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Greg, someone who she dated, kissed and even had sex with, but he would never touch her heart. He was safe, predictable and dependable.
    “Maybe you are drunk.” She turned so his lips landed on her cheek.
    He planted a chaste kiss on her cheek. Anyone looking would assume it was a friendly peck. Despite her brush-off, he didn’t release her. He looped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her against his side. “You sure about that?” he asked, and she knew he didn’t mean his level of inebriation.
    She sighed and stepped out of the embrace. “If I said, ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ would that make a difference?”
    He let her go and leaned up against the wall. It was a shame she couldn’t be attracted to him, but she liked Danny too much to lie to him like that.
    “I heard you and Greg broke up. I didn’t like that guy.” His mouth screwed up as if he’d tasted something foul.
    “Yeah, not many people did, I’m finding out.” She leaned against the wall next to him and watched one of the partygoers shamble past with a lampshade on his head. It merited only a slightly lifted eyebrow since she’d seen that done before.
    “I always thought you and that Casey guy would end up together.”
    “Carey,” she corrected automatically.
    “Yeah, what about him?” Danny sipped his beer and stared down at her.
    Elise tracked her other roommate Shannon as she tried to walk a straight line across the room. She hadn’t seen their third roommate yet, but knowing Amanda, she was already locked in her bedroom with her latest boyfriend.
    “We’re friends,” she said, the word stabbing her heart.
    “No you aren’t.”
    Rolling her eyes, she glanced at Danny. “What? Is everyone an expert on my love life except me? I just had this conversation with Lou.”
    He tossed his head back and laughed. “That’s funny, because Lou and I talked about it a few nights ago.”
    Irritated, she pushed off the wall and faced him. “Then why did you try to kiss me?”
    He smiled sheepishly. “Can’t blame a guy for trying? Anyways, that guy’s good people. I talked to him a couple weeks ago about the possibility of working with him on something for Adventures. He wants to try to involve more of the community, bring in more revenue. I like him.”
    That was Carey. He saw something bright and shiny and he toyed with it. His head was full of ideas. Most of the time he talked them out to her, and she was jealous that he’d shared that one with Danny. Carey wanted to get Allen to allow them to coordinate more experienced tours. Getting the cooperation of the reservation was a step in that direction. But what was he playing at? Allen had shot down the few ideas she’d thrown at him, and she’d been around a lot longer than Carey.
    “You know everyone wants to see you happy. Me included. If this guy makes you happy…” His voice trailed off and he shrugged. “I’m going to head home.” He passed her his half-empty beer. “Finish that off for me, will you?”
    She nodded and rolled the bottle in her hand. There was something seriously messed up with her when a man as good-looking as Danny made a pass at her and she shot him down. But he didn’t excite her like Carey did. Danny would make a good partner, he’d want family dinners and a stable life. She’d never been good at stable, preferring the oftentimes demanding and exciting chance of the unknown.
    So why didn’t she take a chance on Carey? She loved him and she stood to have her heart broken someday. But she’d been through enough breaks in her life to know she could heal. She was tough enough to take him on.
    * * * * *
     
    Elise operated on autopilot. The last few hours were a blur. Probably because her brain had checked out when she’d decided to follow her gut instead. She parked her Jeep in front of Carey’s shed, a short distance from his house.
    The trees blanketed out the sky, creating a cathedral over her head. Here and there she could catch a glimpse of