“I’ve asked you not to call them that.”

Diane blinked innocently. “Have you? I’m sorry. I keep forgetting.”

She was lying, but he didn’t call her on it. Referring to the women he dated as BGFs-short for bimbo girlfriends-was her way of showing disapproval. She complained his women were interchangeable-like fashion dolls. All physically similar, unnaturally beautiful and lacking in heart and brains. She wasn’t wrong.

What Diane couldn’t bring herself to believe was that he dated them on purpose. He wasn’t looking for more.

“She’s someone I used to know,” he said, then wished he hadn’t. Diane didn’t need the information. That part of his life had ended a long time ago.

“Really? Does she actually have a personality, or-” she waved her hands in front of her face as if to keep from fainting “-a brain? Now that you mention it, she sounded almost normal.”

“I didn’t mention it.”

“Hmm. I’m sure you did. So tell me about your mysterious past with this woman.”

“You can leave now.”

“Why is she back in Seattle? Is she nice? Would I like her? Do you like her?”

He pointed at the door.

Diane walked across his office. “So you’re saying the next time she calls to put her through, right?”

He ignored her and she left.

Matt rose, then crossed to the window. His office was at the top of an Eastside high-rise with an impressive view. His business life defined every aspect of success. He’d made it. He had everything he wanted and more-money, power, respect and no one to answer to.

Slowly, deliberately, he crumpled the note with the message from Jesse and tossed it into the trash.

DESPITE THE PROMISES of several famous poets and a couple of tear-jerker country songs, Jesse Keyes discovered it was possible to go home again, which was just her bad luck. Not that she could blame anyone for her current circumstances-she’d decided to return to Seattle all on her own. Well, okay, maybe she’d had a little help from the cute guy in her life.