Free Shadows At Sunset by Anne Stuart Page A

golden boy had it delivered.”
    â€œReally?” Rachel-Ann’s interest perked up, and she took a tentative bite of the pizza. Her eyes closed in a moment of luxuriant bliss. “Is he as gorgeous as they say he is?”
    â€œYup.”
    â€œAre you sleeping with him?” She seemed no more than idly curious.
    â€œNo. I’ve been here every night, alone. You would have noticed if I was having an affair.”
    â€œI don’t pay much attention to those things,” Rachel-Ann said, taking another bite, and Jilly had to concede she was right. Rachel-Ann barely noticed if it was raining or sunny, she was too caught up in the foggy world she was battling to escape. Other people tended to flit through her life unnoticed. “Mmm,” she said. “If he can provide pizza like this maybe I’ll sleep with him.”
    For some reason Jilly found the notion deeply disturbing. It wasn’t as if her sister didn’t go through men like a hay-fever sufferer went through Kleenex, and while she’d remained celibate since she’d gotten out of treatment this time, it was unlikely to last. At least Coltrane would be a safer choice than some of the ones Rachel-Ann had made in the past. He wasn’t a drug dealer or an addict, as far as Jilly could tell. “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” she said in a neutral voice. “I think he’s dangerous.”
    Wrong words, Jilly thought, when Rachel-Ann’s eyes lit up with a trace of their old spark. “Dangerous, gorgeous and he brings pizza? How irresistible.”
    â€œResist him,” Jilly said sourly.
    At least Rachel-Ann didn’t bother being coy. There was no question that Coltrane would want her—most any man did. And already he’d seemed far too interested in her older sister. It was fairly easy to guess why.
    It was common knowledge that Rachel-Ann was Jackson’s favored child. An ambitious man would use that to his advantage. Jackson was clearly disappointed in his own son—maybe he needed a smart and devoted son-in-law to inherit the business. And it didn’t hurt that Rachel-Ann was sweet, beautiful and deeply wounded. She’d be dead easy to manipulate. Jackson was a past master at it, and Jilly had already seen enough of Coltrane to know he had a natural talent for it, as well.
    Rachel-Ann smiled. “I’m doing my best to resist temptation. Just how pretty is the boy?”
    â€œToo pretty,” Jilly muttered. “We don’t need to think about him or talk about him. If I have my way he won’t be coming back to La Casa, ever. It’s an easy enough matter to order pizza on our own—the phone number’s on the box. Even a cheapskate like me has her weaknesses.”
    Rachel-Ann’s answering smile was listless, and Jilly felt her heart twist.
    â€œListen, why don’t we go upstairs and watch an old movie like we used to? Something trashy and romantic and weepy?”
    â€œI’m not sure if I feel like weeping,” Rachel-Ann said. “And I’m definitely not in the mood for romance. As for trash, I’ve been living that recently and it’s no longer a vicarious pleasure.” She rose, slim and delicate and graceful as always, and Jilly tried to hide the worry that filled her.
    â€œIs there anything I can do, love?”
    Rachel-Ann simply shook her head, drifting toward the house like the ghosts she insisted she saw.
    Jilly leaned back against the stone railing, watching her go. Coltrane was right about one thing—she needed to learn to let go and let her siblings rise and fall on their own strengths. But right now Rachel-Ann looked so frail and easily crushed that only a monster could turn her back on her.
    Hi, my name is Jilly and I’m a codependent. And it breaks my goddamn heart that I can’t fix everything.
    Â 
    Rachel-Ann moved through the house carefully, keeping her eyes straight in front