"Auren Joyn?" a low male voice asked.

"Yes?" she looked up from her desk to see a tall, thin, young man in the doorway. "Can I help you?" quot;Alexander Bastian. I'm your new writer." he said cockily,  strolling  into the office. Auren raised one eyebrow. Earlier, she had  called and  left a message for him at home.

 "So you're the hotshot who keeps pestering me for a job."

 Reclining in her chair, she appraised him coolly. Long, soft, dark hair  framed  his oval face gently, and his dark eyes were almost black. An artist had enjoyed making him, she thought, studying his smooth, well defined cheekbones and full lips. Wearing  jeans, a  dark t‑shirt and a denim jacket, with a five o'clock shadow, he  looked  like a typical college freshman. Not bad looking, she decided,  though  his carriage was a little more arrogant than she liked.

 "I'm your new star reporter." he corrected her, making himself  comfortable in a chair.

 "What makes you think I'm going to allow you to work for me?" she  asked.

With a sly, knowing grin, he answered, 

 "Because I'm the best."

 "Look, kid," She leaned forward, irritated. "I don't hire every  young  punk who comes strolling in here with an attitude because he's  the best  writer on his high school paper. I hire journalism students who  have a  passion for the truth."

 "I've got lots of passion. Especially for this job. There is no  other high school student in this city that's better than me." he said   confidently.

 "I read your resume. You won a lot of awards. Big deal."  

 "You won most of the same ones." he replied. Auren raised one  eyebrow.

 "You were the star reporter on your high school paper weren't  you?"

 "You've been researching me." she admitted.

 "Well, then, think of me as your successor when you leave. You  train me  to take over."

 Auren withheld a laugh. This kid had guts. Too many. Attitude  from hell.

 "Look, I read this paper every week. I know you have some real  dead  weight. That's why they write the fluff pieces. You've got some  good  ones. But I'm the best. And I can make your paper even better."

 Auren twirled a pen between her fingers.

 "You're not going away anytime soon are you?" she asked.

 Grinning, he displayed nice, even teeth. His smile promised  something  she couldn't quite place her finger on.

 "Nope."

"All right, here's my decision." she set her hand on the desk.  "Three  weeks, trial basis. You get the stories I decide to give you. At the end  of three weeks, we decide how you're doing. But, let me make one  thing very clear."

 "Anything." he smiled.

 "I am the boss. My sister and cousin are my co‑editors. What they  say goes."

 "You got it." he grinned again.

 "All right, then. Welcome aboard."

 Alexander was surprised by the firmness of her handshake, and  enjoyed  holding the soft hand for the brief exchange. The one thing the  young  man hadn't counted on was the editor being so beautiful. Older  women had  always turned him on, and he planned to catch this one, too.

 ***

 "Ok, so Junior's work is superior to 90 percent of our staff. I  still  say he's an arrogant little punk." Nicky grumbled as the printer spewed  out pages of copy.

 "Yeah, he is, but he's kind of cute when he's being such a jerk."  Auren laughed. Nicky and Em exchanged glances. 

 "Did she just say what I think she did?" Nicky asked. Em nodded.

 "Auren, he's like . . . a kid."

 "Oh, come on guys, I'm not interested in him. It's professional  admiration."

 "Better be. Cause you let Damian go and I'll be right behind you  to  catch him." Nicky laughed. Auren grinned.

 "No way. He's mine." Auren brushed her bangs out of her face, her  thoughts turning to her handsome boyfriend. Last night he had  stopped by  the house out of the blue, interrupting his usual workout to  bring her a  dozen white roses.

 Completely random, she hadn't known what to say, but for Damian,  the  look on her face was all he needed.

 "Just keep him in line. I told him he answers to both of you as  well."

 "Oh, goody. A little boy to push around." Em rubbed her hands  together  gleefully. Auren laughed. 

 "Now, now, be nice. He's just in need of some ego deflation."

 Em's green‑blue eyes sparkled as she thought of a way to do it.

 "Hey, how's your fling going?" Nicky asked, opening a bottle of  Corona.  Em grinned.

 "Hot."

 "When do we get to meet her?" Auren asked, looking over the  freshly  printed pages.

 "Soon, I hope. She's really shy."

 Nicky raised one eyebrow.

 "You two were practically going at it in a club, but she's too  shy to meet your cousins?"

 "Yeah. Her English isn't very good."

 "You two actually talk?" Auren snickered. Em blushed.

 "Sometimes."

 "How did Jane take it?"

 "Amazingly well. She was actually at about the same place. We  both  agreed the magic was gone and it was time to move on."

 "Lucky." Nicky remarked. Em nodded.

 "Yeah, I was. Well, I gotta jet." With a wink, she sauntered out  of the  living room.

"So, how do we keep Junior in line?" Nicky asked. Auren shrugged.

 "He hasn't caused any problems yet."

 "I bet he will. He's got trouble written all over him."

 ***

 Alexander stood watching Auren line up the copy onto the flats.

 "So, I just get to stand here?" he asked.

 "Pretty much. Hand me the ruler, please."

 Alexander did so, appreciating her form as she leaned over the  table.

 In class he had noticed that, although she was professional with  both of  the blonde twins, there was a real attachment to one. And he clearly  adored her. It only made the challenge even sweeter to lasso the  stunner  from the older man. The ultimate goal would be to get both  sisters, but

 he was perfectly content with only  Auren in his bed.

 "When do my stories run?"

 "Next issue."

 "I had them in on deadline."

 "They weren't needed material; they were mainly tests for you."

 "You've seen my work, why do you doubt it?" Alexander demanded,  angry.

 "Alexander," turning, she faced him, surprised to realize he was  taller  than Damian. "you are a trial member of this team. I had all the  stories assigned before you joined us. I am not going to kill the  story  of one of my regulars to accommodate you."

 "Even though I'm better?" he demanded. Auren was disturbed to  realize  she found his arrogance incredibly sexy.

 "Even so. You are the new kid, and you will pay your dues like  everyone  else."

 Alexander clenched his jaw, clearly not satisfied with the  answer. When  he didn't say anything, Auren returned to laying the paper down. 

Nicky paused outside the door, unnerved by what she saw. Auren was  speaking to Alexander, but Nicky could see the rippling  undercurrent of  sexual tension between them. And she didn't like it one bit. 

 "Hey, dinner has arrived." pushing open the door, Nicky breezed  in and  feigned surprise.

 "Hi, Alexander."

 "Hi, Nicky." he eyed the flashier twin with admiration for the  snug  jeans and revealing tank top displayed when she removed her coat.

 "I didn't know you were here or I would have gotten you something."  Nicky handed her sister

 a burger.

 "It's ok. I just stopped by to watch. Was hoping I could help."

 Nicky laughed.

 "You know how long it took her to let me help her? She's an  ogre." Nicky  hopped up on a table, crossing one leg over the other.

 Observing him, Nicky realized he was admiring her legs. Horny  little  bastard, she thought. In a strange way, he was kind of cute,  though.

 ***

Auren was laying on her stomach on the bed when a soft knock at  the door  interrupted her studying.

 "Come in." she called. Damian poked his head around.

 "Hi."

 "Hi." She smiled. "What are you doing here?"

 "Nick let me in. I got lonely."

 "Lonely? What were you doing?" she asked with a teasing smile,  rolling  over onto her back. He sat on the bed with her.

 "Studying. Finals." he made a face. Sighing, she nodded.

 "I know."

 "You have what, two?" he teased. In answer, she stuck her tongue  out as him as he laid next to her. Her book and highlighter pen sat near  the  edge.

 "Yeah, but I have to make up the one for all three levels of journalism.”

 "I get an A, of course." he hooked one leg over hers, mockingly  pinning  her down.

 "I don't know. Depends on how many roses you bring me." she  giggled.  With a mischievous grin, he kissed her intensely.

 "Is that all it takes to bribe my favorite instructor?" he  whispered in  her ear, pulling her into his embrace.

 "I'll think of something else, I'm sure."

 "Anything." he chuckled, his lips moving down to her neck.

 "I'm trying to study." she protested weakly, all thoughts of  philosophy  long gone from her mind as he unbuttoned her sweater slowly.

 "So am I. I have a big anatomy test." she burst into laughter.

 "What about chemistry?" she asked with a giggle. Sliding her  sweater off  her bare shoulders, he chuckled.

 "I know I get an A in that one."

 Laughing, Auren pushed her book and notes off the bed.

 ***

 Nicky stretched, remembering her kiss with Damian. Damian? The  twin  sat up in bed, heart pounding. When the hell did she kiss  Damian?

 Puzzled, she got up and headed downstairs for a drink. Though her  sister's light was off, she could hear enough soft movement to  tell her  Auren was very wide awake and not alone.

 In the kitchen, she fumbled around for some juice. Why was she  dreaming  of Damian? Granted, if he wasn't so in love with her sister she  would  have snapped him up in a heartbeat.

 Dreams were unspent emotion, she had always thought. So did she  have  some weird lust for her sister's man? Why did she keep dreaming  about  kissing him? But it . . . wasn't a dream.

 The cup slid from her hand and fell to the floor, spilling orange  juice  across the linoleum. Damian had rescued her that night. But why  wasn't  he with Auren? Why had he been at a club?

 Making a mental note to ask her sister about it in the morning,  Nicky set about cleaning up the orange juice.

 ***

 Auren was heading out to her car when she heard her name being  called.  Turning, she saw Alexander approaching. Snow had already started  falling for the winter and everyone had switched to heavier clothes. In his  forest green heavy jacket, his eyes seemed brighter as he

 approached.

 "I wanted to talk to you about a story." his breath vaporized in  the  crisp air. Auren pulled her green knit cap further down on her  head. The glare of the setting tangerine sun did nothing to thaw her.

 "Now?" she demanded, her teeth chattering, thankful for her  gloves that matched her hat.

 "Well, someplace warmer." he shivered, noting how the blue of her  jacket  brought out the gray of her eyes. The cold air put a pink blush to her  angelic face, darkening her lips. Alexander restrained from  pushing her  against the car and kissing her right there.

 "Sure, get in." she chattered, unlocking the Explorer. Eagerly,  he ran  around to the other side and climbed in.

 Turning the engine on, they waited for it to warm up.  “I forgot how damn cold winter is." Alexander shuddered. Auren  nodded.

 "Me, too. Where did you have in mind?"

 "There's a great little coffee house nearby, it's kind of tucked  away.  It's nice and quiet there."

 Auren gave him a strange look. "Ok."

 ***

 It was quiet. Eerily quiet. Tucked away in some other buildings,  strains  of new age music filtered through the air. At the register up  front, a  bored looking young woman sat, piercings in her ears, nose, eyebrows and  chin, dressed in all black, right down to black lipstick. Auren

 held  back her repulsion as the hippie‑turned‑goth girl led them to a  small  room with a low table on the floor and lots of pillows scattered  around  the room on the floor.

 "What the hell is this place?" Auren muttered when she was gone.

 "Café  Oasis. The owner is from Santa Fe."

 "I guess so." Auren eyed the paintings of coyotes and pottery on  the  walls. Alexander settled himself on the floor quickly.  Reluctantly,  Auren removed her hat, gloves and jacket, and sat across from  him. "So  what's the important story?"

 "Well, it's not really a story." Alexander looked uncomfortable.

 Auren  raised one eyebrow. "I had some thoughts about the paper. Ways to improve it."

 Auren sighed. "Alexander, we already had this discussion."

 "Just hear me out."

 The girl returned for an order. Auren decided on hot chocolate  and sat  back against the pillows, waiting as Alexander eagerly laid out  his  plans.

 ***

 Kenny sat scribbling out the tune in his head. All he could think about  was Nicky. Everywhere he turned he saw her. Eyes closed, she  haunted his  dreams. His hands longed to hold her again.  In class, he  suffered, not  hearing a word of the instruction, enraptured by her presence. He  had to  have her back somehow.

Surfing through the Internet, he found the website he was looking  for  and started printing pages.

 ***

 "Well, they are good ideas." Auren said cautiously, sipping her  hot  chocolate. Alexander brightened at her praise.

 "If we move quickly enough, we can start everything before the  semester ends."

 "Hold on there. The new program itself will cost around $200. The  budget  has already been figured for the year. Plus the new equipment  you're  talking about? There's no way."

 As Alexander continued his arguments, Auren chuckled, noting the  light  in the room had softened and it was dark outside. During his  animated talking, Alexander had moved closer to her, and as Auren's eyes  studied  him she realized he was very close.

 "It could work." Alexander said softly, and Auren wondered what  the hell  he was talking about as he moved closer to her.

 "It's dark. I have to go." she moved suddenly, grabbing her  jacket. Alexander paused, his dark eyes smoldering with hidden motives.

“It's easy to lose track of time." he smiled. "I do it all the  time."

 Auren pulled on her gloves quickly as Alexander rose. Heart pumping, she  felt dizzy from the atmosphere and the company. Something was  very  wrong.

 ***

 Auren finished proofreading Alexander's latest articles when the  doorbell rang. Getting up from the couch, she was startled when she  found a florist on the doorstep. Glancing over at her white

 roses, she  noticed they were just starting to wilt.

 "Nicole Joyn?" the boy asked. Auren frowned.

"No, I'm her sister."

 "These are for her."

 "Thanks."

 Auren took them, tipped the boy and set them on the table in the  hallway. Who had sent them? Nicky didn't have a boyfriend at the  moment.  Finally curiosity got the best of her and she opened the card.

“Guess mine is not the first heart broken, my eyes are not the  first to cry, I'm not the first to know, there's just no gettin'  over  you.'" Auren read out loud. The handwriting was unfamiliar. No  signature. "Where have I heard this?"

 The cop? She wondered. Jimmy? How weird. Two dates with the cop. . . but that was a couple weeks ago. Christmas break and finals were  approaching rapidly. Surely it wasn't him.  Picking up the phone she dialed her sister's cell.

 "Nicky here." came the cheerful voice.

 "Hey, where are you?" Auren asked.

 "Ten minutes from the house why?"

 "You just got a strange delivery."

 "Is it ticking?" Nicky laughed.

 "Not exactly."

"Is it alive?"

 "Yeah, you could say that."

 "What the hell is it? You're driving me nuts."

 "Just get home and see for yourself." Auren laughed.

 "I'm almost there." Nicky hung up.

***

 "It's from Grease." Nicky frowned. Auren raised one eyebrow.

 "Recognize the handwriting?"

 "Almost." Nicky frowned. "I know I've seen it before."

 "Mr. Boring?"

 "Dan? Nah. Couldn't be Jimmy either. I mean ‑"

 Nicky paused and the card slid out of her hand to the floor.

 "What?"

 "No. I'm on crack."

 "What?"

 "Kenny."

 "You're kidding."

 "No. One night when we were watching the movie ‑" Nicky stopped,  embarrassment creeping up her neck.

 "I get the picture. You think it's from him?"

 "Maybe. Who else? I haven't dated anyone seriously since."

 "Who would have thought Kenny had romance in him?" Auren  chuckled.

"That's weird. I must be wrong." Nicky tossed the card on the  table and headed for the kitchen. Auren pocketed the card.

 ***

 "That's his writing all right." Damian looked at the card.

 "Does he want her back?" Auren asked.

 Damian shrugged.

 "He hasn't said anything to me about it, but I don't think he's  with his  little fling either."

 "Really."

 "Yeah. He seemed really upset a couple weeks ago when she  wouldn't call  him back."

 "Serves him right." Auren grumbled. With an understanding smile,  he pulled her closer.

 "Hey, let's not think about Kenny, ok? Cause right now, you're all  I want  to think about."

 A mouse of guilt nibbled at Auren as Damian kissed her lovingly.  Nothing had happened with Alexander except a strange feeling.  There was no need to alarm him.

 ***

"Thanks, Michele. See you later." Nicky turned from the post  office  window and ran smack into Kenny.

 "Hey, Nick."

 He didn't smile, but stared at her apprehensively. Steel gray eyes  looked through him as she stepped around him. Desperate, he  reached out  and caught her arm gently.

 "Nicky, please, listen to me." he pleaded.

 "I have nothing to say to you." she snapped, pulling her arm  away.

 "Nicky, please. I ‑ miss you."

 "You should have thought about that before you went off screwing  your little fuck buddy." she snapped.

 "Nick, I'm sorry. It was stupid. I don't even know how it  happened, it  just did. You're the one I care about! I can't get you out of my  head!"

 "I suggest you learn to." she snarled, spinning on her heel as she  stormed away. Crushed, Kenny watched her leave.

 ***

 "I think you're nuts." Em muttered, wielding the scissors.

 "Just do it before I chicken out." Auren muttered.

 Sighing, Em began cutting her cousin's hair.

 The door flung open and Nicky stormed in.

 "That prick! Bastard!" she hurled her backpack into a chair.

 "What the hell happened?" Auren demanded.

 "That son of a bitch Kenny Nelson had the balls to tell me he missed  me!"

 Striding over to the vase of flowers, Nicky snatched them up and  stormed  into the kitchen where the girls heard the garbage disposal click  on.

 "Yikes." Auren muttered. "Keep going."

 Em continued her cutting. Nicky returned.

 "I'd like to shove him down the disposal." she muttered darkly.  Then she  realized what was happening. "What are you doing!"

"I asked Em to cut my hair." Auren replied calmly.

 "But‑but‑it's so long!"

 "It'll grow back." Auren said nonchalantly.

 Nicky sank to the couch and watched the golden locks fall to the  floor.  Without the weight from the length, Auren's hair began to curl  up.

 As Em layered her cousin's hair, Auren's looked remarkably like  Nicky's,  even taking on similar curl. If the hair color had been the same,  they  would have been very difficult to tell apart.

 "Jeez." Nicky muttered. "Does Damian know?"

 "No, he'll see it tonight."

 "What possessed you to do it?" Nicky asked, stretching out her  legs.  Auren shrugged.

 "Time for a change. Besides, I look more like you now." she  laughed. "Poor me."

 Nicky stuck her tongue out at her sister. "I'm going to start  dinner."

 "I'll keep the speed dial ready for the fire department." Em  replied.

 ***

 Auren waited anxiously for Damian to say something.

 "You don't like it." she said softly. He shook his head.

 "I think it's . . . incredibly sexy." he managed. Auren frowned.  That  wasn't what she was looking for.

 "That's good, right?"

Damian chuckled. "I didn't think it was possible, but yes,  you're even  more sexy now with it."

 Gingerly, Auren ran her hand through her hair.

 "It feels weird."

 "There's not as much weight to it. It looks great. It really  does."

"Thanks." she said softly.

 Damian hugged her, thinking about Alexander.

 The boy followed her around like a puppy dog, his dark eyes  absorbing every move she made. Auren had been spending more and more time  at the  office, and he had been so busy studying for finals they hadn't  had much  time together.

 ***

 Alexander ran his comb through his hair.

 Christmas break was almost here, and his final plan was about to  swing  into action. There wasn't much news happening, so the next  edition of  the paper would be smaller than usual. Auren was the only one  working on  layout, but Alexander had arranged it so he could help.

 His trial basis had gone well enough that Auren decided to keep  him for  the last two weeks, even though there wasn't much going on, he  still  could observe the going ons and production.

 Glancing in through the window in the door, he could see her at  her  desk. The flats were laid out on the tables and the printer was  going  full speed. Auren was at her computer.

Auren surfed the web site of the University of Arcadia. Her information packet had arrived earlier that day and she was intrigued by the  scholarship offer. Every year they chose an outstanding

 journalism  student for each level and awarded them with a full scholarship.

 Participants were from almost every developed country in the  world. A  small castle on the campus served as the dorms, remodeled with a  contemporary heating system. There were ponds, lush meadows that  held  fabled faerie rings, and thick forests everywhere.

 "Too good to be true." she muttered, reclining back in her chair.

 "Do I actually get to do the work this time?"

 Auren glanced up at Alexander and chuckled.

 "Maybe."

 "What are you looking at?" Alexander stepped around to see the  computer.

 "A university in Ireland." Auren signed off the Internet quickly.  "Let's  get to work."

 ***

 Damian set his economics book down and rubbed his temple. He  hated  finals week. This semester was especially tough. Even though his  major  was architecture, he was required to take several business  classes.  Minoring in music wasn't very easy either, he had to take mostly

 theory  classes. None of them were especially hard, but between the three  his  brain was on overload with details. 

 Glancing at the clock, he wondered when Auren would be done with the  layout. Tonight she was doing it alone, since she only had one exam to  study for. Christmas was next week. He and Kenny were heading  home to  Santa Fe for the day, but for Christmas night he had something

 special  planned for Auren. He had wanted Auren to come with him to Santa  Fe, but  she declined, telling him it was a day for just the three  cousins.

 If she got layout done before one am, she had said she would  call. But  he was climbing the walls and his head was crammed with business  statistics. Maybe he'd go visit her at the paper.