He had practically spent the whole night dreaming about Nova and the way her mouth had tasted and felt—the way her bottom lip was so full and succulent, perfectly balancing out the small curve of her top lip. The sweet taste of beer that had been on her tongue…

Naturally, those thoughts began to trail dangerous territory, for he began imagining what the rest of her skin tasted and felt like.

Too hot and bothered to get more than a few hours of sleep completed, Cannon woke far earlier than usual the following morning, with visions of the beautiful Windego still parading around through his head.

With time to spare, he made himself a cup of coffee and sipped it outside, watching the sunrise.

What are you getting yourself into, Cannon? he thought to himself. He sighed, wondering if he could truly trust the way he felt. His change of heart toward Nova Windego had happened so abruptly, it was more than a little unnerving. He could only imagine how unsettling it must have felt for her to be on the receiving end of it, although she had blamed the surprising turn of events last night on the two tall glasses of beer he had drank too quickly. So maybe she didn’t think much of it at all—a thought that did little to make Cannon feel better.

He felt a genuine pang of frustration over the fact that Nova hadn’t taken him seriously. He wasn’t a playboy like Dax, so whenever he started to feel this way over a woman, those feelings were usually genuine.

Granted, it honestly may have been too early to take things seriously. After all, last night had been his first attempt to make a move on Nova. If she wasn’t responding yet, maybe she just needed time.

Enough about her. What about you? You need time to figure out what you’re really feeling, the voice in his head argued, bringing up a very valid point.

Just a day ago, he had been certain Nova’s appearance only spelled trouble for him. He had been so sure that she was going to take over his job, leaving him homeless and scratching to make a living. She had been a threat strong enough to give him a migraine. Yet, somehow between then and now, she had literally become the woman of his most sensual dreams.

What was this almost supernatural pull he was feeling towards her?

He sighed, taking another sip of his coffee and grateful that he hadn’t awoken with too much of a hangover.

Seeing the rising sun indicating a brand-new day was enough to make Cannon anxious to get the day started because starting the day undoubtedly meant seeing Nova again. He had already vowed to be kinder to her while they worked, hoping that it would consequently make her kinder to him if they got the opportunity to spend more time together that evening.

The thought made his heart flutter, just like the birds that flew amongst the treetops. Smiling to himself, he stood, stretched, and headed back inside his cabin for a shower. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so excited about starting a new day. It was surprising how dull his life had been before Nova walked into it and unexpectedly turned it upside down, in the most interesting way.

* * *

Upon making it to the main office of Windego Winery, Cannon’s good mood came to a screeching halt. Call it a sixth sense, but he somehow knew something was wrong. Someone else was already there, and judging from the goosebumps that broke out over his skin, it wasn’t Nova.

Before entering the office, he scanned the premises outside, looking for any tale-tell signs of forced entry. No such signs were visible though, which lowered Cannon’s anxiety just minimally, for at least whoever was inside had a key.

Just to be certain, Cannon checked his pocket, ensuring his key hadn’t been stolen at some point outside of his awareness. Luckily, his key rested in his pocket, just as it always did.

Cannon pushed open the front door and stepped inside the office, keeping his movements quiet and cautious. A voice drifted from the adjacent room, taking a phone call. As Cannon listened, the voice somehow sounded foreign and familiar at the same time. He closed his eyes, narrowing his focus and putting all his concentration into trying to identify the familiar parts of the voice. Its tone was rich and buttery despite the clipped and angry words that shaped it. There was also a distinct air of haughtiness to it—one that Cannon had grown to know very well. It occurred to him how similar the voice was to Nova’s, but deeper and with more bass in it. He presumed it was how she would sound if she was male, which meant the voice could belong to none other her twin brother.

Julius had broken into his office. Cannon didn’t know whether he felt offended, annoyed, or both. He opened his eyes and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

How could he have forgotten so quickly that Julius Windego was in town? While his feelings toward Nova had warmed considerably, the same couldn’t be said for his feelings about Julius. The simple thought of Julius still made him apprehensive, especially since he didn’t know why the male twin was here. In fact, Julius’s appearance forcibly reminded him that he wasn’t sure why either twin was here, and that maybe he couldn’t afford to let his guard down so quickly after all.

Wondering what had Julius sounding so agitated, Cannon remained quiet, this time paying attention to what was actually being said. Unfortunately, by the time he was ready to eavesdrop, it seemed that Julius was near the end of the conversation.

“Yes, Maxine,” he said angrily before falling silent.

A tiny beep let Cannon know Julius had ended the call. Hearing footsteps, Cannon hurried to his desk. He began shuffling papers to appear busy, just as Julius stepped into view. “Morning,” he said. “I thought I heard someone. What brings you here this early?”

“Well, I happen to work here, so…” Cannon’s voice trailed off.

“Do you always start work so early, or is this a special occasion of some sort?”

“The only special occasion is being a responsible employee. Starting work early is not unusual, if you didn’t know.”

Julius tilted his head curiously. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re speaking like you don’t know who I am.”

Cannon paused, a flush coming onto his cheeks. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to be rude, I…”

Julius waved his hand. “Don’t mention it. We’re all allowed to have a bad day every now and then, right? So I’ll give you a pass this time. Next time though—you better think twice about how you speak to the people you work for.”

“Yes, sir,” Cannon said, tasting bile in his throat. The resemblance between Julius and Nova was uncanny, both of them having the same piercing green eyes and blond hair. And although both of them sported reputations of being hot-headed, Cannon saw firsthand that one of them clearly had the other beat in that category.

“So—your sister never did disclose exactly why she was here. How about you? Are you going to tell me, or is it privileged information that I’m not allowed to know as a lowly employee? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Julius smirked, though it looked more like a sneer than anything. “Whatever you don’t know isn’t your business,” he said. “Now, speaking of my sister—she wouldn’t happen to be around here right now, would she?

“Here, in this building? No, it doesn’t seem like it.”

“What did I tell you about the smart-ass remarks?” Julius said. But he gave Cannon no time to respond as he stormed out of the office, not bothering to close the door behind him.

Having started the day off with the wrong twin, Cannon agitatedly prepared for the day of work ahead of him., wondering if he had really been in such a good mood when he woke up. It already seemed so long ago.