Danielle Steel - Sisters

They had a serious family discussion about it, and regretfully Sabrina bowed out. She couldn't do that to Chris—she had promised to move in with him on the first of August. He had been patient for so long that she didn't dare ask him to extend it. Candy's tenant was moving out of the penthouse, and she was thinking of going back there, but it was tempting to stay on at the house. Tammy was delighted. She was so busy working on the new show that she didn't have time to look for anyplace else or move, and Annie smiled mischievously and said it worked perfectly with her plans. She had just turned twenty-seven. So at least two of the sisters wanted to stay on, and maybe three. They said that they'd miss Sabrina, but they all agreed that it was time for her to move in with Chris. He had waited long enough.

All eight of them flew to Providence the next morning, the four sisters and their men. A van took them from the airport to the dock in Newport, where the sailboat they had chartered was waiting for them. It was the first of July, and they had it for two weeks. They were planning to sail around Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and visit friends along the way. And during the second week, they were going to visit Paul's family in Maine.

It was hardest of all for the girls to believe their mother had been gone a year. They were grateful that their father had canceled the party. This was a much better way to spend their mother's anniversary. Together, among people they loved, in a different setting than the place they'd been the year before when the accident happened.

On the morning of the Fourth, the girls held a quiet ceremony on deck, and each of them threw a single flower into the water. Tammy noticed that Annie threw in two.

“What was the second one for?” she asked her quietly afterward.

Annie hesitated and then answered, “My eyes.”

They set sail shortly after and spent the day around Martha's Vineyard, and at dinnertime they motored into port for the night. It had been a magical cruise so far, and at dinner Brad squeezed her hand to give her the sign. Annie took a breath, and waited for a lull in the conversation. Moments of silent and rapt attention were hard to come by, so Brad clinked a glass with his knife. Annie was smiling and holding his hand.

“We have something to tell you,” she said, sounding excited and breathless. Sabrina and Chris exchanged a look and smiled. If it was what he thought, Chris was hoping it would be contagious. But he couldn't complain. Sabrina was seeming a lot braver about their future these days. She had even mentioned having children once or twice. “We're getting married in December,” Annie said, looking in Brad's direction. “I'm going to work at the school with Brad … and be his wife …” she added, as the group erupted in hearty congratulations.

“Damn,” Sabrina said a minute later. “I should have made it a two or three-part bet. What was that you said a year ago? You'd never have another date, and you'd be an old maid … and you'd never have kids. I could have made a fortune.” They all laughed, as Brad put an arm around Annie and kissed her. They looked blissfully happy as Annie nestled next to him. Chris kissed Sabrina and put an arm around her. And Tammy mentioned a little later that she was going on vacation with John and his brothers in August. Candy and Paul just laughed. At their age, marriage was the farthest thing from their minds. They just wanted to hang out with each other and have a good time, as they had been for the past five months.

As they sat on the boat, the four women looked at each other. They didn't have to say anything. They were thinking of their mother. The gift she had given them, of each other, was in fact the best gift of all.

“To sisters!” Sabrina raised her glass to all of them. “And their men!” All eight glasses were raised, and they silently toasted their mother as well for the love she had shared, the lessons she had taught them, and the bond she had woven between them that could never be broken. As hard as it had been, in some ways, this had been the best year of their lives.

About the Author DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world's most popular authors, with over 570 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include Honor Thyself, Amazing Grace, Bungalow 2, Sisters, H.R.H., Coming Out, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death. Visit the Danielle Steel Web Site at www.daniellesteel.com.

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DANIELLE STEEL

On Sale in Hardcover

June 24, 2008

ROGUE

Meet Maxine Williams, a dedicated doctor with three great kids, a challenging career, and the perfect new man in her life. Her only problem? Her irresistibly charming, utterly infuriating ex-husband, a.k.a. the … ROGUE.

ROGUE

On Sale June 24, 2008

Chapter 1

The small single-engine Cessna Caravan pitched and rolled alarmingly over the swamps west of Miami. The plane was just high enough for the landscape to have a postcard quality to it, but the wind rushing in through the open hatch distracted the young woman clutching the safety strap so that all she could see was the vast expanse of sky beneath them. The man standing behind her was telling her to jump.

“What if my parachute doesn't open?” she said, glancing over her shoulder at him with a look of terror. She was a tall, beautiful blonde with a gorgeous body and exquisite face. Her eyes were huge with fear.

“Trust me, Belinda, it will open,” Blake Williams promised her with a look of total confidence. Skydiving had been one of his many passions for years. And it was always a joy for him to share the wonders of it with someone else.

Belinda had agreed to it the week before, over drinks in a very prestigious private nightclub in South Beach. The following day, Blake had paid for eight hours of instruction for her and a test jump with the instructors. Belinda was ready for him now. It was only their third date, and Blake had made skydiving sound so enticing that after her second cosmopolitan, she had laughingly said yes to the invitation to skydive with him. She didn't realize what she was getting into, and she still looked nervous now, and wondered how she had let him talk her into it. The first time she'd jumped, with the two instructors he'd arranged, had scared her to death, but it was exciting too. And jumping with Blake would be the ultimate experience. She could hardly wait. He was so charming, so handsome, so outrageous, and so much fun that even though she barely knew him, she was ready to follow him and try almost anything in his company, even stepping out of a plane. But now she was terrified again, as he turned her face toward him and kissed her. The sheer thrill of being in his presence made the jump easier for her. Just as she had been taught in her lesson, she stepped out of the plane.

Blake followed her within seconds. She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed as they free-fell for a minute, and then she opened her eyes and saw him as he gestured to her to pull the ripcord on her parachute, just as the instructors had taught her to do. Suddenly they were drifting slowly to earth as he smiled at her and gave her a proud thumbs-up. She couldn't believe she'd done it twice in one week, but he was that kind of charismatic person. Blake could make people do almost anything.

Belinda was twenty-two years old, a supermodel in Paris, London, and New York. She had met Blake while visiting friends in Miami. He had flown in from his house in St. Barts to meet up with a pal of his own, and had arrived in his new 737. He had chartered the smaller plane and a pilot for their jump.