Up in Flames Read Free Page A

outrageous. Zane wasn’t complaining. The higher the prices and the value of the real estate, the richer the celebrities who chose to live here. And rich celeb residents meant that money flew around as thick as snowflakes in January. It was that surplus that supported local businesses like his landscape design company and the downtown specialty shop run by one of Sophie’s sisters.
    The local economy was thriving, good enough for even a Thorson to make a living. There were plenty of jobs available in retail, restaurants, and lodging. Just not, apparently, in entomology.
    He gave an amused huff—a Ph.D. in entomology. Typically elitist, exactly what he should have expected from Sophie Larkin. A degree that in Barringer’s Pass was good for only one thing—making others feel inferior.
    It wouldn’t work on him. Never again. Yesterday he proved he could talk to Sophie and know he was every bit as good as she was. It was something else entirely that made her dangerous to be around. It was the fact that, no matter how much he hated her, he still wanted her. Badly. He should have gotten it out of his system, but having had her for one night just meant his fantasies were that much more accurate.
    And distracting. He’d have to get over that.
    Leaving the commercial strip of stores that lined the center of the valley, he pulled into a generic-looking restaurant on the other side of Elkhorn Creek, the side not frequented by tourists. He preferred mixing with tourists who didn’t know him and had no grudge against anyone named Thorson, but his best friend liked this place. Will was already there ordering breakfast when Zane walked in. Zane added his order and settled into the other side of the booth.
    “You left the reception early,” Will said. “Did you hook up with someone?”
    “No. I didn’t know anyone there but you and Tracy.”
    “I saw you talking to Sophie Larkin.”
    He snorted in wry amusement. “Except her. I’d been hoping to avoid her.”
    “Sister of the bride,” Will said, pausing to flash a smile and a quick thank-you at the waitress as she brought their coffee, slid a wary look at Zane, and left again. “You had to know she’d be there.”
    Of course he’d known. He’d hardly been aware of anything else, constantly scanning the crowd for a woman with short blond hair. When he hadn’t spotted her, he’d been relieved, ignoring a vague pang of disappointment. The rich fall of long brown hair had taken him by surprise. “She looked different last time I saw her.”
    “When was that?”
    “Ten years ago.”
    Will studied him as he sipped the steaming coffee. “You two have a thing?”
    “Sort of.” Sort of an intense, mind-blowing thing that still haunted him. “It didn’t end well.”
    “Huh. I don’t remember you being with her.”
    “It didn’t last long.” And it hadn’t been the kind of relationship you talked about with your friends. Hey, I just figured out what girls mean when they talk about soul mates and all that shit. Because it’s not really shit, and the right girl can rock your world clean off its axis. Like he’d ever say that out loud. “Did you guys stay long?” he asked, trying to change the subject.
    “Yeah, Tracy likes to dance. I think it’s going to ruin our relationship.”
    Zane chuckled, then moved his elbows off the table to make room for the plate of eggs and hash browns the waitress set in front of him. They were quiet for the next couple of minutes as each put a large dent in his breakfast. He thought Will had dropped the subject until he asked, “So, what’s Sophie doing these days?”
    “She just finished a doctorate in entomology.”
    “Cool. The Larkin girls were all smart. Where’s she work?”
    “No place, yet.” He chewed a forkful of eggs, debating whether to tell him. Smug satisfaction with himself won out. “I offered her a job.”
    Will laughed. “Doing what, moving rocks? Driving a dozer? Like she’d do that.”
    “She starts