Chapter One

Champagne flowed, again.

His brother had married, again.

Curtis Keller knew this marriage would last, this time, but he wondered if he 'd ever love again.

He sipped from his glass and watched his brother, Carlos, dance with the only woman he 'd ever truly loved. His Madeline.

Curtis leaned up against the pillar of his sister 's porch and watched as couples danced with the bride and groom in the garden. He gave a little chuckle to himself. Carlos and Madeline had been young when they 'd first married. No one ever saw it coming, the day Carlos announced that he and Madeline were getting divorced.

She 'd gone on and remarried. It had taken Carlos five years to finally remarry, but that had lasted less than a day. Now here they all were celebrating their second marriage, to each other.

Curtis tipped his glas1s in a toast when Madeline glanced his way. She was a glorious sight and as a doctor, as well as her dear friend, he was happy for her. Only a year earlier she 'd been diagnosed with breast cancer. But with a full head of chestnut hair swinging at her shoulders, compliments of his sister Arianna 's extensive wig collection, no one would have ever known that only months earlier Carlos had shaved off all of her natural hair.

His nephews and niece danced among them. His brother-in-law, Zach, danced with his own mother and Curtis 's parents hadn 't missed a song all night. In the middle of the dance floor was his older sister, Arianna, and her date from Carlos 's last wedding, and Zach 's right hand man in his construction company, John Forrester. They seemed comfortable, as comfortable as you could be with a set-up-date.

As for him, he was happy to watch. The memory of his date at Carlos 's last wedding still burned in his gut. Tonight he didn 't have an escort, and that was just how he wanted it.

His sister Regan slid up next to him, a glass of champagne in her hand. "You look lost in thought. "

He scanned a look over her. "Are you supposed to be drinking that? "

"I won 't tell if you don 't. "

He shook his head. "Expectant mothers aren 't supposed to drink. "

She nudged him. "Well the expectant father said I could have just a little sip, and since the expectant brother is sleeping I 'm not going to worry about it. " She lifted the glass to her lips and drank down the bubbly drink. Curtis grabbed her hand and she laughed. "It 's sparkling cider. I made sure we had plenty for the kids. " She laughed as Curtis settled back against the pillar.

Regan was a wonder to him. There she stood a happy woman married to the man of her dreams. Their son was almost a year old and she was weeks into her second pregnancy. Only he and her husband Zach knew about the baby. She was waiting until after the wedding to announce that she was expecting. She hadn 't wanted to take away from the celebration happening around them.

Regan shifted her glance from the dance floor back to him. "You don 't seem to be having as much fun at this wedding. "

"You didn 't arrange a date for me this time either. "

With a slow nod, Regan sipped from the drink then handed him her glass. "I 'm going to go steal my husband away from his mother. "

Curtis watched her do just that and he retreated to the kitchen before Zach 's mother, Audrey, caught him and begged him to dance.

Caterers moved about the house and Curtis fixed himself a plate of fruit. He 'd be happier in the kitchen he decided. The reception was depressing him.

When he lifted his head from the platters of food, he saw the reason it depressed him standing right in front of him.

"Hello, Curtis. " Simone Pierpont 's French accent stabbed right into his heart before he choked on the grape he 'd just swallowed whole.

He coughed until he could breathe. Her eyes never wavered from him and he was sure they had bored a hole right through him.

"Simone. I didn 't expect you here. "

She twisted her fingers together and smiled nervously. "I 've been out of town. "

Didn 't he know that? He 'd tried for the past two months to find her. Even his brother-in-law, Zach, who she claimed was her very dearest friend, hadn 't known where to find her.

"You 're looking well. " He wasn 't sure what else to say. He 'd been dumped by women before, but it had never hurt like this one did. Oh, she 'd had him fooled. Yes, he thought there 'd been a chance for something real. He 'd thought it was love.

But he had to acknowledge that there were women in the world who appreciated the art of seduction and fast steamy love affairs without stings just as men did. He just never thought he 'd be the man who was used and disposed of.

Damn her anyway, he thought.

She took a step toward him and then stopped just short of reaching him. Her knuckles were white now and her nervousness wasn 't helping him keep calm.

Simone bit down on her lip then shifted her blue eyes to his. "I would have called "

"Listen, " he set down his plate. "You don 't owe me any explanations. Zach and Regan set us up to share the evening together so we wouldn 't be alone. They didn 't tell us to, " he lowered his voice, "screw like rabbits and run off to your yacht in the French Riviera. So we had a good time. Really, who thought much of it? " He had and he fought his eyes to make sure she didn 't know how much he 'd thought of it.

"Right. It was just sex. I was hoping you would understand that. "

"Got it. " He picked up his plate. "Well I think I 'll go see how the party is going. See ya ‘round. "

That wasn 't exactly how Simone had hoped that would go. She untangled her fingers realizing they were almost numb now.

She deserved him to treat her like that. She 'd been very forthcoming with him, over too much champagne on her yacht, that she 'd bedded many men. Why she felt he needed to know that she wasn 't sure. She 'd left out the hefty part of the tale though. Most of those men had been in her bed while she tried to wrap her head around the fact that Zachary Benson had never seen her as more than a sister or dear friend.

Lucky for her, she loved him the same. She was glad he and Regan had found each other and now had a family. But that hadn 't changed her view on herself. Simone Pierpont longed for what Zach now had. Love, marriage, and a family. One piece didn 't really fit without the other.

She sucked in a breath. Had she not made such an ass out of herself in front of Curtis and then run off without a word, stranding him on the Rivera to find his own way home, perhaps she 'd have just that.