"Well, I think it's very romantic," Nancy declared.
"That's because you're not the target of the joke," Lyra said.
"It's no joke," Jeff said. "We Sweetwaters take these things seriously."
Lyra gritted her teeth. "I knew it would be a mistake to come here tonight. I should never have let you talk me into it, Cruz."
"I didn't talk you into, it," he said mildly. "We had a deal. You agreed to come here with me in exchange for my keeping quiet about those three pyramids that you concealed."
Lyra gave Nancy a bright little smile. "You see? There's nothing romantic about it. It's just business."
"And also because we're involved in a very hot affair," Cruz added. "I like to think that's part of the reason you agreed to come with me."
The heat of embarrassment sizzled through her. "For heaven's sake," she muttered. "Don't say things like that in public."
Nancy laughed. "Come on, Lyra. Lighten up. This is a night we're both going to remember for a long, long time. Just think about it. You and I are attending one of the ritziest social events of the year. We're on the Sweetwaters' private island, for crying out loud. It doesn't get any more posh."
"Hey," Jeff said, contriving to look deeply hurt. "At least let me entertain the illusion that you wanted to be my date for the evening."
"Absolutely," Nancy said. She patted his arm. "That, too. You know how I feel about FBPI agents. They are so incredibly sexy."
"Whew, thanks," Jeff said. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "For a while there I was a little worried that this was all about Cruz."
Lyra looked at him. "How's that new career plan of yours going?"
"Going good," Jeff said. "My application to the academy goes in on Monday."
"How did Big Jake take the news?" Lyra asked.
"Well, after we peeled him off the ceiling, Cruz here pointed out how useful it would be to have someone from the family working inside the FBPI. That calmed him down somewhat. But I should warn you that he blames you for being a bad influence on me."
"I'm a Dore. I do bad influence."
Jeff grinned. "This family needs shaking up."
Before anyone could respond to that remark, a woman emerged from one of the clusters of guests gathered on the terrace. She looked to be in her late fifties, well-preserved and stylishly dressed in a long, blue gown. Her hair was a discreet shade of silver blonde. An amber and diamond necklace framed her throat. More amber and diamonds dangled from her ears.
She circled the pool, walking briskly toward Lyra and the others.
"Here we go again," Lyra muttered. "Just remember I warned everyone."
"There you are, Cruz," the woman said. "Hello, Jeff, dear. Sorry I'm late. My flight out of Cadence was delayed."
"Better late than never, Aunt Teresa," Cruz said. He took his foot down off the railing and gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek.
"Hi, Aunt Teresa," Jeff said. "I wondered where you were. Thought maybe you'd actually worked up the nerve to duck this gig."
Teresa uttered a warm, throaty laugh. "Not a chance. No one gets out of this event. You know that. By the way, Big Jake tells me that you've decided to apply to the FBPI academy."
Jeff smiled. "Gotta say, Big Jake is taking the news fairly well, all things considered."
"That's because he's decided that it will be useful to have a Sweetwater on the inside of regular law enforcement," Teresa said. She winked at Cruz. "Can't imagine where he got that idea."
"I'd like you to meet Lyra Dore and Nancy Halifax," Cruz said. "Lyra, Nancy, this is Teresa Sweetwater. She's married to one of my uncles on my father's side."
"How do you do, Mrs. Sweetwater," Nancy said politely.
"Call me Teresa."
"Nice to meet you, Teresa," Lyra said. She took another swallow of champagne and braced herself.
"What a pleasure it is to meet you," Teresa said, smiling. "I've heard so much about you. I understand that you're the woman—"
"Please don't say it," Lyra whispered.
". . who broke Cruz's heart," Teresa concluded.
The night turned red, at least on the paranormal plane. A fierce, hot energy welled up inside of Lyra.
"That does it," she said. "I've had it. This has gone far enough."
She was aware, in a remote way, of the sudden hush that had come over the crowd arrayed around the pool; aware that people were turning their heads to look. She knew that her voice was rising. That was not a good thing. A small warning sounded somewhere in her head, urging her to shut up right now and not say another word. But she was powerless to stop.
Nancy cleared her throat. "Uh, Lyra?"
"I told you," Lyra said, her throat tightening. "I warned you that I would not let one more person accuse me of breaking Cruz Sweetwater's heart."
"It's okay," Nancy said. "Really. Why don't we take a little trip to the powder room. You can calm down there."
Lyra ignored her. She turned toward the audience on the terrace and threw her arms out wide.
"Once and for all, I did not break his heart," she shouted. "Cruz broke mine. What's more, he never even said he was sorry. Never apologized. He just let everyone think I had hurt him."
"Lyra," Nancy said urgently. "You may not want to do this."
"I'm the one who cried every night for days after I found out how he had deceived me," Lyra said at the top of her voice. "I'm the one who nearly went bankrupt trying to sue Amber Inc. just to get a little revenge. And then he walks back into my life as if nothing ever happened. As if we should just pick up where we left off and, oh, by the way, would I do him a favor and rescue five people from the ruin that he stole from me."
"Oh, Lyra," Nancy groaned. "This is not good."
"Damn, arrogant Sweetwaters," Lyra said. She was on a roll now. Her aura was so hot she was amazed that she did not set herself on fire. "Who do you think you are?"
A shocked, fascinated silence gripped the terrace. Everyone was staring at her. Without warning, tears flooded her eyes. She went from rage to despair in an instant. She was suddenly sobbing as she had on only two other occasions in her life: the day her grandfather had died and on the night she had discovered that Cruz had deceived her.
She was crying a river in front of an audience of Sweetwaters and their guests. It was unbearable, intolerable. She whirled and ran down the terrace steps. When she reached the beach, her stiletto heels stabbed into the sand and stayed there. She floundered, tipped forward, lost her balance utterly, and toppled out of her shoes. In that terrible moment she knew she was going to fall flat on her face, humiliating herself even more than she already had in front of the entire Sweetwater family and their wealthy, powerful friends.
Damn Dore luck, she thought. You can always count on it to fail when you need it most.
But just before she flopped ignominiously into the sand, a strong arm caught her around her waist. She was suddenly standing upright and barefoot on the beach.
"Lord, I do love you so," Cruz said. "You're magnificent."
He swept her up in his arms and carried her across the beach toward the water's edge. She heard a cheer go up on the terrace. It was followed by a round of applause.
She clutched her evening bag with both hands. "This is so embarrassing."
"No, it's just a little over the top," Cruz said. "But that's okay. I've told you before, when it comes to love, we Sweetwaters do over the top."
"I don't know what to say. Something came over me. I just lost it back there on the terrace."
"You were wonderful."
When he reached the wet sand, he turned and carried her along the edge of the beach until they rounded the rocky outcropping. When they were out of sight of the terrace, he set her back on her feet and enfolded her in his arms.