each other down her spine.
"Kitty Wilder, I'm going to kill you."
She turned slowly. "Isn't this where you came in?"
He crossed his arms over his chest. "A lot has happened since I returned. All of which gives you no right to do this without talking to me first."
She swallowed. "We already talked." More talking was exactly what might get her to confess she loved him, and then she'd never make it out of Hot Water. She shifted her gaze away from him. "You signed for the divorce."
If he asked her to stay, to continue their affair, to be his lover, she'd say yes. It was just that simple. And simply unthinkable for a woman who had sought to be conventional her entire life.
The couple in front of her moved forward and she did too, hoping Dylan would take the hint and leave her alone to get their divorce.
"Kitty." He stepped into line beside her.
"I don't have anything more to add," she said, staring at the sunburned neck of the young man in front of her. Then she darted Dylan a glance. Okay, so there was one safe thing to discuss. "Except I'm happy for you that you're coming back. It's where you belong."
"I have you to thank for my decision," he replied quietly. "The things you said made me see myself more clearly. I also have to apologize for what I said to you this morning."
"That's okay." She cleared her throat. "And you're welcome." The line moved forward once again. There were three couples ahead of her. An awkward silence settled between her and Dylan.
"So," he finally said, his voice degrees lighter and more friendly, "exactly how does this divorce business work?"
She gave him a suspicious look, but his expression was unreadable. "Oh. Well." It certainly couldn't be disappointment that stabbed her right through the heart. "You signed, I signed. Judge Tierney will sign, date-stamp the certificate, then send it off to the state capital." She patted the pocket of her dress.
"Sounds easy enough."
Her throat felt clogged. She cleared it again. "Yes, well, a hundred dollars and that official Hot Water stamp and we'll..." Her heart dipped toward her knees.
"Kitty?"
Heat flared on her cheeks. "I just thought ... I just remembered. The hundred dollars. I don't have my purse, just the certificate." He'd think she planned this! He'd suppose she was reluctant to get the divorce!
"No problem," he said easily. "I'll loan you the hundred bucks." He slipped his hand into his back pocket and withdrew his wallet.
"Oh. Um, thank you." The line moved forward again. Two more marriages and she'd be a divorced woman.
"A divorcee," Dylan mused, as if he'd read her mind. "Sounds pretty racy, you know. Not half bad for a halfhearted Wilder."
Covering a wince, she made an agreeable sound.
His voice turned silky and gentle. "So where are you going when you leave Hot Water?"
Her attention focused on the second-to-the-last couple who were almost "married," she didn't even think before she spoke. "Seattle. I have a friend who'll give me a job."
"Male friend? Woman friend?"
She stared at him. "Wait. How did you know - ? Never mind. Woman friend."
"Ah." His expression didn't change as the two people before them stepped up to the cashier, and then to the gazebo.
Kitty's heart pounded. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the marriage certificate, looking down at it instead of looking at Dylan. On the front was his "wedding" signature, as dark and beautiful as he'd been that night. Hers looked rounder, softer, more uncertain.
The girl who had sent it off had been unsure of so many things. Except that she loved Dylan. Kitty stared at the piece of parchment and admitted to herself one final truth that she'd buried all these years. With Dylan already gone from Hot Water, she'd sent off the certificate with the hope that making their marriage legal would bring him back. To her.
His breath landed on her neck as he peered over her shoulder. She pretended not to notice. "I sent it to Sacramento and then they sent it back to me once the marriage was registered with the state," she said to fill up the silence.
When he didn't reply, she looked up.
And nearly shrieked. He wasn't looking at the certificate but at her face, his dark, deep-set eyes untroubled, yet intent. Kitty swallowed. "What is it?"
One of his eyebrows rose. "Are you sure this is what you want to do, Kitty?"
No. Yes. No! Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she glanced back.