“I’ve got a plan,” Emma Stevenson announced, bringing a plate of Russian teacakes over to the small table next to the window, where her two best friends were sitting with a pot of tea and three pretty teacups on matching saucers.

Carol rolled her big gray eyes. “Seriously? We’ve been working on plans for eighteen months now. If we add any more plans to the mix, the whole enterprise is going to implode from the weight of our brilliance.”

Virginia, called Ginny by everyone since she was two years old, chuckled as she leaned back in her chair. “I don’t think she was talking about Tea for Two plans.”

A couple of years ago, Carol had come up with the idea of opening a tearoom in downtown Blacksburg, the town in the mountains of southwest Virginia where the three of them had lived all their lives. Carol had been making pastries and serving drinks in a coffee shop since high school, and Ginny had been working at a marketing firm in Roanoke but hated the commute, so they’d combined their skill set to make the tearoom happen.

Emma already had a full-time job doing the finances for her brother’s IT company, and she wasn’t about to bail on him, but she’d helped them put together the business plan and had set up the accounting system, since neither Ginny nor Carol were numbers oriented.

The three girls had become friends when they were ten, thrown together because their older brothers were best friends and so their parents thought they should be too. Back then—and still today—they had little in common in terms of character traits. Carol was the dreamy, creative one. Ginny was the confident, flirty one. And Emma…

Emma was the boring, brainy one.

They’d never stopped being best friends, though, and Emma assumed they never would.

“What was the plan then?” Carol asked, her eyes still wide. She was pretty in a soft, curvy way with long reddish hair and eyes like melting silver.

“The plan is for me personally,” Emma announced, taking a sip of the tea Ginny had just poured for her. As the liquid hit her tongue, she was immediately distracted. “Wow! What kind of tea is this?”

Carol looked pleased and slightly guilty. “Just some new loose leaf I got in this morning. First flush Darjeeling.”

Ginny had been taking a sip too, but at this she gave a jerk and almost spit it out. “What? And you’re serving it to us?”

“We have to try it out before we sell it.”

Ginny made another face, but that didn’t stop her from taking another sip. “If we keep drinking the expensive stuff on our tea breaks, we’re going to go broke before we even open.”

Emma laughed, used to her friends’ occasional disagreements about the shop. “One pot isn’t going to break you, as long as it doesn’t become a habit. This is really good.”

“It is good,” Ginny agreed. “No wonder it costs so much.” Then she put down her cup and focused on Emma. “So tell us what this personal plan of yours is.”

“Oh,” Emma said, clearing her throat. “I’ve been thinking a lot and came up with this plan. To avoid any more Dex-debacles.”

“You can avoid Dex-debacles by not dating any more jackasses,” Ginny said.

A month ago, Emma had gone through three painful, angst-ridden weeks of breaking up with a guy named Dex. She’d believed they were exclusive after dating for four months but had started to suspect they weren’t, and he’d strung her along with a lot of lies until Ginny had gone on a spying mission and taken pictures of him with another woman’s tongue in his mouth.

Emma still cringed at the humiliation of it.

“I know that,” she said. The tearoom wasn’t going to open for two more weeks, so they were completely alone in the shop. There was no risk of anyone else overhearing. “But my problem is I’m incapable of spotting the jackasses. In fact, they’re all I seem to be attracted to. So that’s where my plan comes in.”

“I can’t wait to hear this,” Ginny muttered dryly. She was tall and slim and very blond—the most traditionally pretty of the three of them.

“Shh.” Carol gave Ginny a poke. “Let her tell us before you get snarky.”

Emma cleared her throat. “I’m going on a Man-Fast.”

Both Carol and Ginny were silent for a moment. Then Ginny asked, “Can I get snarky now?”

“You can mock if you want, but I’m serious about this,” Emma replied, trying not to giggle at her friends’ stunned expressions. “It’s exactly what I need. For six months, I’m fasting from men. I’m not going to date them or dream about them or think about falling in love. It’s going to be a complete fast—just to clear my mind and give me a better perspective on what I want.”

“Most people call that a break,” Carol said softly.

“A break isn’t strong enough. It has to be a complete fast. I’m tired of only dating losers.”

“So find a nice guy to date instead,” Carol replied. Ever since childhood, she’d firmly believed that there was one nice guy intended for each of them. They only had to wait, and he would appear. Carol had never once wavered from that belief.

“I’m not attracted to nice guys! I’m only attracted to assholes. Think about it. There was Dex, and before that there was Larry the married liar, and before that there was Jackson who did nothing but boss me around, and before that there was Mark who only wanted open relationships.”

“Mark wasn’t really an asshole,” Ginny put in. “He was honest about what he believed in. He just wasn’t right for you.”

“That’s not the point. The point is I’m not attracted to the guys who are right for me.”

“You might have a point. You had a crush on Noah all through high school, and you believed beyond all reason that he was finally going to stop calling you Pudge and fall in love with you. It was honestly kind of embarrassing. Talk about the wrong guy for you.” Ginny’s eyes were sparkling. Noah was her older brother, but she never had any qualms about admitting her brother’s nature, which was hopelessly prone to wander and resistant to ties of any kind. Ginny actually had some of the same propensities, although she seemed content to stay in town, rather than move all over the world like Noah.

Emma blushed slightly. She knew very well that she’d been incredibly stupid as a teenager with her crush on Noah. She’d been plain and awkward and shy—exactly the kind of girl he wouldn’t look at twice. He’d called her Pudge, and everyone assumed it was because she’d been a little bit chubby. She didn’t believe that was true, but she’d finally had to admit the nickname wasn’t a sign of his lingering fondness or affection for her. It should have been clear to anyone with half a brain that when he thought about her at all, it was just as his best friend’s little sister.

She’d kept swooning over him, though, until he’d finally graduated from high school and moved away.

She’d only seen him once after that—at his mother’s funeral, which had coincided with her high school graduation. He’d come for his mother’s funeral and stayed to see Ginny graduate, and he hadn’t made an appearance in Blacksburg since.

Seven years now.

“I know I was idiotic,” she admitted. “I always am. That’s what I’m trying to say. That’s where the Man-Fast comes in. No guys at all for six months. But you both are going to have to help me. You have to keep me on track if I start to stray from the straight and narrow.”

Ginny wasn’t even trying to hide her amusement. “I give you about two weeks.”

“No, I’m serious about it. Please. I really think it will be good for me.”

“Of course we’ll help you,” Carol said. “I think it’s a smart idea. And, just think, the man of your dreams always comes along when you least expect it.”

“No! That’s not going to happen for the next six months. It’s got to be a complete Man-Fast. No hopes or dreams or anything.”

“Man-Fast it is,” Ginny said. “It will give you more time to help us with the launch anyway.”

“Exactly. I have better things to worry about than guys. I’ve got to get to the mental place where I’m not attracted to jackasses. I really think this is the way to do it.”

“We’ll support you however you need,” Carol said, her face as serious as Ginny’s was amused.

“Good. Thank you. Tea for Two is a lot more important than dating assholes. Is there anything else you need me to do in preparation for the grand opening?”

“No,” Ginny said. “Just make sure Patrick shows up.”

Patrick was Emma’s older brother. “He’s not going to want to. He hates big parties and gatherings.”

“He has to come,” Ginny said, glancing over at Carol, who nodded. “If we don’t get some good-looking guys here, then it’s all going to be old ladies and college girls pretending to be British. We all have to drag our brothers along.”

“Patrick?” Emma asked, raising her eyebrows. “You’re calling Patrick a good-looking guy?”

“Of course he is!” Carol’s eyes got even bigger. “He’s adorable.”

“He’s super-cute,” Ginny added, with a matter-of-fact nod that left no room for argument. “He’s really improved over the years. You just can’t see it because he’s your brother.”

Patrick was a lot like Emma. Brown hair, brown eyes, nothing particularly noteworthy. Emma was oddly pleased to hear her friends’ assessment, although she would likely never think of her brother as anything but the plain little nerd he’d been in high school.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll do my best to bully him into coming. And I assume you’ll get Ryan to come.” She glanced over at Carol.

“Yes. He’ll come. I’ll just tell him there will be a lot of hot, single girls there, and I won’t be able to keep him away.”

In his own way, Carol’s brother, Ryan, was just as dreamy as she was. In his case, however, it was channeled into seducing anything in a skirt. They’d had many a giggle about his romantic conquests over the years, except for the six months in college when he’d gone out with Ginny. That hadn’t worked out, though, and the two had managed to remain friends. Ryan showed no signs of settling down yet, but he wasn’t mean or heartless about it, so most of the women ended up still liking him after it was over.

Emma had no idea how he did it.

“So that’s two brothers who will be here,” she said. “Not bad, considering.”

She saw Ginny glance over to meet Carol’s eyes.

“What?” Emma demanded. She knew a significant undercurrent when she sensed one.

“Noah is definitely going to be there,” Ginny said with a little smile.

Emma gasped. “How are you going to get him here from Tokyo?”

Noah was some sort of business super-star. He worked for a huge, multi-national corporation, and he seemed to get promoted every six months. It was hard to keep track of him because he got transferred so often all over the world. New York. London. Geneva. São Paulo. Toronto. And now Tokyo.

Emma might not have seen him since high school, but she kept up with his doings through Ginny. He’d gotten an MBA like her, but unlike her, he’d gotten as far away from Blacksburg as he could get.

“He’s coming in a few days,” Ginny said. “I gave him a guilt trip because Nan’s been so sick lately. It’s really bad that he never comes to see her, and I made sure he knew it. He might not want anything to do with Dad, but he still loves Nan. He got his company to agree to let him work from here for a month or two.”

“A month or two?” Emma gasped, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that, not only was Noah visiting, but his visit was going to last a long time.

“Yep. I gave him a master guilt-trip. You’d have been proud of me. Anyway, he’s coming next week. Since his trip just happens to coincide with the launch of Tea for Two, he’s going to get dragged to the opening, whether he wants it or not.” The set of Ginny’s chin proved how stubborn she was going to be about this.

Emma’s heart did a weird little flutter at the idea of seeing Noah again.

She might not have seen him in seven years, but it felt like she still knew him well. Intimately.

She wondered if he still looked the same. If he’d still see her as that pudgy little girl she used to be.

But, no, it didn’t matter. She was on a Man-Fast now.

She didn’t care about men for the next six months.

She didn’t care about Noah’s return.

“Still doing the Man-Fast thing?” Ginny asked, a lilt to her voice.

“Yes.” Emma nodded firmly. “Absolutely.” She glanced at her watch, finished her tea since it was too good to waste, and then leaned down to pick up her purse from the floor. “I better get going. I’ve got to pick up Patrick in Roanoke. He’s flying in this afternoon.”

“He’s making you drive all that way to pick him up? Why didn’t he just drive himself?” Ginny asked.

“My car is getting some work done, so I’ve been driving his while he’s out of town. Since he let me borrow it, I’m picking him up. I don’t mind. We should be out of there before rush-hour traffic.”

“Okay. I’d be annoyed by it, though,” Ginny said as Emma stood up. “I used to have to make that drive every day, and I-81 over the mountain is always a pain.”

“Tell Patrick I said hi,” Carol added.

“Sure thing.”

Emma left the pretty little tearoom and walked down the block to the parking lot for her apartment building.

She tried to think about the launch this weekend.

She tried to think about her Man-Fast.

She tried to think about her brother’s business trip and whether he’d managed to acquire the big client he was after.

She tried to think about anything except Noah Hart, coming back home after so long.

***

“It didn’t happen here, sir,” a flustered clerk explained. “It happened at LaGuardia.”

“If they hadn’t insisted on checking my bag, this wouldn’t have been a problem.”

“I understand, sir, but it was a full flight, and you walked on at the last minute.”

Noah hadn’t been planning on coming into Blacksburg until next week, but his work schedule had changed so he’d decided to come in early, mostly because he was afraid if he delayed much longer, he’d change his mind and not come at all.

The flight from Tokyo to New York had been fine, but the only flights from New York to Roanoke were on very small planes without first class or business class cabins. So he’d been treated like any other passenger, and they’d insisted on checking his bag when he’d tried to board.

Naturally, his luggage hadn’t made it.

What else could he expect? He’d never wanted to make this trip to begin with.

He was on the verge of loudly expressing his displeasure, but he cut himself off. The clerk looked like she might cry at any minute, and it wasn’t even her fault.

He swallowed over his frustration and gave a curt nod. “I’m on my way to Blacksburg. Am I going to have to drive all the way back up here to pick up my bag?”

“No, sir. We’ll have it delivered to you. But if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes, I’ll double check and make sure it’s not here after all and just slipped through the cracks somehow.”

“I’ll be at the bar,” he muttered.

The Roanoke airport was tiny, but it was clean and sunny and more pleasant than a lot of airports he’d been to over the years. He wandered in the direction of the only bar he could see. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was the only bar in the whole airport.

As he approached, he noticed a young woman watching him.

She was perched on a stool at the end of the bar, her hand wrapped around a glass of what looked like club soda. She was crossing a pair of very fine legs.

His body immediately tightened with interest.

She was a pretty little thing. Small but with a great shape to her. She wore a knee-length dress and sandals. She had shoulder length brown hair, clear skin, dark eyes, and lovely, lush lips.

And she was definitely watching him. Her eyes never left his face as he approached. After a minute, she gave him a little smile.

She was absolutely gorgeous. He was already imagining what she might be like in bed.

The airline had lost his luggage. His sister wasn’t expecting him for another week. If he stayed in Roanoke for the night, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

At least some fun with this hot little package might salvage this trip.

“Hello,” he said, coming over to stand beside her with a practiced smile that always worked on women.

“Hi,” she said, that little smile still hovering on her lips. “Did you just fly in?”

“Yeah.” When the bartender came over, Noah ordered a beer. Then he leaned a little closer to the woman. “They lost my damned luggage.”

“Annoying.” She was watching him in a strange way, but he loved the way her soft brown eyes rested on his face. Like she saw more in him than most people, like she wanted to see even more. “How are you?” she asked.

It was an odd question, but he was just happy to keep talking to her. “I’m doing pretty well now.” He took a swallow of his beer. “You’ve got the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.”

He’d learned early on that the eyes were the best thing to compliment a woman on. The body was considered too sexual and thus too suggestive. The skin was too personal, and the hair wasn’t personal enough. The eyes were exactly right, and in this case it happened to be true.

They were beautiful eyes—like liquid chocolate.

Her cheeks flushed prettily, and she dropped her eyes. “Thank you.”

Even more enchanted than ever, Noah repositioned himself and reached over to lift her chin. “I’m Noah.”

Something changed on her face. It grew oddly still. “Noah,” she murmured.

“Yes. You can say my name any time you like.” He paused, and when she didn’t reply, he asked, “What’s your name?”

The soft look in her eyes disappeared, replaced by something else, something he didn’t understand.

What the hell had just happened?

She’d been into him. Totally into him. He wasn’t a fool, and he knew how to recognize it. And now it was like she’d just shut down.

He didn’t want her to shut down on him. He wanted her all soft and flushed like she’d been before. He used a husky murmur that he knew women liked as he said, “You don’t have to give me your name if you don’t want to.”

Her shoulders had stiffened, and she turned her head away from him. It looked like she was breathing unevenly.

Damn it. He’d lost her, and he had no idea why.

Before he could say anything else, a voice called out from behind them, “Emma! Emma!”

Emma.

Something sparked in his mind. Something that should be significant.

He turned around and saw a familiar face.

Patrick was older now, and he wasn’t as skinny as he’d been in high school. But his features and smile were familiar as he hurried over to the bar, rolling a small suitcase and carrying a leather bag.

One of Noah’s best friends since childhood.

One of his only friends.

But Patrick’s eyes weren’t focused on Noah. They were focused on the woman beside him.

Emma.

Noah gasped as it finally caught up to him.

Emma. Emma. Patrick’s little sister.

Little Pudge.

He’d just been standing here coming onto plain, chubby little Emma, who was always lurking around, wearing baggy clothes and staring at him.

She wasn’t plain or chubby anymore.

Patrick had glanced over at him, and his face changed with recognition. “Noah? Damn, man, why didn’t you let us know you were coming?” He pulled to a stop, his expression altering yet again. “Or did you know?” His eyes moved from Emma to Noah suspiciously.

“Of course I didn’t know,” Emma said, evidently rousing herself to respond to the situation. “We just happened to run into each other.”

“Y-yeah. I almost didn’t recognize her after so long,” Noah managed to say, his mind buzzing from surprise and disorientation and a strange kind of embarrassment.

He was never embarrassed.

He didn’t like it.

Emma slanted him a look that was decidedly cold. She obviously resented the fact that he hadn’t recognized her, but how the hell was he supposed to know this gorgeous woman was Patrick’s little sister, Pudge?

And what the hell was he supposed to do with the fact that he was still hopelessly attracted to her, that he was seeing her as anything but a little sister?

Patrick had relaxed, evidently assuming that nothing untoward had happened between his friend and his sister. He grinned at Noah. “Emma’s here to pick me up. I guess she probably told you that. If you don’t have a car, you can ride along with us.”

Noah gulped down the rest of his beer. “I’m waiting to hear about my luggage.”

Patrick waved to the bartender and asked for a beer himself. “Well, we’ll wait with you. You don’t mind, do you, Emma? Man, I can’t believe you’re here after so long. We have so much to catch up on.”

Noah swallowed over his discomfort and resigned himself to a long chat.

***

Forty minutes later, Emma got behind the wheel of her brother’s car, trying not to look at Noah sitting in the back seat.

He was an asshole. An absolute asshole.

He looked even better than he had when he was younger. He’d always been fit and athletic, but he was broader across the shoulders now, with obvious power in his stride, in his stance. His hair wasn’t as fair as Ginny’s, but there were golden glints in the brown, picked up by the sunlight. And his eyes were the same dark green as his sister’s. He was clean shaven and wearing a black suit that looked very expensive.

Noah Hart. Sitting in the back seat of her brother’s car.

Home again after all these years.

But not the man she used to know.

He’d always been ambitious, competitive. But he’d also been friendly, funny, almost warm. He’d been smarter than he’d wanted to let on all through high school, and he’d loved to laugh.

Now he was nothing but cool.

He hadn’t even known who she was, and he’d come on to her like she was just some random woman at a bar.

She tried to push aside her hurt feelings and be reasonable about it. It had been seven years since he’d seen her. Nine years since he’d seen her regularly. And she did look a lot different. She’d gotten in better shape, her skin had cleared up, and she’d finally gotten her braces off.

But still…

She was his best friend’s sister. He should know who she was when he saw her.

She hadn’t believed it when he’d approached her at the bar with that warm look in his eyes. He’d told her she had the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen.

She’d thought he’d meant it. She’d thought he’d known who she was.

It had been like a slash to the heart when she realized she was just a stranger to him.

It didn’t matter.

It absolutely didn’t matter.

Noah didn’t matter to her.

He was only here because he’d been guilted into it. He wouldn’t have come at all if he’d had his way.

He cared more about business and flirting with strangers than he did about his hometown and old friends. She didn’t want that kind of man. She wanted a nice guy who cared about the things she cared about.

She didn’t give a damn about whether he’d recognized her or not.

She wasn’t going to think about him.

She was going to get through this forty-five minute car ride back to Blacksburg, and then she was going to forget he existed.

Anyway she was on a Man-Fast.

And that meant fasting from thoughts of Noah Hart.