Sophia Deltonio was at the top of her game.  And everyone knew it.  She walked down the long hallway through the crowded offices of the other assistant District Attorneys in Orange county Florida and they all smiled at her.  She'd just won a very difficult case; one she knew would impress Joan Mueller, her boss.

She paused in front of the door with the brass nameplate.  Sophia Deltonio, Assistant District Attorney.  If she played her cards right, it would read Deputy District Attorney in a short while.  She opened the door to her outer office and her secretary looked up.

"Hey, boss lady.  Great job in court," Alice said.

"Thanks."  She took the messages her assistant handed her and entered her office.  On the credenza were an assortment of balloons, flowers and a prank gift basket of condoms and crotchless panties from the other ADAs.

She'd just finished prosecuting the panty-raider, as he liked to be called.  He'd stolen over one hundred thousand dollars in lacy underwear and sex aids from a local adults only store.  The things she did to keep the world safe from crime, she thought with a wry smile.

In the middle of her desk was another basket, which stopped her cold.  It wasn't exactly a basket but a small faux metal wash tub.  It was wrapped in cellophane and tied with a black velvet ribbon.  The ribbon set off a chain reaction inside her. 

A lifetime ago, she wore a ribbon like that around her neck every day.  It's just a coincidence.  She dropped her briefcase and moved closer to her desk.

There was a card taped to the cellophane and she could see a ring of Corona beer bottles inside there.  Oh, this wasn't good.

She never drank anything but Pinot Grigio anymore.  She almost didn't want to open the card but that was foolish.  It was just a card.  It had no power over her. 

As she studied the cream colored envelope, a shiver of anticipation moved down her spine.  Her hand shook but not from fear.  A sense of excitement and a tingling awareness rippled through her. 

This is so stupid.  I'm thirty-two for chrissakes and in control of my life.

The handwriting wasn't familiar to her.  Of course, it wouldn't be familiar.  "Stop being ridiculous."

Mitch Hollaran had been out of her life for a long time and he wasn't suddenly going to show up again.  She used her French manicured nail to open the back of the envelope and pulled out a card.  Instead of the standard FTD one, the thick vellum bore the monogram of a prestigious Los Angeles law firm. 

Her stomach sank.  She opened the card and inside was the handwriting she recognized.  Bold, brash and filled with the kind of passion a girl could die from knowing. 

See you in court.

There was no signature, just a scrawled M.  But then she didn't need a signature to know it was from Mitch.  She sank down on one of the guest chairs and closed her eyes, which didn't help.

Memories of the man she once knew and of the passion they'd shared assailed her.  The Corona incident happened right before they'd broken up.  Too poor to be able to afford a winter vacation.  They'd stayed in their apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts near the Harvard campus where they were both they were both studying law with the thermostat cranked up to 80, listening to blues music and making love for four days.

She seldom let herself think about that life.  She was a different woman now.  She was in line to become the Deputy DA in Orange County.  All of Orlando knew she was a woman to be reckoned with both inside the courtroom and out.

And she no longer indulged the sensual side of her personality.  She'd learned the hard way that professional drive and personal passion didn't mix inside her.  They might for other woman, but not for her. 

She hadn't had a lover since Robert had left her 18 months earlier.  He'd wanted marriage and Sophia hadn't been able to commit herself to him.  She hadn't analyzed it and didn't want to.  She just knew Robert wasn't as important as her career and never would be.

That's probably why Mitch's reappearance in her life was making her hot inside by dredging up memories of the most erotic time in her life. 

But instead of focusing on that, she reached for the tin and pulled open the cellophane.  Inside were the six Coronas and a bag of limes.  Next to the limes was a Stevie Ray Vaughan CD.  She shivered hearing the raspy sound of Vaughan's blues in her head and remembering Mitch's fingers on her neck.  Cool and wet with the juice of the lime, stroking down her back.

Her phone rang and she jumped.  She put a hand to her neck and took a deep breath before answering the call.

"This is Deltonio."

"Joan wants to see you in her office," Alice said.

"Now?"

"As soon as you can make it.  It involves the Spinder case."

"Thanks, Alice.  Tell her I'll be right down."

Sophia hung up the phone.  She slipped the note and black velvet ribbon from Mitch into her briefcase.  She took the Corona bucket and put it on the credenza behind the panty basket.  Though hidden from view, the washtub continued to taunt her with memories.

The blues riffs of Stevie's guitar echoed through her mind as she remembered the erotic thrill of Mitch's touch.  This wasn't good.

She had to focus.  The Spinder case involved a Hollywood hotshot and an 17 year old girl, Holly McBride.  The charge against Spinder was having sex with a minor.  The alleged act had taken place last fall when Holly was only sixteen.  Jason had been shooting his latest blockbuster--this summer's Maximum Exposure in Orlando.

Sophia ran the facts of the case through her head, pushing Mitch back into the past.  She was meeting with her boss and couldn't--wouldn't--let a man from her past interfere with her career.  Damn.  She needed a date a hell of a lot more than she'd thought if one basket could whip her into a frenzy like this.

She took a tube of Bobbi Brown lipstick from her purse and carefully touched up her lips.  She fluffed her shoulder length hair and then smoothed it into place.  She banished Stevie Ray Vaughan from her mind and instead focused on ACDC's 'Back In Black'.  The song she always played before entering the courtroom.  The raucous rock-n-roll never failed to pump up her blood and make her feel invincible.

She grabbed the file and notes she'd made on the Spinder case.  Jason Spinder, Hollywood bad boy, in jail on charges of having sex with a minor.  Already the DAs office had more press than normal and she wasn't looking forward to the circus that having a high profile defendant would bring.

That explained the basket of Coronas. From the news clippings and alumni newsletters she'd scanned guiltily for news about Mitch, she knew he'd developed a reputation for winning that anyone would envy. In fact, he was fast becoming the preeminent lawyer to the stars. Mitch had to be Spinder's lawyer.Of course, he'd have to reenter her life now when things were finally on track.  When she wasn't scraping to make a career and she'd finally found a place where she was comfortable being alone.

Damn, after ten years it shouldn't matter that he was coming back.  Except she knew it wasn't going to be a happy reunion.  She knew that she'd done him wrong in the worst way a woman could.  She knew that he hadn't forgotten or forgiven her.  The Coronas and the CD guaranteed he was coming out here for more than courtroom victory.

He was coming for revenge.