"Right. Okay." Stepping forward, he cupped her face in his hands. He meant only to give her a simple kiss, a tender moment to remember him by. A farewell of sorts. But the touch of their lips caused a sudden change in them both, and they immediately fused together. He doubted he could have made himself pull away even if he'd wanted to.

Fortunately, she didn't seem any more willing to let go. She wrapped her arms around his neck and, when he lifted her off her feet, wrapped her legs around him, too. Then he carried her inside, and she barely managed to kick the door shut before unbuttoning his jeans.

He was inside her in seconds, without a condom, without anything. They had most of their clothes on. He felt a desperate urge to convince her, to get her to acknowledge that they had a chance at something special.

How could this not lead to more? She affected him like no other woman ever had, made him want to take care of her, protect her.

But he knew he wasn't going to change her mind. She'd decided against him before he'd even touched her that first time. So he brought her to a quick and powerful climax, somehow gratified that he could do it almost effortlessly, and decided that would be his goodbye.

Fastening his jeans, he left without a word, and this time he told himself he'd never give her the chance to reject him again.

When Cheyenne saw Eve's number on her caller ID on Saturday morning, she couldn't believe it. Eve had said she wouldn't be able to call until she returned to the States, but there were still four more days of the cruise.

Although relieved and excited-it'd been a rough week without her best friend to help steady her-Cheyenne was also a little worried. Had something gone wrong?

Forgetting about the reason she'd been up late, tossing and turning, she scrambled to hit the talk button. "Hello?"

"Chey?"

"Eve! Where are you?"

"Martinique."

An island in the Caribbean, one of their stops. "So how are you getting phone service?"

Eve had to be using her cell, or her number wouldn't have shown up on Cheyenne's screen.

"I decided to get an international plan."

"Why would you do that? You'll be home in a few days."

"Because I wanted to talk to you."

Cheyenne sat up. "Is everything okay?"

There was a brief silence. "It is on this end."

"Everything's fine here, too," she said. And what wasn't okay could wait. She didn't want to ruin Eve's trip. "My mother's still fighting."

"So I've heard."

"How?" Cheyenne asked in surprise.

"Gail called the ship from L.A. yesterday. Can you believe that? She can track anyone down."

"But...why would she? She couldn't call when you got back?"

"No. She needed to reach me."

"Because..."

"She had something to tell me about Joe."

Cheyenne tightened her grip on the phone. "That's good, then, right? He must've spoken to her about you."

"He did, but it wasn't what I was hoping he'd say."

"What do you mean?" Cheyenne could hear the uncertainty in her own voice.

"Chey, stop pretending," Eve said. "I know, okay? I know he wants to date you. And I know you turned him down because of me."

Stunned at being so suddenly exposed, she tried to come up with something that would soften Joe's rejection. "He just doesn't realize how great you are."

"But he realizes how great you are. And if you're interested in him, too, I don't want to stand in the way."

How should she react? Should she continue to deny her feelings? Or finally tell the truth? She didn't want to hurt Eve. "I'm sorry."

"For..."

"For not telling you a long time ago."

There was a slight pause. "So it's true? You like him?"

She fell back on the pillows. "I wish I didn't."

"I can't believe you sat there and encouraged me, even lent me your best dress to go out with him!"

"He'd never shown any interest in me. I figured you'd have a much better shot."

"Why? That's crazy! You obviously have no idea of your own appeal."

"I don't want to lose our friendship."

"Silly, you won't lose our friendship. You won't lose anything. Go out with him. No need for us both to be deprived." Eve attempted a laugh, but Cheyenne heard the strain in her voice and felt bad about it. She could tell this wasn't easy.

"You're being very generous, but I don't think I could-"

"Go out with him, Chey!" Eve interrupted, her voice more strident. "Don't miss this chance to see if someone as wonderful as Joe might be the right man for you."

"That'd be too weird," she argued. "You and I...we wouldn't be able to talk about him. And I'd feel like a slimeball if we ever ran into you."

"We'll get over that stuff, work around it."

"What if we don't? What if it changes our relationship?"

"If you think Joe means more to me than you do, you have no idea how much I care about you."

That statement brought tears to Cheyenne's eyes. "That helps."

"It's true."

Cheyenne swallowed around the lump in her throat. "I have something to tell you."

"What's that?"

As the memory of Dylan pressing her against the wall last night came back to her yet again, Cheyenne curled onto her side. "I've been seeing Dylan Amos."

Eve's response was fast, loud and immediate. "You can't be serious!"

She covered her head. "I'm afraid so."

"What do you mean, you've been seeing him?"

"In truth-" she lowered her voice on the off chance that Presley was awake "-I've been sleeping with him."

This met with shocked silence. "I've only been gone a week," Eve said when she finally responded. "When did that happen?"

"The first time?"

A gasp. "How many times have you been with him?"

Cheyenne pressed her palm to one eye. "Four nights out of six."

"God, that scares me to death! Are you using protection?"

"Yes." Except for once, but she didn't add that. She'd already counted the days, knew it wasn't a dangerous time of the month.

"I can't believe it."

Cheyenne had expected Eve to be shocked. She'd complained about her sister hanging out with the Amoses for too long to get any other reaction. But now that she knew Dylan better, she also felt somewhat defensive of him. "He's not as bad as you think."

"Cheyenne, he's not what you're looking for. Don't you remember him getting into fights all the time at school? Being kicked out? Being hauled off to jail for disorderly conduct or setting off illegal fireworks or resisting arrest?"

"Of course, but...he was a lot younger then. I get the impression he's settled down."

"Funny, I don't get the same impression. He looks like he's part of a biker gang."

Cheyenne liked the way he looked-tattoos, scar and all. She figured that was part of the reason she couldn't seem to refuse him. "You don't think he's handsome?"

"I think he's dangerous. How did you two hook up in the first place?"

Scooting lower in the bed, Cheyenne pulled a pillow to her chest. "I ran into him in the park last Sunday."

There was some noise in the background. It sounded as if Baxter or Noah was asking Eve for details on their conversation. "Wait till I get off," she said.

"Don't tell anyone!" Cheyenne cried. "What happened with Dylan is between us."

"Of course. I'll make up something. But now I'm even more convinced you should go out with Joe. He's the kind of guy you need, Chey, not-" she lowered her voice "-not Dylan. Dylan will chew you up and spit you out."

Cheyenne couldn't remember when she'd seen Dylan with a woman. But until last weekend, she hadn't paid that much attention to him, other than to lump him in with Aaron, who was so bad for Presley. "Dylan actually seems sort of...sensitive," she admitted.

"Come on, don't get mixed up with him. You've never wanted your sister to go over there. There has to be a reason. Maybe Joe can help you get out of this."

Eve did seem to be relieved by that idea. But...what if Dylan's reputation wasn't the sum total of who he was? What if he'd changed?

Thinking of the desire that had left her helpless when they'd had sex at the inn, Cheyenne massaged her forehead. "But it'll feel disloyal being with Joe, knowing you like him, too. I can't do it."

"Cheyenne, you've never had anything in your life worth hanging on to. I want you to have this."

"I have you," she said softly.

"And that won't change," Eve said. "I want you to make me a promise."

Cheyenne knew where this was going, but she asked, anyway. "What kind of promise?"

"Stay away from Dylan. Don't see him again."

"Tell me Baxter and the others can't hear you."

"No, they're dickering with a street vendor."

"Good. Anyway, I don't think Dylan does drugs or anything else that's too bad. I'm beginning to wonder if he's sort of taken the blame for everything his brothers have done."

"You can't be that generous, Chey. Your whole future could hinge on this decision. Please? Will you forget Dylan and go out with Joe? For me?"

Cheyenne wasn't as excited as she thought she'd be by the prospect of dating Joe. That came as a surprise. What happened to all those angst-filled evenings when she'd passed him on the street and hoped he'd linger? Or when she'd waited outside Eve's house just last Friday?

He was still the same guy.

Somehow she'd changed.

"I have your blessing?" she asked.

"Of course you have my blessing," Eve replied.

She should be elated. So why was it Dylan's face that appeared in her mind every time she imagined herself in a man's arms? How had he replaced Joe in her fantasies so quickly?

"Chey?" Eve said. "You're going to stay away from the Amoses, right?"

"Right." She agreed because she'd come to the same conclusion. She had to be smart, choose wisely, or her life would never improve.

"And you'll go out with Joe?"

"If that's what you really want."

"It is. Gail's going to have him call and ask you to the Victorian Christmas celebration tomorrow night."