Chapter One

Catherine MacPherson's first impulse, when the doorbell rang, was to ignore it. She wasn't feeling particularly sociable.

Self-pity, on the other hand, was such an unattractive trait, and one that filled her with guilt-in spite of the permission she'd given herself to take one full day to wallow in her misfortune. The doorbell pealed again, relentlessly, insistently, and in the end, years of self-discipline won out. She went to answer the summons.

The last person she expected to see on her front steps was her identical twin. "Kaylee," she said blankly, and simply stood there for an instant, staring dumbfounded at her sister.

"Surprise!" Kaylee exclaimed in the breathy contralto she'd perfected when they were fifteen years old. With the shoulder strap of her purse sliding down her arm, her suitcase ricocheting off the doorjamb, breasts jiggling, she tripped into the foyer. Dropping luggage and handbag, she flung herself at Catherine, enveloping her in a lush and fragrant embrace.

Catherine's arms automatically closed around her sister to return the hug, but she couldn't suppress the little voice in her brain that whispered, Uh-oh. I smell big trouble in River City. Patting Kaylee's shoulder, she disentangled herself from the embrace and stepped back.

Kaylee's gaze took in the foyer and she peered into the living room, then looked back at Catherine, one eyebrow sardonically quirked. "Ever the Suzy Spotless, I see," she commented with lazy amusement. "A place for everything, and everything in its place."

It was like having a bruise poked with a careless finger, and Catherine replied stiffly, "Actually, it's much neater than usual. I was supposed to leave for