Thunder Canyon Homecoming / A Thunder Canyon Christmas: Thunder Canyon Homecoming. RaeAnne Thayne

under his spell, and she was already halfway there.

      He dipped his head toward her, his dark eyes sparkling with a hint of playfulness. “So tell me, are your toes black and blue yet?”

      “You know they’re not,” she said.

      He grinned, and again her breath caught. Damn. The man’s smile was a seriously dangerous weapon.

      “So why do you sound annoyed?” he teased.

      “I’m not annoyed,” she denied.

      But she was wary.

      Corey could see that in her eyes. And he couldn’t blame her. She was probably used to being hit on by guys who wanted nothing more than to get naked with her, and although Corey wouldn’t deny that idea appealed to him, he was trying not to objectify the woman who was obviously a close friend of his new sister-in-law.

      Sister-in-law.

      The word echoed in his mind, made him shake his head.

      Erin raised a brow.

      “I was just thinking about the fact that I’m dancing with the most beautiful woman at my brother’s wedding,” he answered the unspoken query, “which made me realize that Dillon is actually married.”

      “Is he one of those guys who swore it would never happen?”

      “I don’t know if I’d say that, but he and his first wife divorced after their son died and he never gave any indication that he was looking to settle down ever again. And certainly no one expected that, when he came to Thunder Canyon to fill in for Marshall at the resort, he would fall in love and become a husband and a father only a few short months later.”

      “Especially not Erika,” Erin noted.

      He chuckled. “Yeah, I think she fought against falling in love again even more than he did.”

      “She had reason to be wary.”

      “I guess she did,” he agreed. “And so did he. How about you?”

      “What about me?”

      “Why isn’t there anyone here with you tonight?”

      “I didn’t see any point in bringing a date when I would only neglect him to perform my maid-of-honor duties.”

      Which answered his question without actually telling him whether or not she was involved with anyone right now. He decided to trust the reports of the local grapevine and assume that she was currently unattached.

      But there was something else he was curious about. “You’ve known Erika for a while?”

      “Since I moved here in the summer.”

      “So why were you uncomfortable in the limo when she thanked you for standing up with her?”

      She lifted a shoulder. “Because I didn’t really do anything that required thanks.”

      “You were—are—her friend.”

      “And she’s mine.”

      He nodded. “But why—”

      Someone nudged his shoulder.

      He scowled and turned, an irritated retort on the tip of his lips until he saw that it was his cousin Dax.

      “Come on, Cor. We’ve got bottles of champagne ready to toast the bride and groom.”

      “And I’ve got a beautiful woman in my arms,” Corey pointed out to his cousin.

      “I’m not suggesting you let go of her,” Dax said and winked at Erin. “Bring her along.”

      And that was how she ended up with Corey at a table where his friends and family were gathered.

      During the time she’d been in Thunder Canyon, she’d already met most of the others at the table. The Traubs—Dax and Shandie, DJ and Allaire, and the Cates—Marshall and Mia—now back from their vacation, Mitchell and Lizabeth, Marlon and Haley and Marlon’s twin brother, Matt. Erin realized that Matt Cates was the only one not married or engaged, though he had brought Christine Mayhew as his date. Her boss, Grant Clifton, was also there with his wife, Stephanie, and Grant’s best friend, Russ Chilton, was in attendance with his spouse, Melanie. Erin had met the rest of the groom’s family at the rehearsal, but other than the parents—Claudia and Peter—she didn’t remember any of their names, and she was grateful when Corey repeated the introduction of his brothers, Ethan, Jason and Jackson, and his sister, Rose.

      Erin hovered on the periphery as glasses of champagne were passed around, thinking that she might be able to sneak away. But Corey kept an arm around her shoulders, making it clear that he had no intention of letting her go. So she stayed beside him as toasts were made and glasses refilled, and she found herself following the various conversations with avid curiosity.

      When conversation shifted to the Thanksgiving holiday, only a few weeks away, Grant remarked that he expected his mother and his sister would both return to Thunder Canyon for the occasion.

      “It’s been a long time since Elise has been in town for her birthday,” Grant said. “So I’m planning a surprise party for her while she’s here.”

      “How old is she going to be?” Erin asked.

      “Twenty-six,” her boss replied. “On the twentieth.”

      Erin paused with her glass of champagne halfway to her lips.

      Her twenty-sixth birthday was on the twentieth, too.

      It was probably nothing more than a coincidence, but a sudden startling thought occurred to her. All this time she’d been looking for a man who might have had an affair with her mother, but maybe aunt Erma had been referring to something completely different.

      Erin lowered her hand and focused her attention more intently on her boss, noticing—for the first time—that his eyes were the same blue color as her own. And that his hair was dark blond, also similar to her own. She shook her head, as if to rid it of the fanciful imaginings. But the questions that had rooted in her mind wouldn’t be easily dismissed.

      “I haven’t seen Elise since high school,” Matt remarked. “I’m not even sure if I would recognize her.”

      “I’m sure you would.” Grant reached into his back pocket for his wallet. “She hasn’t changed much.”

      Erin, who had been wondering how to ask Grant if he had any pictures of his sister, leaned closer as her boss tugged a photo out from its holder and slid it across the table toward Matt.

      “This was taken last summer,” Grant told the other man.

      Matt leaned closer to look at the photo, and Erin did, too.

      “You’re right,” Matt said. “In fact, she hasn’t changed at all.”

      Erin’s first thought was that Grant’s sister was an attractive woman—her blond hair was worn in a pageboy style that brushed her shoulders and she had pretty blue eyes and an innocence about her that made her appear younger than her years. Her second thought was that Elise didn’t look much like her brother. In fact, the shape of her eyes and her chin was more like that of her own brothers, Jake and Josh.

      She pulled back, her stomach suddenly churning, her heart pounding. The conversation continued around her, but she didn’t hear a word of it. She couldn’t think of anything but that picture of Elise.

      “More champagne?”

      “What?”

      Corey held the bottle of champagne over her glass. Erin shook her head and set her glass on the table. “I, um, I need to get some air,” she said, and slipped away from him and toward the exit.

      She hadn’t expected that he would follow her, but she’d only just pushed through the doors and barely registered the cold November wind on her bare shoulders before they were covered.