Chapter One

"Why is my life so damn complicated?" Victoria asked herself as she steered her car past her circular driveway, toward the car pad in the back. She turned off the engine and sat for a few minutes, reflecting on the last twelve hours of her day. Work and men, not necessarily in that order, had thoroughly wrecked her nerves.

She grabbed her handbag, leather attaché, and umbrella from the passenger seat, took a deep breath, and readied herself for the cold Atlanta rain that had been falling all day. Looking overhead at the evening sky, Victoria could see that it was just as unsettled as her mood. She stuck out one leg, planting her size-nine, black Ferragamo onto the cold, wet pavement. "Damnit, it's days like this that I wish I'd never turned the garage into a home gym," she cursed, quickly pushing her umbrella open as she made a mad dash for the door. She fumbled with her key until it slid into the lock.

"Home sweet home," she said out loud. Each time Victoria walked through her door she felt an immediate sense of comfort. After patiently saving money, buying high-end furniture, scouring antique stores, and then garnering her treasured finds in a storage unit she'd rented, Victoria had finally found her dream home. This month made one year since Sherry Smith, realtor extraordinaire, had led her to 1701 Summerset Lane.

"Sherry, this house is beautiful!" Victoria had marveled, pulling her long black hair behind her ear as she and Sherry approached the large Tudor-style house.

"I came by first thing this morning to check