Big X, little x, question mark, dot. The child's rhyme runs through Lucas Sinclair's mind. He can still feel the light play of his sister's fingers across his back, dancing along to the words. Unsettling, considering his twin, Laurie, had been abducted fifteen years earlier and never heard from again.

Ocean breeze, little squeeze. In a small, ocean-side cottage that shouldn't be filled with memories, Lucas attempts to start a new life. It's harder than he expects to move on. Indications are that Laurie has returned and isn't the carefree child she used to be.

With a therapist trying to help him, and a private investigator who can't seem to let go of the past, Lucas confronts his demons. He's not sure where his sexy next-door neighbor fits in, but Tristan Conner seems to know a lot more than he's telling. Someone is terrorizing Lucas. Can it really be Laurie-or worse yet, one of the three men he's come to trust?

Excerpt:

"After a few weeks, my father went back to work. People still looked for Laurie when they could, maybe fifty showed up that second weekend, and a handful the third. Then it was just over. Most people's lives slowly fell back into place, and they seemed relieved for it. But it wasn't over for us. Laurie was in my mother's every waking thought, and she was all we talked about in the evenings."

"No fooling?" Lucas swiped at an errant tear. "I did the same thing. Small world, huh?"

"Oh, yeah." Tristan nodded. "You ready for more coffee?"

Lucas raised his cup. "A refill would be great. This has gone cold."

"I'll get us both some more." Tristan took the cup and stood, grabbing his own before going inside.

"I guess I'm talking too much," Lucas called after him. "Sorry."

Tristan returned with two steaming mugs. "Why would you be sorry? I asked, didn't I? I want to know everything I can about you."

"I got that." Lucas accepted the cup. "I'm just not sure why."

Sitting so their knees touched, Tristan playfully knocked his against Lucas's. "Apparently I haven't done a very good job of expressing my interest in you. I'm attracted to you, sexy. I figured getting to know one another was the usual first step. Not that I'd object to falling into bed as the first step, but last night you led me to believe you weren't that kind of guy. Like it might take some wooing to get you to that point."

Lucas laughed. "Wooing? Are you for real? I've never been 'wooed' in my life."

"Then you've been hanging out with the wrong crowd, handsome. Someone like you deserves to be wooed up one side and down the other."

Cock on the rise, Lucas sighed. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested. But he'd just had sex with Eli the day before. How slutty will it make me to sleep with Tristan? And who, exactly, would care? It had only been sex. He hadn't made a commitment to his former lover. Former lover. The words suited Eli today. Lucas was ready to move on, and Tristan seemed like a fabulous place to start. He batted his lashes at the dark-haired man. "I might be up for a good 'wooing'."

"Praise the Lord!" Tristan exclaimed and stood. "If I had to sit here convincing you any longer, my jeans would have burst." He thrust out his hips suggestively.

Lucas saw the outline of Tristan's thick erection. His cock twitched again, making his own jeans uncomfortably tight. "Wouldn't want that to happen." He stood, glancing down at his own bulge. "Believe me, I know the feeling." He took a step, bringing his faces mere inches from Tristan's. "Shall we go inside and see what we can do about all this tight clothing?"

Tristan grinned. "I know exactly what to do. Come on. I'll show you."