"Really."

"Okay." She nodded and sniffed. Then she stood up and gathered the files quickly, but Luke caught her before she could run off. "The files," he said. "They're not from Craig. He'd never have given them to you."

"Of course not," she said.

He shook his head. "What did you fill them with?"

She bit her lower lip. "An empty ream of paper from your printer."

"You're a nut," he said.

And then they ate omelets.

The next day at the ground-breaking ceremony, Luke watched the crowd, wondering if the thief was also watching. Just about everyone in Lucky Harbor was at the building site, where the early afternoon sun beat down on the empty lot and the masses, who were held back by a wide, yellow ribbon.

Ali was next to him, and they were off to one side, trying to lie low. On the other side of the ribbon, up on a makeshift platform of plywood, stood Tony and Bree Medina. The mayor and his wife were both holding shovels and smiling into the cameras. Near them were Ted Marshall and a handful of town council members. Bree was telling one of the council members about a show she'd recently seen, and Ali suddenly tensed.

"What?" Luke asked.

She sneezed. "That show," she whispered. "The one Bree's talking about? I found two ticket stubs to it in the key pot the night Teddy moved out." She sneezed again. "Sorry, it's her perfume. It gets me every"-sneeze-"time."

He squeezed her in close, pressing her face to his chest. She breathed in deeply and let out a soft, little "mmm," which shouldn't have done anything to him, but completely did. She was always trying to inhale him, as if the scent of him was the best thing she'd ever smelled. He felt the same about her. "You okay?"

She set her head on his shoulder. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

"I'm fine." She'd been incredibly gentle with him since yesterday, when they'd rushed to the hospital for his grandfather. Quiet, warm...a solid presence in his life.

But now the clock was ticking down.

He knew he'd been quiet and withdrawn. Knew, too, that Ali thought it was because of his grandfather. And it was.

Some of it.

The rest was because he was trying to wrap his brain around the fact that he was leaving...and didn't want to be.

He scanned the crowd and then eyed the platform again, watching Marshall wave at the crowd, charming everyone in his path. Tony and Bree moved across the stage, both of them soaking up the crowd's attention. And suddenly his eyes locked in on a most interesting thing.

Unable to believe it, he turned to Ali, who tore her gaze off Bree and met his gaze, her own wide.

She'd seen it too.

Bree was beautiful and always very carefully made-up, complete with designer clothes and torture devices on her feet masquerading as high-heeled sandals. Her toes were easily visible, as was the very clear tan line across her second right one. She'd worn a ring there, recently, and long enough for it to leave a definite impression.

"Oh my God," Ali whispered. "It's her!"

"It's as circumstantial as the bill band being in your possession," he warned her.

She was smiling. "Yes, but..."

He smiled back. "Yeah. But." It was good. Really good. Bree was blonde. Bree would have had access to the back door the night of the auction. She would have parked in the back, in employee parking, and not gone out the front door. And the coup de grace-she had clearly been wearing a toe ring and wasn't now.

They escaped through the crowd and went back to the house. Luke went straight to his computer and his magic search programs.

Ali leaned over his shoulder, her hand resting on his bicep. He resisted the urge to flex like a caveman and toss her over his shoulder and drag her to his bedroom. Instead he typed in Bree Medina and then stared at the screen. "Well, hello."

"What?"

"She filed divorce papers two months ago."

"Divorce?"

"Yeah, and then..." He scrolled down. "She withdrew it. She withdrew the papers on..." He let out a slow whistle.

Ali leaned in closer. A strand of her hair caught on his jaw. She smelled great.

"Wow," she said. "She withdrew the divorce two days after the money went missing." Turning her head, she stared at him. "What does that mean?"

"Something made her want to leave the mayor," he said, "and then something changed her mind. Maybe she thought she'd found someone better."

"Better than the mayor?"

"Tony Medina's a good guy," Luke said, "but look at Bree. She keeps herself up. She's forty-five and looks twenty-five. Tony's a balding, paunchy, fifty-year-old who works twenty-four seven." He met Ali's gaze. "Maybe Bree got lonely or bored. And then maybe she also got distracted by a younger man, a walk on the wild side, someone who gave her something Tony's money couldn't-the feeling of being young and alive."

Like you do for me...

"You're thinking she was also fooled by Teddy."

"You said Aubrey thought she was Marshall's one and only," he said. "But what if Bree thought so too? What if Bree thought it was the real deal? So she files for divorce, and then she discovers Marshall's screwing other women and gets ticked."

"And then tries to frame him for taking the money."

"It's a lot of maybes," Luke warned. "And I'm just thinking out loud here, but I bet I'm in the ballpark."

Ali was looking revved up and ready to kick some ass. Loving that fight in her, he tugged her into his lap and nuzzled the sweet spot on her neck, the one that made her purr like a kitten.

"Mmm," she said in a soft, sexy moan, tilting her head to give him better access. Which he took, sucking on the soft skin just beneath her ear before working his way south. He loved the southlands...

Breathing heavily, she slid her fingers into his hair and arched into him. "We weren't going to do this again..."

"I know." Damn, he really did know. It'd been his idea. Stupidest idea he'd ever had. "Ali..."

She squirmed off his lap, and he felt the disappointment in every inch of his body. Some inches more than others.

But then Ali dropped to her knees between his sprawled legs and sent a slow smile up at him, stopping his heart. "Sometimes," she murmured, opening his jeans and reaching inside, "rules are made to be broken."

Much later, Ali lay on the kitchen table, a little sweaty and a whole lot delirious from pleasure. It took her five full minutes to catch her breath and roll onto her side to eyeball Luke.

He was still flat on his back on the table, too, eyes closed. He wore only his jeans, still opened, indecently low on his hips. He was sprawled out like a decadent dessert, the kind that was totally fattening, but was so good that you couldn't regret the calories. She ran a finger down the center of his chest to his abs, which contracted at her touch.

Eyes still closed, he groaned. "Okay, but you've got to feed me first. I'm a growing boy."

She stared at his erection. "I can see that..."

Snorting, he moved unexpectedly, and quick as lightning, he rolled onto her, pinning her to the table.

She pushed at his chest. "Hold on a second."

Pushing up to his elbow, he took his weight off of her and gave her a "what's up?" gaze from heavy-lidded eyes-his bedroom eyes.

"I've been thinking," she said. "I bet Bree hid the money at Teddy's place."

"You've been thinking? When? When could you have been thinking?"

"Earlier. But it makes sense, don't you think?" she pressed. "If her goal was to frame him, she'd want to-"

"Earlier? You mean earlier when I was buried so deep inside you that I could feel your tonsils as you screamed my name and-"

She covered his mouth and laughed. "I did not scream. Exactly. And what? Is my mind supposed to turn off?"

Looking a little bit out of sorts, he rolled off of her, and it made her laugh again.

"Sorry," she said, "women's brains are different."

"No shit."

They sat up, and she began pulling her clothes back on. "At this point, all we have is circumstantial. I heard that tomorrow Teddy and some of the town council members are going off for a team-bonding fishing overnighter. I'm going to wait until after I get back from my mom's birthday party and then go check out his place for the money."

"No," Luke said. "Hell, no. It's too dangerous. If you find the money there, everyone's going to think you planted it."

She warmed at his concern, but reminded herself not to get used to it. He hadn't said word one about seeing her after he left, and hell if she'd beg for crumbs. "I have nothing to lose. Everyone already thinks I stole the money. And I'll be careful, trust me." She shoved her feet into her sandals.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I want to talk to Aubrey."

"Wait for me." He pulled up his jeans and looked around, probably for his keys, which seemed to elude him daily, even though they were right there on the counter in the new key bowl she'd made.

"Can't wait," she said. "I'm on a tight schedule to stay out of jail."

He choked out a laugh. "You weren't on a tight schedule a few minutes ago."

"Well that was different. I got distracted by an orgasm."

He let out a very male smile of satisfaction. "Three orgasms. Pretty good for someone who was 'thinking.'" Leaning in, he kissed her. "You want to do this alone."

She needed to get used to alone. She met his gaze, wondering if he was going to even discuss it. His leaving. What might happen between them after he did.

But he said nothing.

"Yes," she said, "I need to do this. Alone."

"You don't have to."

"You're leaving, remember?"

His jaw tightened. "I'm not likely to forget."

She let out a breath. Stay strong. "Aubrey'll be far more likely to talk to me if I'm by myself."

Looking like he got it but didn't necessarily like it, he nodded. "Call Zach. Tell him about Bree. I'll call Sawyer."

"I will," she said, "since jail doesn't work in my plans very well. Hard to be a self-sufficient, well-rounded, contributing member of society from behind bars. Plus I don't think I could learn how to paddleboard there either." She was doing her best to sound positive and upbeat. This was the trick to denial. Sound positive and upbeat and maybe you'll buy it.

"Paddleboard?" he asked.

"Yeah. I've been watching you, and I've decided it's on my bucket list."

"A bucket list is for someone who's dying."

"Well," she said as lightly as she could, turning away from him on the pretense of checking her reflection in the small mirror above the foyer table. "I don't see myself living through a prison sentence," she quipped.

Two hands gripped her by the shoulders and turned her back around. He stared into her eyes, and she could tell by the grim set of his jaw that he could see her fears. "You're not going to jail."

She nodded, but she must not have looked convinced, because he dipped down a little to look into her eyes, his own fierce. "You're not."

Someone knocked on the kitchen door, and Ali jumped. She turned and peeked out the window over the sink and saw the broad-shouldered Jack standing there. "Oh my God," she whispered. "If he'd shown up five minutes ago, he'd have heard us!"

"Us?" Luke inquired, amused, giving her a look that had her blushing to her roots.

Right. She was the noisy one. She couldn't help it, not with him.

At her embarrassment, his eyes softened, filling with affection. "I love the noises you make," he said huskily. "Sexy as hell." He pulled open the door.

"Hey," Jack said, "I'm not interrupting, am I?" And before they could answer, he pushed his way in. "Need to borrow a paddleboard."

"It's in the shed, not the house," Luke said.

"Need a wetsuit too."

"It's June," Luke said. "Only pussies need wetsuits in June."

"I've got a date later. Can't risk shrinkage."

Luke started to shove him out, but Jack planted his feet. "Not going anywhere until you give me your wetsuit. I can stand here all day. You know I can."

Luke muttered an oath and turned to the door himself. "There's one in the garage somewhere. Hold on."

When he was gone, Jack turned to Ali and flashed her a smile. "You can feel the love between me and him, right?"