She didn't even blink. "Just Emma," she said. "I have no t.i.tle, merely an honorific, as everyone here very well knows."

Torie gave her a tolerant look. "Let's put it this way. If my daddy was the fifth Earl of Woodbourne like yours was, I'd sure as h.e.l.l call myself Lady."

"As you've made abundantly clear." She turned her attention back to Meg. "I understand Mr. Skipjack has taken an interest in you. May I ask if you intend to use that against us?"

"Oh, so tempting," Meg said.

Ted stepped out on the patio along with Spence and Sunny. He wore a boring pair of tan shorts and an equally boring white T-shirt with a Chamber of Commerce logo over the breast. Predictably, a shaft of sunlight chose that moment to cut through the trees and spill all over him so it looked as though he'd stepped into a string of twinkle lights. He should be embarra.s.sed.

Haley took her job as his personal a.s.sistant seriously. She abandoned the elderly man reaching for one of the buffalo wings on her tray and rushed to Ted's side to serve him.

"Oh, dear," Emma said. "Ted's here. I'd better go out to the pool and check on the children."

"Shelby's got three lifeguards on duty," Torie said. "You don't want to face him."

Emma sniffed. "The contest to spend a weekend with Ted was entirely Shelby's idea, but you know he'll blame me."

"You are president of the Friends of the Library."

"And I planned to talk to him first. Believe me, I had no idea they'd get the flyers out so quickly."

"I hear the bidding's already up to three thousand dollars," Torie said.

"Three thousand four hundred," Emma replied, a little dazed. "More than we could make in a dozen bake sales. And Kayla had trouble with the Web site last night or the bidding might have gone higher."

Torie wrinkled her nose. "Probably best not to mention the Web site to Ted. It's a sore spot."

Emma pulled a very full bottom lip between her teeth, then released it. "We all take such advantage of him."

"He doesn't mind."

"He does mind," Meg said. "I don't know why he puts up with all of you."

Torie waved her off. "You're an outsider. You have to live around here to understand." She gazed across the patio toward Sunny Skipjack, cool and s.e.xy in white slacks and a powder blue tunic with a keyhole neckline that displayed an enticing amount of cleavage. "She sure is giving Ted the works. Look at that. She's rubbing her b.o.o.b against his arm."

"He seems to be enjoying it," Emma said.

Was he? With Ted, who could tell? Only thirty-two years old, and he was carrying not only the weight of Sunny Skipjack's breast on his arm but also the burden of the entire town.

He surveyed the crowd and almost immediately found Meg. She felt her own internal twinkle lights begin to flash.

Torie lifted her long hair off her neck. "You got yourself a bit of a dilemma, Meg. Spence is champing at the bit to get his hands on you. At the same time, his daughter has your love object in her high beams. Tough situation." And then, in case Emma had missed the point, "Meg told Spence she's in love with Teddy."

"Who isn't?" Emma's smooth brow furrowed. "I'd better go talk to him."

But Ted had already turned the Skipjacks over to Shelby Traveler so he could make a beeline for Kenny's wife. First, however, he took in Meg with a slow shake of his head.

"What?" she said.

He regarded Torie and Emma. "Is anybody going to tell her?"

Torie flipped her hair. "Not me."

"Nor I," Emma said.

Ted shrugged and before Meg could ask what he was talking about, he'd pinned her with his tiger eyes. "Spence wants to see you, and you'd better cooperate. Smile at him and ask him questions about his plumbing empire. He's real big on his new Cleaner You toilet." As Meg arched an eyebrow at him, he spun on Emma. "As for you ..."

"I know. I'm dreadfully sorry. Really. I fully intended to talk to you first about the contest."

Torie jabbed him in the shoulder with one manicured fingernail. "Don't you dare complain. The bidding's already up to thirty-four hundred dollars. Not having children yourself, you can't imagine how much the library means to the sweet little babies in our town who are crying themselves to sleep every night because they don't have any new books."

He wasn't biting. "Your expenses will eat up every penny of that thirty-four hundred. Did anybody factor that in?"

"Oh, we have the expenses all worked out," Emma said. "One of Kenny's friends has volunteered his private jet, which takes care of airfare to San Francisco. And your mother's connections will get us great hotel and restaurant discounts. Once we tell her we need them, of course."

"I wouldn't bet on her help."

"On the contrary. She'll like the idea very much ... after I point out how brilliantly this contest has taken your mind off your recent ..."

As Emma searched for the right word, Meg jumped in to help her out. "National humiliation? Public debas.e.m.e.nt? Looking like a weenie?"

"That's uncalled for," Torie protested. "Considering you were responsible."

"I'm not the one who dumped his sorry a.s.s," Meg said. "Why can't you people get that through your thick heads?"

She waited for the inevitable retort. That everything had been fine until she'd come along. That she'd taken cruel advantage of Lucy's bridal nerves. That she'd been jealous and wanted Ted for herself. Instead, he waved her off and focused on Emma. "You should have known better than to go along with this harebrained contest."

"Stop looking at me like that. You know how wretched it makes me feel when you frown. Blame Shelby." Emma glanced around the patio for her mother-in-law. "Who seems to have disappeared. Coward."

Torie poked him in the ribs. "Uh-oh ... Your newest conquest is headed this way. With her father."

Meg could swear she saw Ted frown, except all she actually saw him do was curl his mouth into one of his boringly predictable smiles. But before the Skipjacks could get to him, a shriek cut through the party noise.

"Oh my G.o.d!"

Everyone stopped talking and turned to locate the source of the noise. Kayla was staring at the small screen of her metallic red smartphone while Zoey stood on tiptoe to peer over her shoulder. A tendril of hair tumbled from her casually arranged updo as she lifted her head. "Somebody just raised the last bid by a thousand dollars!"

Sunny Skipjack's crimson lips curved in a satisfied smile, and Meg saw her slip her own phone into the pocket of her tunic.

"Dang," Torie grumbled. "Topping that is going to put a serious dent in my discretionary income."

"Daddy!" With a cry of distress, Kayla left Zoey behind as she dashed through the crowd to her father. Just that morning, Meg had served Bruce Garvin an orange soda and received zero tip in exchange. Kayla grabbed his arm and engaged him in a furious conversation.

Ted's lazy smile wobbled.

"Look on the bright side," Meg whispered. "The dear little babies of Wynette are that much closer to curling up with the new John Grisham."

He ignored her to address Torie. "Tell me you're not really bidding."

"Of course I'm bidding. Do you think I'd give up the chance for a weekend in San Francisco away from my kids? But Dex gets to come with us."

An overheated arm settled around Meg's waist, accompanied by the cloying scent of heavy cologne. "You don't have a drink yet, Miss Meg. Let's take care of that."

The plumbing king looked like Johnny Cash, circa 1985. The silver in his thick black hair shone, and his expensive watch glittered in a nest of wrist hair. Although most of the men wore shorts, he had on black pants and a designer polo with a small tuft of hair visible at the open neck. As he maneuvered her away from the others, he rubbed his hand across the small of her back. "You look like a movie star yourself today. That's a beautiful dress. Did you ever happen to meet Tom Cruise?"

"I never had the pleasure." It was a lie, but she wouldn't let him trap her into a discussion of every star she'd met. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sunny give Ted her bold smile and watched Ted smile right back. A fragment of their conversation drifted her way.

" ... and with my software," Ted said, "communities improve their power efficiency. Dynamic load balancing."

The way Sunny licked her lips made her response sound like soft-core p.o.r.n. "Optimizing their existing infrastructure. That's brilliant, Ted."

They soon formed a foursome. Sunny, Meg observed, was the whole package. s.e.xy, smart, accomplished. Her father obviously adored her, and he went on ad nauseum about her accomplishments, from her GRE scores to the design awards she'd won for the company. Ted introduced them to everyone, which turned out to be surprisingly entertaining, because even Birdie, Kayla, and Zoey had to be polite to Meg in front of the Skipjacks. She'd never been around so much sucking up in her life, not even in Hollywood.

"Wynette is the best-kept secret in Texas," Birdie trilled. "This is G.o.d's country for sure."

"Just walking down the street, you can run into Dallie Beaudine or Kenny Traveler," Kayla's father said. "Name another town where that could happen."

"n.o.body can match our scenery," Zoey offered, "and people in Wynette know how to make strangers feel welcome."

Meg could have debated that last point, but a hand that didn't belong to Spence gave her elbow a warning pinch.

By the time the barbecue was served, Sunny was treating Ted like a long-term boyfriend. "You have to come to Indianapolis, doesn't he, Dad? You're going to love it. The most underrated city in the Midwest."

"That's what I've heard," the mayor replied with all kinds of admiration.

"Sunny's right." Spence gave his daughter a fond look. "And I guess Sunny and I already know just about everybody in town."

Kayla came over to flirt with Ted and announce that the bid had gone up another five hundred dollars. Since she seemed happy about it, Meg suspected "Daddy" was responsible. Sunny didn't seem threatened by either the higher stakes or Kayla's blond dazzle.

When Zoey joined them, Ted introduced her to the Skipjacks. Although she wasn't as obvious about it as Kayla, her gazes at Ted left no doubt how she felt about him. Meg wanted to tell both Zoey and Kayla to get a grip. It was obvious Ted liked them and just as obvious his feelings didn't stretch any further. Still, she felt more than a little sorry for both women. Ted treated all females-Meg being the lone exception-as infinitely desirable creatures, so it was no wonder they continued to hold out hope.

Sunny had grown bored. "I heard they have a beautiful pool here. Would you mind showing me, Ted?"

"Great idea," he said. "Meg's been wanting to see it, too. We'll allgo."

Meg would have thanked him for making sure she wasn't left with Spence if she hadn't recognized his true motive. He didn't want to be alone with Sunny.

They all wandered out to the pool. Meg met their host, Kenny's father, Warren Traveler, who looked like an older, rougher version of his son. His wife, Shelby, came across as a bubblehead, an impression Meg knew could be deceptive in Wynette, and sure enough, she soon learned that Shelby Traveler headed the board of the British boarding school where Emma Traveler had formerly been headmistress.

"Before you start yelling at me," Shelby said to Ted, "you should know that Margo Ledbetter made an audition tape for you and sent it in to The Bachelor. The Bachelor. You might want to start practicing your rose ceremony." You might want to start practicing your rose ceremony."

Ted winced, a string of firecrackers went off, and Meg leaned in close enough to whisper, "You really need to get out of this town."

The small muscle she was becoming increasingly familiar with began to tick at the corner of his jaw, but he smiled and pretended not to hear.

Chapter Eleven.

At the pool, Meg watched Torie wrap two future beauty queens in beach towels. The happy kisses she planted on both noses testified that she was all bl.u.s.ter when it came to complaining about her kids. Kenny, in the meantime, was refereeing an argument between two young boys with hair as dark as his own, while a little girl with her mother's b.u.t.terscotch curls stole the disputed rubber raft from behind their backs and ran into the pool with it.

Eventually Meg managed to excuse herself to use the bathroom only to find Spence waiting in the hallway with a fresh gla.s.s of wine as she came out. "I seem to remember you were drinking the sauvignon blanc." He hit the consonants hard, like a man with no patience for any language other than English, then poked his head into the bathroom. "Kohler toilet," he said. "But those are my faucets. Brushed nickel. Part of our Chesterfield line."

"They're ... lovely."

"Sunny designed them. That girl is a whiz."

"She seems really accomplished." Meg tried to ease away, but he was a big man, and he blocked the hallway. His hand settled into its too-familiar spot in the middle of her back. "I have to fly back to Indy for a couple of days. After that, I need to make a quick run to London to check out a cabinet company. I know you've got a job, but"-he winked-"why don't I see if I can arrange for you to get a couple of days off and come with me?"

She was starting to feel a little queasy. "Spence, you're a great guy..." A great guy with a chunk of barbecued chicken wedged in his front teeth. "I'm really flattered, but ..." She tried to look besotted. "You know I'm in love with Ted."

He gave her an indulgent smile. "Meg, honey, chasing after a guy who's not interested in you will rip the h.e.l.l out of your self-respect. Better to face facts now because the longer you put it off, the harder it'll be."

She wasn't giving up that easily. "I don't actually know that Ted's not interested in me."

He moved his hand to her shoulder and squeezed. "You've seen Ted with Sunny. The way the sparks are flying between them. Even somebody half blind could tell those two are made for each other."

He was wrong. The only genuine sparks had come from Sunny. The rest had come from the Beaudine voodoo machine. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what kind of woman Ted needed, but it wasn't Spence's daughter any more than it had been Lucy. Still, what did she know? Maybe Sunny, with her advanced degree and engineering mind, was right for him.

"Now, I know he's just coming off an engagement," Spence said, "but Sunny's smart. She'll take her time. He already treats her like she's the only woman in the world."

Obviously, Spence hadn't noticed that he treated every female that way. "Ted and Sunny together." He chuckled. "Now that would really clinch the deal here."

Right then, she figured out the answer to the question everyone in town had been asking: Why had Spence changed his mind about Wynette?

Last spring, Spence had rejected the town in favor of San Antonio, but a little over a month ago, he'd reappeared and announced that Wynette was once again in the running. And now Meg knew it was because of Sunny. His daughter had first met Ted when he was still engaged to Lucy. But he wasn't engaged now, and what Sunny wanted, Spence would do his best to make sure Sunny got.

"Tell me about your new Cleaner You toilet," Meg said. "I'm dying to hear the details."

He eagerly launched into a description of a toilet that automatically washed the user's b.u.t.t. That quickly led to his next favorite topic, her life in Hollywood. "All those famous people's houses ... I'll bet you've seen some great bathrooms."

"I mainly grew up in Connecticut, and I spend a lot of time traveling."

That didn't stop him from asking if she knew his favorite stars, a list that included Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and inexplicably, Tori Spelling.

The fireworks began as soon as it was dark. While the guests gathered on the back lawn, eleven-year-old Peter Traveler, Shelby and Warren's son, raced around the yard with his friends, and the sleepy younger children curled up on oversize beach towels next to their parents. One of Torie's daughters entwined her fingers in her mother's hair. Kenny and Emma's three children sprawled across their parents, the smallest tucking herself under her father's arm.

Meg, Spence, Ted, and Sunny sat on a blanket Shelby provided. Spence squeezed in too close, and Meg eased onto the gra.s.s. Ted braced his weight on his elbows and listened as Sunny enumerated the chemical compounds used to make specific colors of fireworks. He seemed fascinated, but Meg suspected his mind was someplace else. The guests cheered as the first pinwheels exploded in the sky. Spence dropped one hot, hairy paw over Meg's hand. The moist evening air made the stench of his cologne more pungent, and as a rocket shot into the air, the black stone in his pinkie ring winked at her like an evil eye.

The cologne ... the heat ... too much wine ... "Excuse me," she whispered. She extricated herself and made her way through the blankets and beach towels to French doors that opened into a s.p.a.cious family room. The cozy, English country decor featured soft-cushioned couches and easy chairs; end tables holding magazines and silver-framed family photographs; and bookcases displaying model airplanes, board games, and a complete set of Harry Potter.

The door opened behind her. Spence had followed her inside, and her stomach clenched. She was tired, out of sorts, and she couldn't take it any longer. "I'm in love with Ted Beaudine. Pa.s.sionately in love with him."

"You've got a weird way of showing it."