When best friends Jamie Eckert and Derek Duran realized they were in love, they took their relationship to the next level. But then Derek's budding music career took off, and so did Derek. Twenty years later, Jamie still lives in the small town of Ashbury, Virginia, where he grew up. He's grown up and moved on -- now he owns the family funeral home business and is raising Riley, his precocious six-year-old adopted daughter. But emotions Jamie thought long buried are stirred up again when he gets an early morning removal call. The deceased is Derek's mother and Riley's babysitter, Mrs. Duran. Now Derek's back in town for the funeral, and he turns to Jamie for support ... in more ways than one. Angry at Derek for not keeping in touch, and angrier at himself for still loving the man who left him behind, Jamie is torn between his professional duty and his feelings for Derek. Will he be able to put aside his past with Derek to carry out Mrs. Duran's final wishes? Or is Derek interested in rekindling their relationship after all this time?

Not Another One Hit Wonder

Stop it, I tell myself. Step back, let go, stop!


But I don’t. Who am I kidding? I can’t. I won’t.


When he finally breaks the kiss, he rests his forehead against mine and stares at me, his eyes unbelievably intense mere inches from my own. “God, I missed this,” he murmurs, his words mere breath on my cheek. “I missed you.”


Now I find the strength to push against his chest, though without any real conviction. “I need…” I start, but my voice dissolves and I have to clear my throat before I can speak again. “Let me lock up here. I’ll be right back.”


He keeps a hand on my hip as I step back, then hooks a finger through a belt loop at my waist. When I turn away, he tugs once, enough to pull the fabric of my pants taut against my crotch, where a dull ache has begun to bloom. Just when I think he isn’t going to let me go, his finger uncurls, releasing me.


I stumble over my feet as I hurry to comply. 13


Chapter 32