“I’ll call you Wednesday to make plans for next weekend.” David held my hand, his thumb brushing absentmindedly back and forth over my knuckles as we said our goodbyes.

“I have a late meeting that night. I should be home by eight, but to be safe, let’s make it closer to nine.”

He nodded once and his eyes dropped to my lips. “I want to kiss you so bad right now.”

“I know. Me too.” My gaze darted to the front of the inn to make sure none of my brothers—or worse, my mom—were there. When I saw the proverbial coast was clear (as opposed to the literal coast, located a few hundred feet beyond), I leaned forward and planted my lips to his.

David groaned when I pulled away much too soon. “Okay, you should go now. A man can only control himself for so long when there’s a beautiful woman in his car.” As if realizing what he’d said, he groaned a second time and palmed his forehead, shaking his head back and forth. “That came out all wrong. You know what I mean.”

I chuckled and squeezed his knee. “I know what you mean.”

I turned and gripped the handle to leave, but let my eyes drink him in one last time. If I didn’t climb out of his car right this minute, I was liable to invent some excuse for why I couldn’t go to my mom’s wedding, choosing to hole up at his house for the remainder of the weekend instead.

He’d already said he’d skip his dad’s wedding if I did. The way we both saw it, today wasn’t their first time walking down the aisle, nor would it likely be the last. We’d joked that we could catch them the next time around, all the while knowing we wouldn’t play hooky—no matter how badly we may have wanted to.

“I’m going now,” I said, sliding out of the car and waving as David pulled away from the curb. I tried not to stare after him as he disappeared around the corner.

“Well, well, well.” My brother Alex sidled up next to me, his hands shoved deep into the front pockets of his jeans. “Look what the cat dragged in.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in tight against his solid chest. Of the four of us, Alex was the tallest, and the sibling built most like our dad. Sometimes it was hard for me to reconcile the man he’d grown into with the boy I remembered. He was a big, hulking beast of a man who more often than not wore a scowl across his face.

“No, I’m sure you don’t,” he answered with a knowing smirk. “Nice outfit, by the way.”

I leaned away to look up at him. “Since when do you notice what I’m wearing?”

“Since you go MIA on your brothers, post a cryptic photo on Instagram, and then show up the next morning wearing the exact same dress in said photo.”

I felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment. No one wanted to be caught returning from a night of crazy good sex, especially when the person who caught you knew you didn’t have a boyfriend. I released a shaky laugh. “It sucks having a cop for a brother.”

He laughed and ruffled my hair. I pretended to be annoyed by it, but it didn’t bother me—too much. I had friends who didn’t have great relationships with their siblings, and I was thankful that Theo, Alex, Drew, and I would always be a strong presence in each other’s lives. Especially on days like today, when the support of your family meant a lot.

“What’s your plan for today?” he asked, releasing me and taking a step back. “Spa day with mom and Drew as usual?”

I looked down at my watch. “I’m meeting them in half an hour, actually. You guys golfing with the groom?”

While we’d been too young when our mom had married her second and third husbands, with numbers four and five, we’d developed a few traditions. Drew and I had begun taking mom to a day spa to get ready for her big day, while Alex and Theo invited the groom-to-be out golfing. If anyone thought it was odd that Drew hung out with mom and me instead of his two older brothers, no one mentioned it.

He nodded and checked his own watch. “Golf with Theo, but no to Richard. Mom extended the invite, but he’s spending the day with his son. Something about them not getting along, or the guy being pissed at him. I don’t know; I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Given that Alex was a cop, I was often surprised how easily he could tune things out.

“You met him yet?”

“The son?”

“No,” I huffed. “The guy mom’s marrying. Theo said he’s all right, but you know I worry. Especially since the handful of times the three of us were supposed to grab dinner, mom canceled at the last minute. Something about Richard being busy.”

I didn’t have any concrete reason not to trust the guy, but so far he hadn’t won me over either. I was slightly mollified that Theo had signed off on him, but he liked everyone. Alex, on the other hand, was even more cynical than me, and it took a lot to win him over. If he said Richard was an okay guy, I’d give him the benefit of the doubt.

“Yeah, I met him.”

“And?”

My brother shrugged. “He seems fine. He adores mom … but so did Pat.” At the mention of that slimeball, we both made a face. “Unlike him, Richard doesn’t have any skeletons in his closet that I could uncover, which is a point in his favor. The only thing I don’t trust is his last wife was a hot, young yoga instructor. Obviously, mom’s not.”

That was a bit fishy. You didn’t typically meet a man who’d willingly trade in his shiny new sports car that had come with all the bells and whistles for something … vintage. Especially a model that would probably need a few visits to the shop in the not-too-distant future. At sixty-three, our mom was still beautiful and in excellent health, but she wasn’t exactly in the prime of her life. Then again, she had wisdom and experience on her side.

Since the guy had checked out with both Theo and Alex though, I would set aside my suspicions. For now. In the meantime, I had nails that needed painting and skin that needed pampering.

I stretched up onto my toes and kissed my brother’s cheek. “I have to get going, but I’ll see you later.”

“Take it easy on the mimosas, yeah?”

I laughed and shook my head. Walking backward, I said, “Drew’s in charge of the booze this time around.”

From thirty feet away, I heard my brother let out a horrified groan. “Don’t let her drink too many! You know what gin does to her.”

I did. Which was why I’d specifically told Drew no gin and tonics. He could drink the stuff with no problem, but mom wasn’t so lucky. She got sloppy real quick, and today was not the day for her switch between outbursts of song and dance and long, drawn-out sobbing jags.

I gave him a thumbs-up and disappeared through the revolving door.

“What’s the haps big sis?”

I lifted a slice of cucumber from my left eye and peered at my youngest brother. “What’s the haps?”

He winked and took a sip of his gin and tonic. “Isn’t that how all the old folks talk?”

I rolled my eyes and dropped the cucumber back into place. Unfortunately, it slid down my cheek, coming to a stop in the thick, gooey avocado mask coating my face. So far, I’d been buffed to within an inch of my life with a rosemary, lemon peel, and salt scrub before being dunked unceremoniously into a big porcelain tub filled with milk, honey, and lavender. Now, I waited for my mani-pedi with half a bowl of guacamole on my face. Mom was off getting a rose oil massage while Drew, bless his soul, was covered with some sort of black charcoal sludge. He said it was to shrink his pores, while my treatment was supposed to give me back my youthful glow.

“You going to fill me in on your late-night rendezvous?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I answered same as with Alex, attempting to tune him out. We were supposed to be relaxing.

He chuckled. “That’s what Alex said you’d say. So, who is he?”

Fucking Alex.

Except … maybe not.

I plucked the cucumbers off my eyes and set them aside. Pulling my legs up under me, I twisted to face the brother. He was a senior at Thackeray College where David taught. “Have you taken any literature courses lately?”

Drew might be a pain in my ass sometimes, but of my three siblings, he was the one I was closest with. If he had any dirt on the handsome Professor Carstairs, he wouldn’t hesitate to share it with me. An economics major, he might not know anything, but I thought it was worth asking.

He nodded and emptied his glass, the ice rattling and his straw making a loud sucking noise. “It’s a prerequisite for graduation. Well-rounded students and all that. Why the sudden interest in my education?” And then it hit him. “Wait! You’re banging a professor, aren’t you?”

“Shhh,” I admonished, looking around to make sure no one was listening.

First, I wasn’t a fan of strangers knowing my business, but more than that, David had grown up around here. If someone was listening, I didn’t want it getting back to him that I’d been gossiping about our night together. I really liked him and was looking forward to seeing where things might go between us. Finding out the girl you’d had sex with was broadcasting the details in the middle of the spa would not be a good start to a relationship.

Drew leaned forward and dropped his voice. “Please, please, please tell me it’s Professor Carstairs.”

My eyes went wide. “How’d you guess?” I asked, trying to recapture some of my earlier chill.

While I’d known it was possible for Drew to know of David, I hadn’t expected him to guess that’s who I’d been with the night before quite so easily.

“Everyone knows who he is. We call him Professor Cockstairs.” Drew cackled and waggled his eyebrows. “You know, because he has a—”

I held my hand up to stop him from saying it.

I did know.

I’d been shocked when David had gotten undressed, and then I’d immediately wondered how something that big was going to fit inside me. Unbidden, the space between my thighs throbbed … almost like it missed its new plaything. The plaything that was apparently famous among the students of the college where he taught.

What had I been thinking?

You’d been thinking that if you’d had a professor who looked like him, you would have stayed after class for some extra tutoring my subconscious tittered.

I groaned and set my palm to my forehead, forgetting all about the goopy mask. “Fuck,” I muttered, pulling my hand away and glancing around for a towel to wipe it off on. When I didn’t see one, I swiped it down the front of my robe instead.

They had to wash it anyway, and I was certain I wasn’t the first person to get some slimy concoction on the black terrycloth. “Of course it turns out he’s a manwhore. What was I thinking?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Drew rushed to assure me. “It’s just those suits he wears. You know the ones. They don’t leave much to the imagination.”

My eyes found his, and I prepared to admit the truth. “I’ve never actually seen him in a suit. I only met him yesterday.” I grimaced, waiting for my brother’s censure.

I loved my siblings, but they could be a bit hypocritical when it came to gender equality. What was good for the goose wasn’t always good for the gander. While I’d bet good money they’d all had more than their fair shares of hookups and one-night stands, I was a woman, and as far as they were concerned, we simply didn’t do that.

But instead of judging me, Drew surprised me by raising his palm for a high five. “Way to go!”

I glanced down, making sure I’d gotten all the avocado off, and then smacked our palms together. “You’re not going to slut shame me?” I asked, reaching for my mimosa.

“Fuck no,” he laughed. “That man is gorgeous. Like a younger, handsomer Jude Law. I’m tempted to ask if his dick is as impressive as I hope it is, but—” Drew gasped, realizing what he’d just revealed. His cheeks flushed crimson, and his eyes turned wild and then plaintive. “Oh Christ. Fuck.”

Without a word, I dropped the footrest on my chair and went to my baby brother’s side. I’d wondered for a couple of years if he might be gay, but had kept my questions to myself. I loved him, and it didn’t matter to me whether he liked men or women. Or both.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him into me.

He pushed against my middle. “Your mask.”

“I don’t care,” I said, shaking my head even though he couldn’t see me.

His arms came around my waist then, and he squeezed me back. We stayed like that for a few long seconds until he shrugged out of my embrace. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?” He looked terrified, and that broke my heart.

“I’d never do that to you.”

He smiled, a sad little lift of his lips that didn’t quite reach his normally bright eyes. “I haven’t said anything to anyone in the family because I’m still trying to figure things out.”

I ruffled his hair lightly. “I know I’m just a big old nerd who’s not half as cool as you are, but I’m here if you ever need to talk.”

“I know,” he said, and this time his smile was genuine. “I love you, Vicky.”

“I love you too, Drew.”

After a few seconds, he glanced shyly at me out of the side of his eye. “Just tell me one thing.”

“Anything.”

“Was it good?”

I didn’t have to ask what he was talking about. No matter what I’d just learned about my brother, he’d always been a little shit and I didn’t see that ever changing. And despite our age difference, he was the only one I could talk to about this stuff. Alex was too damn scary, and Theo was too damn uptight.

I nodded conspiratorially. “The best.”

He sighed dreamily. “I knew it.”