Cole slipped Millie’s jacket around her shoulders, suppressing the urge to pull her into his side. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d hoped time would stand still. If he’d had his way, they would have remained inside the restaurant. Unfortunately, their server had taken to hovering too close to their table and coughing at regular intervals. Cole hadn’t even noticed the other diners leaving until it had only been him and Millie sitting there, nursing the remains of their wine.

“Thank you for dinner—and for the job.” She offered a brief smile. “Do I need to call you ‘boss’?”

Cole raised an eyebrow. “I kinda like the sound of that.”

She playfully nudged his arm with hers. “Dream on.”

He laughed. “A man can hope.”

She stared at him with an unreadable expression. He didn’t recall her being so hard to figure out. Then again, his younger self had been too consumed with raging teenage hormones, then overcome with crushing disappointment when she’d looked through him—to his twin—and then to Tanner.

“So, what happens now?”

He scratched his cheek and second-guessed the right response. “Um, I see you home?”

She smiled. “I mean about the job. When do you need me to start?”

“Oh.” He chuckled, glancing upward while he worked out his shift pattern—because there was no way she was turning up for her first day without him being front and center to welcome her—or protect her from Calum’s ‘speak before thinking’ nature. “Day after tomorrow. Ten a.m. sharp.”

“Perfect.” She clapped a hand to her forehead. “What’s the address?”

Cole took out his cell and opened the contacts app. “What’s your number?”

A frown pulled her brows down into a V. “My number?”

“Yeah. Your cell number.”

“Why do you need that?”

Something in her eyes, her demeanor, the way her spine stiffened at his innocent request had his eyebrows shooting up. “So I can text you the address.”

“Oh.” She recovered quickly, but not before she had him damned curious. She’d mentioned in the coffee shop the previous night about not wanting Tanner to find her, and now she was tentative—no, strike that—really weird, about giving out her number. He almost asked her what she was so scared of—almost—but an instinct honed over years on the street had him changing his mind.

“Can you write it down?”

“I guess,” he said, bewildered at her odd behavior. “Do you have a pen and paper?”

She dug around in her purse and handed over a receipt for some cleaning products, and a pen. He jotted down the address and gave the paper back to her.

She scanned it and then tucked it away in her purse.

“I’ll be there.”

“I’ll see you home.”

“No need,” she said, a little too quickly. “I have some errands to run. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”

And, leaving him standing there, she virtually ran down the street and disappeared.

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

His radar was firing like goddamn shooting stars through the night sky. Something was seriously off, but if he asked her outright, he wouldn’t get an answer—at least not a truthful one. Millie wasn’t the girl he’d known. It didn’t matter, though.

He couldn’t deny that he still fucking wanted her.

He walked back to the hotel, wondering if Jax got his text. His brother hadn’t replied, although that didn’t mean he hadn’t seen it. Cole poked his head into the hotel bar and spotted Isa and not Jax serving. Changing direction, he went downstairs to their living quarters. No one was around. Shrugging out of his jacket he hung it in the closet then grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and flopped onto the couch.

Rubbing his forehead, Cole blew out a heavy sigh. How should he play this thing with Millie? Her behavior had been so erratic. One minute, warm and friendly, the next paralyzed, like a deer caught in headlights. She’d deflected the simplest of questions and given only sketchy details about her life in Chicago. When she’d asked him what she should eat, he’d almost choked on his drink. She’d covered her error well, and perhaps there’d been an inkling of truth in her comment about asking for a recommendation. Except he could spot bullshit a mile off.

There was definitely more to her breakup with Tanner than she’d been willing to share—yet. Still, he was a patient man. He’d wait, bide his time, be her friend again, because he got the distinct impression she badly needed one.

The door to Jax’s bedroom opened, and his eldest brother strolled out, Indie in tow. She was still fastening the buttons on her shirt. As her gaze collided with his, she went bright red. Amused, Cole took pity on her and looked away, giving her time to get herself together. Good thing Calum wasn’t here. He’d have made some inappropriate quip with the sole purpose of embarrassing her further.

“When did you get back?” Jax asked while casting a side-eye at Indie to make sure she was okay.

“Just now,” Cole said. “I take it you haven’t seen my text?”

Jax shook his head. “I’ve been… busy.” He gave a goofy grin while Indie muttered something about helping Isa in the bar.

“Sorry,” Cole said as soon as Indie was out of earshot. “If I’d known, I’d have had a drink before coming down.”

“No need. We all live here, and we’re all red-blooded males. Wait until you fall in love and want to move a girl in here.” He theatrically clamped his hands over his ears. “We’ll need earplugs.”

An image popped into Cole’s mind of Millie lying in his bed, writhing beneath him. His groin twinged, and a burning sensation flamed inside his chest. You’re getting waaay ahead of yourself, dickhead

“Yeah, yeah.”

Jax sat on the chair adjacent to the couch. “What was the text anyway? Everything okay?”

Cole dragged his mind away from the arousing image and nodded at his brother. “I’ve found someone to take over from Tanya.”

Jax’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t aware you were looking.”

Cole shrugged. “We’re all shareholders, right? Anyway, I wasn’t looking. She kind of fell into my lap, metaphorically speaking. I told her she can start day after tomorrow.”

“Fine by me. I’ve been struggling to find someone suitable, and that’s one more thing off my to-do list.”

“So you’re good, even though you haven’t seen her?”

Jax nodded. “If you think she’s the right person, then she’s the right person.”

“There is a slight problem, or at least there could be.”

Jax cast him a curious look, but before he could ask, Calum waltzed in, his arm slung over Laurella’s shoulders. “What problem?”

Cole repressed a groan as Calum grabbed a beer for himself and a juice for Laurella. Hoping to be able to tell Jax before Calum, Cole would have liked his older brother’s input on the best way to deliver the news. Jax hadn’t been aware of Cole’s childhood affection—calling it obsession sounded too stalkerish—for Millie, and he was pretty sure he’d managed to keep it from Calum. Regardless, his twin wasn’t going to be happy with a blast from the past being thrust in his face now he was with Laurella.

“I’ve found Tanya’s replacement.”

Calum twisted the bottle top then flicked it into the trash. “And that’s a problem because?”

Cole took a breath. He could write the script for how this would go down, and, under normal circumstances, he’d give up what he wanted in an effort to keep the peace. But Millie needed a job—badly if her gushing relief had been anything to go by—and they needed a front desk clerk. That was all. Him helping out an old friend and sorting their staffing issues at the same time.

“It’s not a problem per se.”

Calum latched on to the uneasiness in Cole’s tone, because his eyes narrowed. “Go on.”

Cole stared right at him. “I’ve given the job to Millie Frayser.”

For the briefest of moments, Calum’s forehead wrinkled in confusion, and then he caught up. His jaw tightened. “As in the girl we went to school with?”

Cole nodded. Both Jax and Laurella looked confused as they clearly sensed the strained undercurrent but had no clue what was going on.

“You’re fucking kidding, right?”

“No.”

“Then I hope she doesn’t give you too much of a hard time when you ring and tell her you’ve withdrawn the offer.”

Not fucking happening. “I don’t have her number.”

“Then go to her place.”

“I don’t know where she’s living.”

“You don’t have her number and you don’t know where her pad is, but you still managed to offer her a job. What the fuck are you? A fucking psychic?”

“Calum!” Laurella glared at him. “What is wrong with you? He’s offered this woman a job, not a share of the hotel.”

Calum arranged his face into an expression less combative, as though he’d forgotten Laurella was even there. He cocked his head toward their bedroom. “Why don’t you go get ready for bed, sweetheart. I’ll be in shortly.”

Her eyes flared when he summarily dismissed her. “Stronzo,” she muttered, giving him a dig with her elbow. She stomped off, slamming the door behind her.

Calum turned back to Cole. “You’d fucking better start talking, and fast.”

Jax chose that moment to speak up. “I haven’t got a clue what’s going on, so can one of you catch me up?”

Cole ignored him. “I bumped into her by accident. I didn’t even know she was back in New York. She needs a job, Calum, and we had an opening. There’s nothing more to this than that.”

“And what’s Tanner going to say about his wife working here? I can’t see him being any happier about it than I am.”

“They’ve separated.”

Calum’s eyebrows shot up, and he paused momentarily. It didn’t last long. “My answer is still the same. She can’t work here. I mean, she’s a nice girl, or she was. Of course I’d love to help her out. But fuck, man, I’ve only just gotten together with Laurella. Seriously, I don’t need a blast from my illustrious past. How am I going to explain this to her?”

Cole set his jaw, keeping his hands relaxed in his lap. Best not to clench them in case one of them shot out and slammed into Calum’s gut.

“I’m not retracting the offer.”

Calum let out an exasperated noise. “If she needs a job, then I’ll help you look for one for her. I’ll speak to Zane, get him to ask around. But her being employed here? Nope. That’s not going to work for me. Jax, you need to step in here.”

“I would if I knew what the hell was going on.”

Calum went to speak, but Cole got in there first, his anger boiling. He loved his brother, but Calum could be a selfish bastard at times.

“Calum is pissed because he doesn’t want to have to explain to Laurella how he spent a few weeks in high school with his tongue down the throat of our new employee. It’s not a problem, though. He moved on to the next girl after five fucking minutes.”

Calum glowered, his face darkening at the accuracy of Cole’s statement. Jax laughed.

“So, one of your many, many, many exes is back to haunt you. Hilarious.”

Calum made a warning sound in the back of his throat, one that told Cole he didn’t find the situation remotely funny.

“Look,” Cole said. “I don’t know what has gone on with her and Tanner, but my radar is firing like crazy. She’s thin, too thin, and scared shitless of something. My guess? Replace ‘something’ with ‘Tanner’. I’m simply trying to help an old friend in need. I had hoped being with Laurella would make you less of a dick.” He shrugged for effect. “Clearly I was wrong.”

Seconds scraped by. And then Calum sighed. “Fine. It’s not even like we were a thing. I didn’t even get to second base as I recall.”

Thank fuck for that. “She clearly knew better,” Cole drawled.

Calum showed his middle finger. “Screw you.”

Jax glanced between the twins. “We’re good? I don’t have to get onto that useless agency in the morning?”

Cole stared at Calum expectantly, daring him to refire up the argument.

“Yeah,” Calum finally said. “We’re good. And now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to bed. I’ll break the news to Laurella in the morning.”

He sauntered over to his bedroom door, his anger dissipating like a fog burned off by the morning sun—as it always did with him—a flash of temper, a few cutting words, then he’d carry on as though the altercation had never happened.

He pressed down on the door handle. The door didn’t budge. He tried again. Still no luck.

“The door’s stuck.”

“Want a hand?” Cole said, getting to his feet.

Then Laurella spoke from the other side of the door, her voice more than loud enough for him and Jax to hear. “The door is not stuck. The door is locked.”

“Why is it locked?” Calum asked.

“Because you are a complete stronzo. You dismiss me so easily? Now I’m dismissing you. Do you know what I’m wearing in here? Nothing. And you won’t get to see any of it. Sleep on the couch. Goodnight.”

Calum’s facial expression when he turned in astonishment toward his brothers was just about the funniest thing Cole had seen in a long time. He and Jax laughed.

“You’re so fucking whipped,” Cole said.

Calum tried the door handle again. “Come on, Ella. Open up, baby.”

“I’m not your baby, and I am certainly not your Ella. Only my family get to call me Ella. You are not family. You are a stronzo.”

Cole’s laughter grew. Calum flipped him the bird for the second time in as many minutes.

“You could sleep in Nate’s room,” Cole said, strolling across to his bedroom. “Although he didn’t change the sheets before he left last time, and who knows what he got up to in there.” Cole opened his door. “Well, would you look at that. Mine opens fine.”

Grinning, he walked inside, Calum’s indignant expression the last thing he saw.