You went outside and talked to her."

It wasn't one of Annie's smarter moves. "Yeah, I told her she was being rude, which she didn't appreciate."

"Has..." He hesitated. "Has Max called again?" He frowned. "Forget I asked that. I shouldn't put you in the middle. I apologize."

"Dad!" She could so understand his wanting to know.

"I shouldn't have asked."

"You're right."

He exhaled slowly. "The problem is, I feel your mother and I are very close to patching things up, and yet I don't know exactly where I stand."

"Because of Max."

"You saw the two of them together-did you get a feel for what's going on between them?"

"Yeah, and, Dad, I don't want this to shake you or anything, but Max is hot."

"Hot as in...s.e.xy?"

"Yeah. He's the strong, silent type. The kind of man most women notice."

"Oh."

"Not to worry-you are, too. Well, sort of."

He laughed. "Thanks. That's encouraging."

"Oh, Dad, quit worrying. Mom will do what's best for her, and that's what we all want, right?" Of course, what she she thought was best for her mom was her dad. thought was best for her mom was her dad.

"Right," he echoed. "I wish I knew what your mother was thinking, though."

Annie did, too. That morning she'd caught her mother staring at her cell phone as though torn by indecision. She'd stared at it for so long that Annie was about to comment. Before she could say anything, Bethanne closed it abruptly, and dropped the cell inside her purse.

Leaning back, her father raked his hands through his hair. "No matter what happens, I'll always love her. I was an idiot."

"We all are at one time or another." Annie wanted to wrap her arms around her father. She wanted to rea.s.sure him that life was filled with mistakes and that the key was to learn from our errors in judgment.

That thought made her sit up straighter. She was willing to look past her father's mistakes but not Vance's. Maybe she was being unfair to him. Maybe she should give him a second chance.

"The thing is," her father said, "if your mother decides we're finished, I don't know if I'll be able to love anyone else."

"Oh, Daddy." Hearing him say that made Annie want to weep. This was the kind of love she hoped to find one day. A forever kind of love.

"Also, before I forget, I wanted to thank you for telling me how much your mother admired that Civil War b.u.t.ton. If there's anything else she likes, please pa.s.s the information along. I'm looking for ways to spoil her. I have six years to make up for."

"Oh, Daddy, you can be so thoughtful."

"Not always," he muttered. "I want your mother to realize how much I love her."

"If I think of anything else, I'll let you know."

"Great. I appreciate it."

He seemed in an optimistic mood and that pleased Annie. She glanced down at her computer. "Can I talk to you about something else?" she asked. "I could use your advice."

"Sure, baby, anything."

Annie flattened the paper napkin in her lap. "You remember Vance, don't you?"

"He's the guy you were dating."

She nodded. "The one I thought was about to propose."

"Oh, right." He frowned as if he'd welcome the opportunity to give Vance a piece of his mind.

"But instead," she went on, "he told me he was taking off for Europe. For a year."

"That was a real disappointment, wasn't it, honey?"

The sympathy in his voice soothed her hurt feelings. "I was devastated," she said. "I cried buckets."

"He doesn't deserve you, Annie. No one treats my daughter like that and gets away with it."

Annie loved the way her father rushed to her defense. "Vance is coming home at the end of August."

"So this European adventure didn't work out the way he planned, huh?" Her father's eyes flashed with satisfaction, as if to say this was what Vance got for hurting Annie.

"Apparently, Europe wasn't what he expected." She tried to hide the pleasure it gave her to tell him so. "Now he seems to think everything will go back to the way it was before he left."

"You've got to be kidding!" His voice rang with righteous indignation.

"The problem is, I don't know how I feel about Vance anymore. I've gone out with a couple of other guys during this trip, but it isn't the same as being with him. He was more than my boyfriend. Vance was my best friend, too." She sighed. "For a while I thought I missed him so much because I was just so used to being with him. I decided that wasn't a good enough reason to get back together. But now..."

"You'll get over him, honey. Vance needs to know he isn't the only bird in the flock."

"I couldn't wait to tell him about Jason. He's the guy I met in Vegas. Jason was nice, and so is Craig. I talked to Mom about it and, well..."

"What did she say?"

It'd been a really helpful conversation. "We discussed me wanting Vance to be sorry for the way he treated me. Mom said-" Annie paused "-she said the real problem is that I wanted to make sure Vance understood that what he did was wrong. If he'd told me about this trip, it would've been different but to hide it from me and then expect me to be okay with it was too much."

"I couldn't agree with your mother more. Like I said, Vance doesn't deserve you. You aren't really going back with him, are you?"

"That's just it. I...I don't know."

"Don't, honey. If he's making plans behind your back now, that behavior isn't going to change."

"What do you mean? Are you saying that even if he apologizes I shouldn't give him another chance?" Annie was surprised to find herself sticking up for Vance, but she felt compelled to be his champion.

"Annie, you're smarter than this."

Annie stared at her dad.

"Once the pattern's set, nothing will change. Save yourself a lot of grief."

She continued to stare.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

"So I shouldn't forgive him?"

"No way."

Annie blinked, more confused now than before. "But, Dad, you want Mom to forgive you."

Her father's eyes narrowed slightly. "That's different."

"Is it?"

"Yes! Listen, you can forgive Vance, if that's what you want. But can you trust him?"

Annie sucked in her breath. "Don't you think that's the same thing Mom's asking herself? Can she trust you, you, Dad?" Dad?"

He blinked as though the question had caught him unawares. "Yes, she can. I've learned my lesson. I promise you before G.o.d and man that I will remain faithful to your mother. Never, ever again will I take her for granted."

Annie hoped that was true. She believed him-she had to-and prayed her mother did, as well.

Thirty.

Bethanne, Annie and Grant drove to the airport in his rental, while Royce was taking Ruth in his own car. It was obvious to Bethanne, and no doubt everyone else, that the older couple had picked up where they'd left off fifty years earlier. All the resentments and regrets had apparently been laid to rest. Ever since the night of the prom, they'd spent nearly every minute together. And the cla.s.s reunion the other evening had been, according to Ruth, the second-best event of the year.

Plans were already in motion for Royce to visit Seattle the following month. Andrew and Courtney's wedding was the perfect reason. Bethanne wouldn't be surprised if they decided to marry before the end of the summer. That would mean one of them would need to move and she wondered how they'd handle it.

"Did you enjoy your stay in Florida?" Grant asked as they approached the Orlando airport. The direct flight into Seattle would have them back in familiar territory within five and a half hours.