Her long, jet-black hair draped over her front right shoulder as she combed her fingers lazily through it. Without taking her eyes off of me, she watched me slide behind the wheel and shut the door.

I watched Travis back out and couldn’t stop myself from hating him for what he said.

He slowed down in front of me, rolled down his window, honked to make sure I was looking, and then threw up his middle finger before hitting the gas and squealing out of the parking lot.

“Asshole,” I muttered.

“Nolan.” Her voice sounded annoyed that I hadn’t bothered to greet her, let alone recognize that she was sitting inside my truck, waiting. “Don’t you ignore me.”

I glanced at her after Travis’s car disappeared around the corner. “I told you I could handle it.”

She raised her brows then dove into her purse. “I need a ride to the airport.”

“What?” My grip tightened on the wheel as I twisted my spine to get a better look at her. “Now?”

“Yes. Now.” She flipped her cell over and fixed her gaze on the screen.

I cast my gaze to the backseat where her travel suitcases were already stacked. “Couldn’t you have at least given me a heads up?”

“Is it a problem?” She glanced at the clock on my dash. “My flight leaves in an hour.”

Glancing back up to the condo, I wondered how long she had been sitting here waiting for me to show. “How did you get here?” I questioned.

“The bus,” she spat like I had asked the most absurd question in the entire world. Then she turned her head away and mumbled, “Maybe I should have asked Travis.”

“No. It’s fine,” I said, sticking my key in the ignition.

“Really?” She spun her head back to me. “Because from the sounds of it, it doesn’t sound fine.”

As I put the truck in drive, I thought how ridiculous it was for my baby sister Charlotte to be flying back and forth to Denver when it wasn’t that far to drive. “You know the drive isn’t that bad. You should try it sometime.”

“It’s over two hours, Nolan. I don’t have time.”

I chuckled as I pulled out, taking one last glance up at the apartment where I was certain I saw Sophia spying through the window. Sophia came across as a tough cookie, but I could see through the layers. And, besides, I kind of liked having her challenge me. It was a nice change from the usual where women fell at my feet because of who I was and what family I came from. I could use something different in my life, something not so predictable.

I wondered if Sophia could be that something.

“What were you two arguing about, anyway?” Charlotte asked.

I drove through the center of town, away from the ski mountain, as I glanced over at my sister. I’d do anything for her. And I knew she knew that much me. That was really why she came to me asking for a lift to the airport; because she knew I would never say no. And we both knew, of all the brothers, that I was the one she could count on most.

“Don’t want to talk about it?” She gave me a hard glance.

I kept my eyes forward, knowing I couldn’t tell her the truth of what Travis and I were pushing each other about. Not that I didn’t think she couldn’t handle it, because I knew she could. Really, I had to keep it a secret because if found out the details for herself, I would never hear the end of it.

“It was about the dishwasher,” I lied.

She flashed me a skeptical look before rolling her eyes back to her phone.

I was a horrible liar, and my baby sister knew it better than anyone. Truthfully, Travis and I were getting in a pissing match about our guest, Sophia Monroe. And that was something worth fighting for. I didn’t give a flying hoot about the stupid dishwasher. But Sophia…she had my head spinning.

Warmth flooded through me at just the thought of saying her name.

But my muscles were quick to tighten when thinking about what it was Travis was threatening to do. I couldn’t allow him to even try to put the moves on Sophia. And not just because of the way she made my knees go weak, but mostly because she was our guest. A paying guest. And, besides, I’d seen her first and was the first to know just how insanely attractive she was.

I turned to look out my window after feeling my face flush. I didn’t want Charlotte to see, because then she would only have more questions that would demand more answers.

I turned the wheel and settled into my drive thinking about my asshole younger brother.

Travis was busting my balls. I knew it. He would never do such a thing, but what he’d said got to me. And just the idea of him flirting with Sophia had me clenching my abs, preparing to battle.

If anybody was going to show her a good time this weekend, it was going to be me.

“It’s fixed, though, right?” Charlotte asked about the dishwasher.

“Yeah. It’s fixed.” I brought my eyes back around and told her the problem.

“You know that was probably from one of Travis’s parties.” She shook her head.

“No doubt.”

“Travis doesn’t get it. That condo is a rental—a place of business, not fun—and isn’t meant to be used as a place to party.” Her slender hands jerked through the air as she talked.

I checked my mirrors and slowed to a stop at the sign. “That’s what I was telling him.”

“At least you showed up to see what the actual problem was.” She typed away on her phone. “Because if you didn’t, I’m sure we would have heard a different story.”

“Travis does good work,” I reminded her.

“But he’s still too young to understand this is our family’s livelihood.” She set her phone down and lifted her gaze out the front windshield.

Turning right, I smirked at the intersection where I’d nearly plowed into Sophia. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. How her beautiful and curvy body heated my core, how independent and feisty her personality was. Everything about her made me want to see her again. It was so unlike me to be instantly attracted to anyone.

But she was different.

“Ugh, I can’t wait to get back to the city.” Charlotte fell back into the seat and moaned. “My schedule is a nightmare and taking these last couple days off to be here only set me further behind.”

I sped up the onramp and merged onto the highway. “Mom really liked having us all here for her birthday.”

“I know,” she sighed.

Speeding through the valley, I knew the mountains were really never her thing. Charlotte wasn’t one to slow down, even for family birthdays which were always a big deal. No, she liked to stay busy with work—with meetings and gatherings—and was never into skiing or mountain biking like my brothers and I were. We were all into the outdoors from an early age, and now that we were older with Dad passing more of the company responsibilities on to each of us, we had to carve out time to pursue our passions—which wasn’t always the easiest thing to do. Well, except for Travis. He was perhaps the most passionate about being on the mountain as much as possible and managed to make it happen, too, often at one of our expenses.

“Have you spoken to Audrey?”

I gagged at hearing Audrey’s name. She was my on-again-off-again girlfriend and the one woman my family seemed set on seeing me end up with. “No.”

“Don’t forget, we have the fundraiser scheduled for tomorrow and Dad expects us all to have dates.”

I watched Charlotte pull the mirror down and check her makeup. I couldn’t help but judge her appearance against my own. She was always so put together, dressed to impress no matter the occasion. I, on the other hand, liked these days away from the office and routine of meetings and deals to close. I could wear my boots, have my ball cap pulled down over my eyes, and just be me. But Charlotte, she was a city girl, through and through.

“I’m not planning on taking Audrey, if that’s what you’re asking.”

She turned away from the mirror and flashed me a surprised glance. “Does Dad know?”

I shook my head and kept driving.

“Nolan,” she gasped. “You have to let Dad know.”

“You know I can’t.”

Her chest rose as she bit the inside of her lip. “He’s going to expect you to be there with Audrey.”

I tightened my fingers on the steering wheel and lowered my gaze. It wasn’t going to happen. Audrey and I were over. She wasn’t doing it for me anymore. I needed someone fresh. Someone new. Someone with spunk.

Someone like Sophia.

“And how do you expect to get away with not inviting her?” Charlotte raised one brow.

When I blinked, all I could see was how Sophia looked at me. The glimmer in her eye. The hint of a smirk that threatened to spread across her plump, full lips that I’d already dreamed about kissing a dozen different times. And when I remembered catching her ducking out of sight in the window, all I could do was snicker—thinking this was going to be fun.

We pulled into the tiny airport where I saw our family jet waiting on the tarmac.

“I don’t know, but I have a plan,” I said, thinking that the timer started now.

I had less than twenty-four hours to make an impression, otherwise I would get stuck with having to take Audrey to the family fundraiser. And that was the last thing I wanted to do.