Free Falling for a Stranger by Barbara Freethy Page A

changed her name?" Aiden asked, concern entering his eyes. "She sounds like trouble, Drew, and you don't usually go looking for trouble. That's my department."
    "Well, you're getting married, so someone has to pick up the slack," he said lightly.
    "She's on the run," Burke interjected. "No one changes their name unless they're trying to hide."
    "I agree," Drew said. "I'm hoping to get more information when I see her tomorrow."
    "You're seeing her again?" Burke asked with a frown. "Is that smart?"
    "Maybe not. But I have her necklace, and I want to give it back to her."
    "You want to see her again, because you aren't ready to let her go," Aiden said. "You're hung up on her."
    "I'm curious," he said, knowing that the word didn't begin to explain his complicated feelings towards Ria.
    "My advice is to give her the necklace and say goodbye," Burke said.
    "Or you could give her the necklace, sleep with her again, and then say goodbye," Aiden put in, a sparkle in his eyes. "Get her out of your system."
    He liked Aiden's advice a lot better than Burke's, but he doubted Ria would get back into bed with him when at the moment she didn't even want to talk to him.
    "I'm going to order some nachos; I'm hungry," Aiden said. "I'll be right back."
    As Aiden walked over to the bar, Drew turned to Burke. His older brother seemed lost in thought. "Everything okay, Burke?"
    His brother shifted in his seat. "Yeah."
    Silence fell between them. Drew wanted to say something, but he'd always had a harder time connecting to Burke than to Aiden. Burke was so much more closed off. He kept everything inside. And he'd gotten more distant since he'd lost his fiancé in a fiery car wreck. And unlike Ria, Hailey couldn't come back from the dead.
    "I'm sorry," he said.
    "About what?" Burke asked.
    "Hailey."
    Burke drew in a sharp breath and his eyes darkened. "I don't want to talk about Hailey. Why would you bring her up now?"
    "This situation I'm in, discovering someone isn't dead, must remind you—"
    "Everything reminds me of Hailey," Burke said, cutting him off.
    "I understand."
    Silence followed his words, then Burke said, "You need to be careful Drew. This woman didn't want to talk to you today, and she ran away from you the first time you saw her. You've never had any patience for liars or fakes, and she seems to be both."
    He frowned at his brother's assessment. "You don't know her."
    "It doesn't sound like you know her, either."
    "I thought I did."
    "After one night of sex?"
    "I know it sounds crazy, but we had a connection that was more than physical. And I need to know what happened on the island. I haven't slept in a year and a half because of her. She's not out of my life until she answers my questions," he said with determination.
    "All right. I hope you like the answers."
    "So do I."
    "Look what I got," Aiden said, appearing back at the table with a heaping plate of chips, cheese and peppers. "Dig in."
    As they ate nachos and ordered another round of beers, the conversation drifted into other channels: the boat, the upcoming sailboat races, and finally to Aiden's wedding plans.
    "Do you have a date yet?" Drew asked as he washed down the last chip with a swig of beer.
    Aiden nodded. "August second, some church in the Presidio, and I forget where the reception is."
    "Don't let Sara hear you say that," Burke said dryly.
    "I won't," Aiden said with a grin. "Sara and Emma are having a fantastic time planning stuff, and the good thing about a double wedding is that I don't have to be involved. Sara goes to Em for advice on flowers and cakes. And vice versa. Max and I just sit back and say yes."
    "Not bad," Drew said with a nod.
    "Is Sara's dad happy about calling you his son-in-law?" Burke asked. "As I recall, he wasn't one of your bigger fans when you were growing up."
    Drew was curious to hear Aiden's answer. It was no secret that Aiden's father-in-law- to-be, Steven Davidson, had never been friendly to any of the Callaways. The families had lived