But can I tell you something?”

“You can tell me anything, Nicki.”

I don’t know if her stunning revelation amounts to a game-changer, but I don’t want to take it off the table. Until six o’clock last night I had the perfect plan, then David killed himself, and now his daughter has the hots for me. I mean, who’d believe I’d wind up being loved and lusted for by both Thorne kids? It’s an ego boost for sure, but since Jessie’s looking at me with soulful eyes I need to decide how best to respond. Is it right to put her in the middle of this?

Absolutely not. But would I?

These are the tough questions you have to wrestle with when you’re in the revenge business. David’s death was a complete surprise and a major setback from which I’ll have to regroup. Do I really want to get romantically involved with his daughter? I really like Jessie, and she’s completely innocent in all this. I’d truly hate to exploit her. That said, it can’t hurt to have her in my corner during this transition phase.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” she says. “I’m dying to know.”

I look into her eyes. “This is just a first impression, okay?”

She nods.

“And a confession.” Sternly, I say: “You can’t repeat this to anyone.”

“I won’t. I swear.”

“I’ll start with the confession: I’m not going to marry Michael.”

She gasps. “You’re not? Why?”

“We’re not compatible. And more importantly, I don’t love him.”

She covers her mouth with her hand. “Omigod! Have you told him?”

“Not yet.”

“He’s gonna be devastated!”

“I know. I was planning to tell him, then this happened. I still can’t believe your Dad—”

She looks down, then back up at me. “You should put it off for at least a week or two.”

“You think?”

She nods, then says, “What’s the other part you were gonna tell me? About your first impression to what I said?”

“I’m going to be completely honest with you, but if this comes out wrong, please give me another chance to say it better.”

“I’ll give you all the chances you want.”

“Good. So like I said, your words caught me by surprise, but…when you kissed me, it…really moved me.”

“It did?”

“More than you could imagine. It’s like you woke up something inside me I never knew was there, and…” I take a moment to savor the look in her eyes, because you hardly ever get to see this degree of hope and yearning on a person’s face. Finally I say, “I think if I could get past the technical issues…”

“Like what?”

“Our age difference.”

“Six years? That’s not so much.”

It really is. She’s fifteen, I’m twenty-three. She only thinks I’m twenty-one. But there’s more: “You’re a minor.”

“Newsflash Nicki: age of consent is sixteen! I’m only weeks away.”

“How many, to be exact?”

“Six.”

I smile. “Interesting you’ve already checked on Kentucky’s consent laws, but now that I think about it, I wonder if it applies to females. Do you know?”

She shakes her head no, then flashes a sly smile and says, “I’m willing to take a chance it only applies to penetration.”

I’ll bet she is! But she’s not the one who’ll be wearing prison stripes for five years. Then again, who knows what the hell the law is, since cops and prosecutors pick and choose which ones to enforce, and how and when to do so. For example, I know from my foster home experience if an underage girl and boy have sex they may or may not prosecute, but if they do, they’ll only prosecute the boy. So the law is whatever their whim is on any given day.

Jessie slides one of her legs toward me till it makes contact with mine. Her cutoffs are revealing a lot of thigh, so I trace my fingers lightly over her skin while saying, “This is major, Jess.