Thanks to their similar schedules, Yasmin and her friends carpooled to save gas and time. At the end of the day, they piled into Gillian’s yellow Camry and made the hour-long drive from San Antonio to Atropos, their journey lengthened by traffic.

“They’re making another one of those Quick and the Notorious movies. Number thirteen,” Gillian said as she turned onto their street. “Wanna go see it this weekend? It’ll be fun. Explosions, hot dudes in badass cars, and all the popcorn we can eat.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Amaya said from the back seat.

Yasmin wrinkled her nose. “Only if we go to the dine-in cinema. I want real food and cheesecake with my movie.” Speaking of dessert, maybe she’d get her mom to send over a tray of her secret-recipe triple chocolate chip cookies as a reward for enduring the first day back to class after a fantastic winter break.

“Hey. Whose ride is that?” Amaya asked.

An unfamiliar car sat in the second driveway of the duplex, glossy, perfect, and cherry red, as if the make and model of the Porsche convertible didn’t scream wealth already. The owner wasn’t in sight.

Gillian squinted through the passenger window after throwing the car into park. “Did your parents ever mention renting out the other side?”

“No. Not a word. I mean, not that they have to run it by me. Mom is an excellent judge of character, so we can count on whoever it is not being a douche.”

“Or a bitch,” Amaya murmured thoughtfully. “Wanna be nosy?”

“Amaya—”

Before Gillian could kill the engine, Amaya unbuckled and hopped out. She jogged up to the door and rang the bell.

When no one answered, the disappointed brunette returned to them.

“Oh well. No one answered. Maybe they took off in another hundred-thousand-dollar ride.”

“To do what?” Gillian asked. “Eat chicken fried steak and taters at Mabel’s Diner?”

Yasmin chortled at the idea of living next to one of her dad’s richer-than-sin friends. He ran in all kinds of circles these days, but both of her parents had never failed to instill a strong worth ethic in her while growing up. Aside from the antique Jaguar parked at her parents’ house—the thing was older than Yasmin—her parents flew under the radar and avoided extravagant purchases.

They also lived beside her in the adjacent building, another duplex the pair had refurbished over twenty years ago by knocking down walls and turning it into one enormous home. Before that, her parents had been neighbors, each sharing half of the building.

Once the girls filed into the house and dumped their heavy backpacks around the sectional, Yasmin traded her sneakers for flip-flops and peered out the window. “I’m gonna run across the lawn for a sweets raid.”

“And dig up info on our new neighbor? Maybe it’ll be a hottie.”

After rolling her eyes at Amaya’s hopeful enthusiasm, Yasmin stepped outside into a typical Texas winter afternoon scented with the earthy aroma of fresh grass and her mother’s herbs. Her parents liked to joke that they’d met because of the lawn, which her father fastidiously groomed while her mom managed the flowerbeds and herb gardens. Yasmin had argued that she could mow her own yard, but the truth was she knew her father enjoyed it, so she only put up a token fuss.  

Whether it was because her parents were badasses, or the safe and friendly neighborhood, they left their doors unlocked throughout the day. She let herself inside and entered the living room to find her dad and Javier drinking beer on the couch.

The tail-end of a video game discussion reached her ears.

“Nah, trust me. It takes a lot more to offend us. I actually own a copy of The Last Dragonslayer. It’s a great game.”

Her father smiled like he’d made a new best friend. “Excellent. How would you feel about reading the script for the sequel?”

“For real? Yes.” Figured Javier would suck up to her father by asking about the second greatest love in his life after his family. Both guys noticed her at the same time and broke out in identical grins. “Hey, Yasmin.”

“Ah, about time you showed up. How was the first day back to class?”

Before Yasmin could answer her father—or question Javier’s presence—her mother swept into the living room and hugged her tight. Aside from her green eyes and lighter skin, Yasmin was her mother’s clone, sharing her round face, high cheekbones, and wild curls. “Oh, there you are! You’re just in time.”

“Just in time for what?”

“I’m about to pull cookies from the oven for Javier, but I may have added enough to the tray for you girls too.” River winked at the dragon before she returned to the kitchen.

Not yet over the shock, Yasmin darted her gaze from her mother’s retreating shape to Javier.

“I told you, Mrs. Silva, that’s unnecessary.”

“You’re a guest in our home, so I insist!” River’s voice carried back.

Zac chuckled. “She’s already made up her mind to spoil you rotten. She promised your mom she’d treat you like her own cub, so expect to eat an actual meal every day instead of whatever counts for food at school.”

“What are you doing here?” The question tumbled out of Yasmin’s lips with an aggressive edge she regretted. Both men stared.

“Javier is staying in the empty unit for the school year,” Zac answered, breaking the awkward silence. “That’s great, right?”

“Wait, so that’s your Porsche outside?”

Javier shifted in his seat. “Um, yeah.”

“Typical.” She spun around on one foot and headed into the kitchen after her mom. An emotional war raged within her, excitement and unease battling for dominance. Having Javier so close led her mind down naughty paths, until her good sense kicked in and told her getting entangled with the dragon would lead to nothing but trouble.

She had goals. She had a lucrative career ahead of her. The last thing she needed was another series of meaningless—but incredibly satisfying and fulfilling—sexual encounters with him. Risking their friendship once was enough.

Even though the aroma of lemon-lavender shortbread already filled the home, Yasmin’s mouth watered when she entered the kitchen to find her mother sliding a tray of them onto a cooling rack next to her enormous, award-winning chocolate chip cookies. When it came to dessert, her mother took baking to Go Big or Go Home levels.

River glanced over her shoulder, concern notching a wrinkle between her dark brows. “Everything okay, sweetie?”

Determined to treat Javier as nothing more than a friend, Yasmin forced a smile. “Oh yeah. It just would have been nice to know you’d offered out the space next door. Kind of shocked us when we came home.”

“When Marcy told me her boy would be attending classes, she asked for leads on apartments to rent in the area. I figured I’d offer our empty place. Don’t you both get along?”

“We do. I was surprised to see him is all, since he wasn’t there this past weekend.”

“He was staying at a hotel close to campus while apartment hunting.”

“Oh…” She frowned and mulled the information over.

“Everything all right, sweetie? You didn’t come over here because you were upset, did you?”

“What? No. We were curious about our neighbor and now we know. Anyway, I really just came over to beg some cookies off ya, so…” Her tummy rumbled.

Her mother portioned cookies onto two plates then passed one to Yasmin. “Be careful, they’re still hot. Eat a real meal with those, you hear me?”

“We have leftover lasagna. Love you, thanks.” Yasmin kissed her mother’s cheek.

Bearing her prize, she passed by the living room and overheard Javier chatting with her father in Portuguese. They looked so chummy she was almost jealous. Almost. No matter how much she wanted to be irritated, she ended up smiling instead, glad to see them getting along so well.

“Bye, Daddy. Later, Javier.”

“Bye, bruxinha.” Despite being twenty-two and technically on her own, and Yasmin remained her daddy’s little witch. Some things never changed.

Javier’s green eyes fixed to her. “Bye, Yasmin.”

“Don’t let my dad keep you away from your books. You need to do your reading since you’re determined to be a mega overachiever this semester.”

“I finished that over the weekend.” A broad grin spread over his face. “Funny thing about these professors, they post all the required reading in the syllabus and don’t expect anyone to actually do it.”

Yasmin blinked. “The professors don’t hand those out until class.”

He shrugged. “They were all available online. Figured I’d read early and get ahead of the game before things get busy.”

“Your choice. Later.”

“You want a ride tomorrow?” Javier asked as she turned for the door.

She looked over her shoulder and raised a brow. “And get up at the crack of dawn so you can make it in time for your early class? I’ll pass, but thanks.”

“Oh yeah.” He rubbed his neck and smiled in apology. “Another time maybe.”

“Yeah, we can compare schedules. G’night.”

She returned to her place and entered through the sliding door in the kitchen. Gillian stood at the counter pouring three glasses of wine while Amaya watched the lasagna in the microwave.

“Well?” Amaya asked. “Who is it? Are we dealing with an ultradouche or a megabitch?”

“Neither.”

“Someone nice, then. Excellent.” Gillian rubbed her hands together. “Who is it?”

“Javier is staying next door while he attends classes.” As Yasmin headed into the living room with her sweet bounty, both friends scrambled in after her. Their questions overlapped in an endless rush until Yasmin held up a hand for quiet.

“No, I didn’t know. And it’s fine. Not a big deal, so let’s leave it at that, okay?”

After a pregnant pause, Amaya made a grabbing gesture at the air. “As long as you pass over those cookies.”

Gillian hopped over the couch and swiped the remote from the coffee table. “I’ll get Netflix going.”

Yasmin loved her friends. There was no other word for it. Without bringing up Javier again, they enjoyed their food and wine over a horror movie.

“Seriously, Yaz, are you going to eat that cookie or just pick at it all evening?” Amaya demanded.

“Huh?” She snapped out of her thoughts, gaze lowering from the television to the crumbled cookie on her plate. She’d only picked a couple of chocolate chips out of it after the first bite. “Here, you can have it if you want. I think Mom must have changed the recipe or something. They’re too sweet.” And a little sour. Vomit-inducing sour.

“Your loss,” Amaya said as she snatched what was left.

“Hey, don’t let it get to you,” Gillian said. “Screw boys and the way they complicate things.”

“You’re right.” Yasmin forced a smile past her queasiness. Seeing Javier again had stirred up old thoughts, that was all. Between their conflicting class schedules, they’d barely cross paths, which was just as well if she wanted to keep things platonic and salvage their friendship. She’d been well on her way to becoming bitter during the weeks since their parting.

So why did the idea irritate her so much?