“Say something quick,” he said, clearly wanting her to distract him.

“Time to limbo?” she said weakly.

He shook his head, as if that wasn’t a good enough distraction.

She stepped back. “The point is, you look like Fun Guy. Scott will so approve of Fun Guy.”

“Yeah?” He stepped closer.

“And Jane!” she blurted, realizing that was the way to go. “Jane will love Fun Guy.”

“Jane?” He looked puzzled for a second. “She’d be surprised, for sure.”

“So ask her out when you get back.”

“There’s no point to that.”

“She broke up with you because you weren’t any fun, but now you are. She’ll give you another chance, I’m sure.”

“What if I don’t want that?”

“Sure you do. Talk to her. You gave up too soon.”

He didn’t say anything, just held her gaze. He had too much pride, probably, to admit he wanted Jane back.

Whatever. The idea that Matt was taken felt like a life raft to her. She never messed with taken guys.

Of course it was ridiculous that she needed more of a reason to stay clear than that Matt was her boss and sleeping with him might kill her promotion, but a little insurance never hurt, right?

IT WAS A LIE, MATT knew-not telling Candy he no longer wanted to be with Jane. But it could solve his problem.

He’d no sooner apologized to Candy for the sex, babbling on about his higher duty as a manager, than he’d been ready to haul her back to his place for more, like some randy caveman.

What the hell was wrong with him? He’d never read the SyncUp policy on fraternization, but he knew for certain that a manager sleeping with someone he supervised was a bad idea.

Moreover, Matt needed everyone’s respect while he was organizing his department and he certainly didn’t want to give Scott a reason to doubt his choice of Matt for VP.

Whatever it took to keep clear of her: If the idea of Jane made Candy step back, then he had a shred of hope he could control himself. No decent guy went after a new woman when he wanted to reconcile with his ex, right?

Around Candy, he felt pretty damn indecent. Now he was walking her to her beach house for a bikini with more give. He hoped to hell that didn’t mean more bare skin.

Too late, he realized his sister was likely to be inside. Ellie would definitely pick up the energy between them.

In self-defense, he put his shirt back on, just as Candy opened the door to music and the roar of a blender. Ellie was in the kitchen making drinks, while another woman hunched over a laptop, a cell phone at her ear. She waved at them, talking into the phone.

“Hey, guys,” Ellie called from the kitchen, then bent down to peer at them from beneath the cabinets. “Omigod!” She hurried out to stare at him, hands to her cheeks in pretend shock. “What happened to you?”

Ellie herself had gone through some kind of transformation. She’d changed her hair and makeup so that she looked softer, more like the Ellie she’d been before she got into her Queen of the Damned phase.

“What have you done with my brother, Candy?” she demanded.

“Meet Fun Guy,” Candy said with a sweep of her arm.

Ellie walked all around him. “I can’t believe how different you look! No glasses. New hair. New clothes.”

“Thanks,” Matt said. “I like your new look, too.”

She grabbed her hair self-consciously. “It was for the audition. It feels…funny.”

“It looks great,” Candy added.

“How did you get Matt to do this? I’ve been nagging him to lose the glasses for years. What did you say? What did you do? Never mind. Too personal. I don’t want to know.”

“Oh, stop,” Matt said. “She updated my look so Scott will see me as more, I don’t know, social? Hip?” He shrugged.

“Whatever,” Ellie said. “I’ve never seen you in a shirt this loud.” She gave Candy a salaam. “I bow before you, O Queen of Makeovers.”

“It’s nothing,” Candy said.

“Oh, yes it is. Doesn’t he look great, Sara?” Ellie asked. “I’m going to get us all something to toast with.” She headed for the kitchen.

“You look very nice, Matt.” The woman had put down her phone and joined them. She smiled, telling him she knew how over-the-top Ellie could be. “I’m Sara.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Matt said, shaking Sara’s hand. “I believe I’ve seen you at the coffee shop?”

She nodded.

“With a phone glued to her ear,” Candy said. “Sara’s always working.”

“I’m with Anderson Title. On the tenth floor.”

“Except on this trip she’s supposed to be relaxing.”

“Now stop right there,” Sara said. “Not only did I sign up for the surfing competition, I asked Drew for lessons.”

“You didn’t! You did? Oh, that’s great.” Candy lunged forward to hug her friend, who did look a bit buttoned-down to be a surfer.

“And you and Drew…?” Candy asked breathlessly.

“Let’s just say we’ll be doing the photo scavenger hunt together.” Sara went pink and Matt wanted to escape. He hadn’t been trapped in a girl-talk session since Ellie was in high school.

“This is great,” Candy said. “Isn’t this great, Ellie?”

“That’s why we’re celebrating.”

Ellie handed a margarita to Sara, then extended one to Candy, who shook her head. “We need our wits about us to do well in the limbo contest.”

Plus, he needed every inhibition he could muster to override his attraction to Candy. He’d already seen the effect alcohol had on him.

“We’re also celebrating because Ellie got the part!” Sara said. “She’s an extra on Sin on the Beach.”

“That’s fabulous!” Candy hugged Ellie.

“Plus,” Sara said, leaning in, “she connected with Bill Romero again and they’re getting together tonight. For the scavenger hunt…and later.”

Matt’s ears perked. “Bill Romero? Is that the guy who used to live next door? The one you spied on all the time?”

Ellie slugged his arm. “I was only twelve and I was smitten. Now I can actually get words out.” She abruptly looked twelve again, with a light in her eyes he’d never seen when she spoke about a guy. He felt a surge of happiness and hope. Maybe Ellie would let this guy in, allow someone to take care of her for a change. With all his heart, he hoped for her happiness.

“So, we’ve all got partners for the festival contests,” Candy said. “Now we’ve got a serious chance to win.”

So they were partners, huh? He wondered if Candy would tell her friends what had really happened between them. Before he’d gotten to know her, he’d have been positive she’d dish every detail, but now he’d seen her quiet, thoughtful side.

The more time he spent with her, the more he liked her. Which wasn’t particularly helpful.

“Let me show y’all where we stand on the competition,” Sara said, returning to her laptop. “With Ellie on the TV show and with what Candy and Matt earned already, we’ve got a good start. Ellie came up with a name for us. Team Java Mamas. Isn’t it perfect? Considering Dark Gothic Roast and all.”

“I love it,” Candy said. They all looked over Sara’s shoulder at the screen, where she clicked into a spreadsheet listing events, potential points and points earned.

“You’re serious about this,” Matt said, trying not to bury his nose in Candy’s hair.

“Oh, Sara’s serious about everything,” Ellie said.

“You all will enjoy this when we win, so no bitching,” Sara said. “Assuming we do well enough to make the finals, we’ll need a killer essay.”

“And Candy’s our ace in the hole on that,” Ellie said. “Isn’t Candy amazing, Matt?” Ellie dug in with her gaze. “Do you know how lucky you are to have her?” She paused. “At SyncUp, I mean.”

“I do. Yes.” He glanced at her.

“I’m just part of the team,” Candy said, flushing. Her vulnerability touched him. For someone so socially confident, she was surprisingly insecure about her work. He wanted to help her with that if he could, without getting too personal.

“What about the freak-dancing contest?” Ellie asked, pointing at the screen. “Matt, what do you think?”