Blazing Midsummer Nights. Leslie Kelly

whistles, catcalls and, of course, the obligatory bed reference. Mimi shot a heated glance at her landlady, obviously wondering—as was Xander—if she’d been set up. But he didn’t see how she could have been, considering she’d dug the cookie out of a huge box and all the other fortunes read so far had been normal.

      The laughter and whispers died pretty quickly this time. Everyone was curious. Because, not only was Mimi’s cookie filled with more than one fortune, but they also seemed to be related. And to have a very pointed, deliberate theme.

      Dimitri’s hand tightened on Mimi’s shoulder, and she turned her head to look up at him. They shared a smile that, to everyone at the party, looked tender and romantic. The sort of smile lovers share.

      They weren’t lovers. Not yet. But hell, every one of these fortunes she was reading seemed to hint they were about to take that step. That shared smile seemed to confirm it.

      Some emotion hit him hard in the chest. Xander recognized it immediately: regret. This was the wrong time and place. She’d already made her choice. A day ago, before she’d made up her mind to lure the other guy into bed, maybe Xander would have had a chance with her. Now? It was too damn late.

      His mouth tight and his jaw tighter, he began to back away, wanting to exit the party unnoticed. He’d taken his shot—as much of one as he could take, anyway—and recognized the truth. Whatever might have happened between him and Mimi Burdette just wasn’t meant to be.

      Which meant it was time to go. He would melt out of her night as quietly and stealthily as he’d entered it.

      But before he walked through the back door into the house, he heard her announce she was going to read the third fortune. Something made him wait and listen, nearly hidden in the shadows of the house.

      Mimi studied the slip in silence. Lifting her eyes, she looked around as if searching for someone. He watched her, unnoticed, unseen, soon to be forgotten. Then, clearing her throat, she read her third and final fortune.

      “‘The man of your dreams will slip away unless you have the courage to go after him.’”

      THE PARTY WOUND DOWN at around midnight. As the minutes ticked by, the lawn emptied, and Dimitri came up to thank Anna and say good-night, Mimi realized something—she’d completely forgotten she had intended to seduce this man tonight. She hadn’t just put the thought out of her mind because she couldn’t evaluate how she felt about it, but had actually forgotten entirely. Which sure didn’t say much for how excited she was about the prospect of going to bed with him.

      So it was a good thing she wouldn’t be.

      She just couldn’t. Not after that kiss from another man. Not after the hours she’d spent reliving that kiss, to the point where she’d gotten lost in the middle of more than one party conversation.

      “Good night. Thank you again,” Dimitri said, gracious, as always.

      “You’re very welcome,” Anna replied with a faint smile.

      Mimi walked him to the gate, their arms linked, their steps perfectly matched. She’d noticed before that they always fell into step together, an easy synchronicity that spoke of familiarity and comfort. Heck, maybe that was why she wasn’t brokenhearted about not going to bed with him tonight. Maybe they were too