Solley and Gin swapped a conspiratorial look of relief at their narrow escape. Gin let her gaze sweep over Solley's body, lingering on the curves draped in the soft blue silk embroidered with dragons. They were barely out of bed and, already, Gin wanted her again. She could hardly believe she had only known this woman for a couple of weeks, the connection felt so deep, so instant. It had been wonderful holding Solley asleep in her arms. She thought back to her impulsive, s.e.x-addled offer. Part of her was relieved that Solley had slept through her ridiculous musings; part of her was anxious that she was alone with her pa.s.sionate feelings. She wanted to reveal all and get a measure of what Solley thought and felt about her...and the future.

She frowned. What had she really been offering? The happy-ever-after? The house by the sea? Did she really think she could simply buy happiness for Solley? Money had never brought Gin any true peace. Only standing beside Solley did that.

a 118 a Solley watched the troubled look fl it across Gin's face.

Was she worried they had nearly been caught out? Why? She was the one who had wanted to gamble and meet up in the G.o.dd.a.m.n house. Solley was annoyed at herself for falling asleep instead of returning to her own room. She would have had a fi rmer handle on the morning if she hadn't woken up to Gin's kisses. But being in Gin's arms was becoming addictive, and it was harder and harder for her to keep a distance between them. Janie bellowing up the stairs was a wake-up call, all right. Solley realized she was crazy having an affair on the eve of her divorce. She didn't need this distraction. Okay, so maybe her body did, but reality was looming fast. Soon she would be back home and all this would be just the fairytale she'd drifted to sleep dreaming of last night. Get a grip, Rayner. This vacation is about your kids, not about you and your never-ending neediness.

She looked over at Gin, hoping to fi nd something that grounded her, that pulled her out of her anxiety and fear. But Gin was frowning out the window, distant, detached, focused on the kids, who were trying to fl y kites out in front of the veranda. As if sensing Solley's stare, she looked round.

"I'll go change and help the children with those kites,"

she offered. She had to get out of this kitchen and grab some fresh air. She felt she was suffocating in Solley's subterfuge.

"Try not to let anyone fl oat away." Solley meant to sound like she was kidding, but there was an edge to her voice that made Gin stare at her for a few seconds too long.

"I think I can manage. I did okay rescuing Della yesterday."

"Gin, no offense, but every time you're in charge of my kids something vaguely catastrophic seems to happen. I mean, you might as well have gotten them a nuclear submarine as bodyboards. And sure, Della wasn't in any real danger. G.o.d a 119 a knows, she can swim like a sewer rat. It was the shark thing that caused her to freak out. Even so, she was truly terrifi ed and that's an experience I don't want my kids to suffer."

Solley knew she sounded ratty, but one of these days the minor accidents would become major and she would be sitting in the ER listening to Gin making excuses as if it was perfectly normal for children to hurt themselves every time they played. She had to remember she was the constant in her children's lives, their mother, the one who would always be there. Partners could come and go, and she would always be left to pick up the broken pieces.

"I love your kids. I protect them every way I can when they're with me." Genuine hurt gave Gin's words an edge.

"Oh, for G.o.d's sake," Solley snapped. "I'm merely asking you to be a little more aware, a little more responsible."

"I'll have you know I am fully responsible. My family is descended from samurai." Gin drew herself up to her full height, bristling with hurt and anger. This woman never listened to her when it came to the kids, no matter how important the things she had to say. "The Itos adhere to the samurai code of protection and social responsibility."

"More like the kamikaze code," Solley mumbled beneath her breath.

Gin stared at her in defl ated shock. Where was this anger coming from? She wished she could keep up with Solley's mood changes. She'd been enjoying her new morning ritual of playing with the children before heading off to work. In her heart, she secretly hoped it might become a more permanent ch.o.r.e. But she still hadn't come to grips with how to avoid riling Solley. Marsha was always dropping hints about managing the quick-tempered Rayner women. Gin wasn't sure whether to start taking notes or accept the advice as a warning and back off while she could.

a 120 a Before she could come up with a reply that would mollify Solley, Janie said, with the fl ippancy of a soon-to-be-parent who already knew everything, "G.o.d, Sol. You can't wrap them in cotton wool their whole lives."

"Excuse me, but you can save the parenting advice until you've had some practice with Junior M," Solley responded smartly, her maternal feathers ruffl ed. "Once your life and your sanity have been dismantled piece by piece, it'll be interesting to see who needs to be wrapped in cotton wool fi rst, you or the baby. My money isn't on Junior."

She glanced around intending to say something softer to Gin, but she'd vanished. "d.a.m.n," Solley muttered. "Where did she go?"

"As far from you as she can get, I imagine." Janie raised her eyebrows. "You seem tense today."

"Guess we all are."

"Speak for yourself. I like to think I have that agreat s.e.x'

glow."

"Here we go again." Solley got up. "I need a shower." She fl ung past Marsha as she stomped out of the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Marsha dropped a bundle of newspapers, mail, and purchases on the counter.

"I have no idea, but I caught Sol in the sand dunes with a woman yesterday," Janie said. "I was going to tell you after I'd talked to her fi rst. Guess that ain't gonna happen."

"No s.h.i.t. Who was it? What were they up to?"

"Looked like a photographer, and they were grinding away back to front like humping ponies."

"Aw, f.u.c.k. It has to be Sniper Jones. She's such a little s.h.i.t." Marsha groaned.

"Well, she better not screw around with my sister." Janie fl ared, recognizing the notorious paparazzi's name. "Solley's very vulnerable at the moment. I wanted her to have a little fun a 121 a this vacation, to build up her self-esteem, but not with someone like Sniper. If she hurts my sister, I swear I'll bury her so deep in those dunes an archaeologist couldn't fi nd her."

"Poor Gin." Marsha set about making fresh coffee.

"Why? What's it got to do with her?"

Marsha sighed. "I wasn't going to tell you this, but Gin's sweet on your sister. The whole family thing hit her hard in the heart."

Janie blew a long, low whistle. "Then it's a good thing Sol didn't take my advice and chase her."

"You told her to hit on Gin? Now? In her state of mind?"

"Why not? They both need to get laid. But Sol's so f.u.c.ked up at the moment maybe it would be better if she fools around with a tramp like Sniper." She pa.s.sed her coffee mug to her lover. "Oh, and I'll take that newspaper, too."

"Oh yeah? And does Madame want me to carry her out to the veranda and fan her with a palm frond while she reads?"

"Madame wants you to stop being a smarta.s.s and load the dishwasher...then come out and fan her with a palm frond." She took the LA Times from her partner and fi shed out the entertainment section. Spreading it fl at on the table, she gasped, "Oh, my G.o.d."

The entertainment section was to Gin and Marsha what The Wall Street Journal was to a stockbroker: all the idle gossip, deals, and news that could make or break the players, big and small alike. Janie was also addicted. Where else could you read the juicy details of a lurid celebrity divorce alongside the showstoppers and show-fl oppers? But the last sensational cheating spouse expose was nothing compared to the headline that leapt from today's front page.

a 122 a ALL NOT ROSY IN KELLY'S LOVE BED, the main banner screamed. A smaller headline underneath declared, "Mystery Woman Replaces Kelly Rose as Ito's Love Interest."

Janie stared in horror at a huge photo of Gin striding across the sand, a tearful Della perched on her hip. Solley was holding Gin's hand, and Will trailed behind them wearing the pirate's patch he refused to give up. Next to him marched a bandaged Jed. The photo was cropped to suggest an intimate family unit, a celebrity family no less, but a tightly unifi ed one, pushing through a crowded beach toward sanctuary.

"c.r.a.p," breathed Marsha.

"There's more." Janie thumbed over the page.

There, etched against a beautiful sunset, was Solley, her hair shining in a luciferous halo. She grinned casually at an arm-fl ailing, mouth-gaping Kelly Rose, caught in a frozen fall off the old jetty into the waters of the bay. A companion pic showed a bedraggled, screeching Kelly standing waist-deep in water, her wet blouse clinging revealingly to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, while Solley strolled straight toward the camera with a truly evil dominatrix grin. The sleazy layout looked like a poster advert for a lesbo p.o.r.n site, and probably would be by tomorrow. The caption read, ALL'S FAIR IN SHOVE AND WAR!

"No wonder she left early." Marsha grabbed another newspaper from the stack and found the entertainment section.

This time the editor had run amok in Photoshop. A picture of Kelly and Gin hugging during the award presentation was cut away to a shot of Solley with her hands on her hips, glaring as though she was watching them in a jealous rage. Then came the "revenge" pic of Kelly's pirouette off the jetty.

"I don't believe this," Janie groaned. "She must have shot these from just outside our house. Now every crazy in the country will be camping down here." She nodded toward a 123 a the movie trailers. "Like we need another invasion." She took a deep breath and turned another page. "Please G.o.d, let it be over."

Standing in the kitchen doorway, fi nger-combing her wet hair, Solley asked, "Let what be over?"

Janie and Marsha turned sharply around. Marsha placed both hands fl at on the newspaper. At the same time, Janie tried to fold it closed. Their guilty faces spelled out the story before Solley even saw the headline. "Red head Revenge?" she read aloud.

"Someone's smart idea," Marsha scoffed. When Solley stared at her blankly, she added, "You know, we're fi lming Red Revenge 2, remember?"

But Solley had stopped listening. All she could see was her face, and her kids, splashed all over the papers. "What the h.e.l.l?" She fl ew over to the table.

"You dunked Kelly Rose?" Janie gaped at her.

"She called you a concubine." Solley attempted to justify herself. "I just gave her a little b.u.mp with my hip. Her balance is s.h.i.t."

She dragged the paper out from beneath Marsha's hands, mortifi ed. She'd been caught red-handed "a.s.saulting" the breasty icon of millions. And now she was being shamed in front of the entire nation.

"Who took all these?" she spluttered, hoping to move the blame and shame onto another.

"Your girlfriend, Sniper Jones, that's who." Marsha snorted with anger.

"Girlfriend?" came a voice from the doorway, and Gin marched into the room, freshly showered and looking gorgeous in combat shorts and a crisp white tank top. She crackled with energy, immediately focusing on the papers in Solley's hands.

"I barely know her," Solley bleated.

a 124 a "That's not what I saw out there on the dunes," Janie said in disgust.

Absolutely dumbfounded, Gin turned to Solley for clarifi cation. "What did your sister see?"

"Nothing...something she misinterpreted." Catching Janie's reaction, Solley demanded, "What? What are you implying with your rolling eyes and...and everything?"

Janie left her to fume. Slapping another paper open at a beautiful shot of Solley in her bikini top, she said, "s.l.u.t."

"Ooh," Solley cooed, momentarily distracted. She recognized one of the ream of photos Sniper had taken yesterday afternoon out on the dunes. "I look like a model."

Gin glared at her. "When did she take that one?"

Solley always thought that attack was the best means of defense at times like this. Seizing the high ground, she said, "You, of all people, should know better than to believe everything you see in a newspaper. I gave you the benefi t of the doubt when you said you haven't slept with all those other women."

"Other?" Janie turned the word over thoughtfully.

"I told you," Marsha informed her, while rolling her eyes at Gin in halfhearted apology.

With a smug little grin, Janie began reading the article aloud. "Kelly Rose should know better than to loosen her tight leash on aclose friend' Gin Ito. The mystery woman seen at Gin's side during fi lming this week is thought to be a former Playboy model and now suburban mom-" She broke off, casting an accusatory look at Solley. "Playboy? You never told me-"

"Because it never happened." Solley stated the obvious.

"That's bulls.h.i.t. They're just making it up."

She tried to meet Gin's eyes, to rea.s.sure her, but Gin looked away. What's her f.u.c.king problem? Solley thought. It a 125 a wasn't as if she'd dragged Sniper down to the beach and said, "Hey, would ya shoot me making out with my secret lover, and while you're at it slap it all over the national papers on the eve of my custody fi ght." Ms. But-I'm-a-Samurai, with her great career and her groupies and awards, didn't know what a real problem was.

"Wait, there's more." Janie fl ipped the page.

The explosive banner read, IT'S HOT HOT HOT ON THE BEACH! Solley's blood ran cold, then hot, hot, hot. Two photos jumped out at her. The fi rst was atmospherically shot due to lack of light. It featured her and Gin on the moonlit deck the fi rst time they'd kissed. Gin was fl at on her back, her beautiful profi le raised in ecstasy to the moon, her back arched and her shirt unb.u.t.toned. Solley was draped over her, head buried in her naked torso. There was no doubt that she was kissing Gin's b.r.e.a.s.t.s, even if they couldn't be seen directly through the curtain of her hair. The image was so erotic it looked staged .

Another one for the p.o.r.no sites, she thought glumly. When would this misery end?

The second photo showed Gin perched on the top railing of the veranda, looking incredibly roguish with a beer bottle in one hand and the other wedged in the panty line of a smiling Solley. She simpered at the handsome stunt woman as she happily accepted the grope. Oh, s.h.i.t. I do look like a concubine.

"You trollop," Janie spluttered.

"I knew you guys were getting it on." Marsha laughed.

She had the audacity to try a high fi ve with Gin.

Looking too stunned to reciprocate, Gin said, "Oh, my G.o.d. She's been spying on us."

"No kidding." Solley's face burned with shame.

"Well, I hope you're enjoying turning my home into a brothel." Janie harangued her. "Just how many f.u.c.ks have you a 126 a been enjoying on your quote unquote family holiday for rest and recuperation?"

"Don't you dare talk to me like that in front of my children," Solley cried. Though they were well out of earshot, she thought she'd play the moral indignation card.

"Now you're worried about your kids?" Janie shook the paper vehemently at her. "Open your eyes and look at the paper. It's a bit late to worry now."

The shrill of the phone added to the general alarm.

Solley automatically reached out, if only to stop its incessant ringing.

"Don't. It'll be the press." Marsha said.

But it was too late. The phone was at Solley's ear.

"h.e.l.lo, Rayner-Bren residence," she said. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, Solley. You can tell me why my children are in chunks and the Karate Kid has her hand in my wife's pants,"

demanded Dan.

a 127 a a 128 a

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

Dan's Beemer had no sooner glided to a halt before the veranda when the kids bounded down to greet her, squealing in excitement. Solley hung back on the steps with an anxious Janie.

"I've got a broken wrist," Jed announced.

"Sharks nearly ate me." Della raised her arms and nestled into Dan, who swung her into a tight hug.

Will pointed to his patch. "I've only one eye."