of time at the Brown Estate. He'd ultimately moved to Greenwich and opened his small, exclusive architecture firm. He'd been a rock, she remembered, when Parker and Del's parents had been killed in a private plane crash. And when they'd decided to start the business, he'd been a lifesaver by designing the remodels of the pool house and guest house to accommodate the needs of the company. He was practically family.
Yes, she'd make sure to say hi before she left.
She turned with the glass of wine in her hand just as Sam made his way into the room. He was so good-looking, she thought. Tall and built, with that perpetual twinkle in his eyes. Maybe just a tiny bit studied, with his hair always perfectly styled, his clothes always exactly right, but -
"There she is. Hi, Vic." He passed Vicki a very nice bottle of cabernet - exactly the right thing - kissed her cheek, then gave Emma a warm, warm smile. "Just who I've been looking for."
He caught Emma up in an enthusiastic kiss that barely bumped the pleasant level on her scale. She managed to ease back an inch and get her free hand on his chest in case he got it into his head to kiss her again. She smiled up at him, added a friendly laugh. "Hi, Sam."
Jack, dark blond hair tousled from the evening breeze, leather jacket open over faded jeans, walked in from the deck. His eyebrows rose at Emma; his lips curved. "Hey, Em. Don't let me interrupt."
"Jack." She nudged Sam back another inch. "You know Sam, don't you?"
"Sure. How's it going?"
"Good." Sam shifted, draped his arm over Emma's shoulders. "You?"
"Can't complain." He took a chip, shoveled it into salsa. "How are things back on the farm?" he asked Emma.
"We're busy. Spring's all about weddings."
"Spring's all about baseball. I saw your mother the other day. She remains the most beautiful woman ever created."
Emma's casual smile warmed like sunlight. "True."
"She still refuses to leave your father for me, but hope springs. Anyway, see you later. Sam."
As Jack walked off, Sam shifted. Knowing the dance well, Emma shifted in turn - so she avoided being trapped between him and the counter. "I'd forgotten how many mutual friends Vicki, Adam, and I have. I know almost everyone here. I need to touch some bases. Oh, and there's someone I really want you to meet."
Cheerfully, she took Sam's hand. "You don't know my cousin, Addison, do you?"
"I don't think so."
"I haven't seen her in months. Let's track her down so I can introduce you."
She pulled him into the heart of the party.
J ACK SCOOPED UP A HANDFUL OF NUTS AND CHATTED WITH A group of friends. And watched Emma lead the Young Executive at Play through the crowd. She looked . . . freaking amazing, he thought.
Not just the sexy, sloe-eyed, curvy, golden-skinned, masses of curling hair, soft, full-lipped amazing. That was killer enough. But you had to add in the heat and light she just seemed to emanate. She made one hell of a package.
And, he reminded himself, she was his best friend's honorary sister.
In any case, it was rare to see her when she wasn't with her regular gang of girls, some of her family, surrounded by people. Or, like now, with some guy.
When a woman looked like Emmaline Grant, there was always some guy. Still, it never hurt to look. He was a man who appreciated lines and curves - in buildings and in women. In his estimation, Emma was pretty much architecturally perfect. So he popped nuts, pretended to listen to the conversation, and watched her slide and sway through the room. Looked casual, he observed, the way she'd stop, exchange greetings, pause, laugh or smile. But he'd made a kind of study of her over the years. She moved with purpose. Curiosity piqued, Jack eased away from the group, merged with another to keep her in his eyeline. The some guy - Sam - did a lot of back stroking, shoulder draping. She did plenty of smiling at him, laughing up at him from under that thicket of lashes she owned. But oh yeah, her body language - he'd made a study of her body - wasn't signaling reception.
He heard her call out Addison! and follow up with that sizzle-in-the-blood laugh of hers before she grabbed a very fine-looking blonde in a hug.
They chattered, beaming at each other the way women did, holding each other at arm's length to take