Josie waited until Evan left for work in the morning before setting up her command center.

Flip charts.

Markers.

Reference books on self-empowerment and goal setting.

Iced tea for hydration.

Poster of a badass female superhero for inspiration.

Perfectly cooked waffles for nutrition, loaded with whipped cream and strawberries for a true Belgian waffle concoction.

Monica for consultation.

Zeus and Max for stress relief.

Ready to go.

"So, the plan." Josie picked up a red marker. "Admit failure."

Monica took a bite of waffle. "Which failure?"

"Failure to attain my goal of not getting involved with a needy man." Josie wrote, "Failure is empowering" on the board. "Not that Evan is my typical needy man, but he needs me, so what can I say? I'm involved."

Monica nodded. "I'm with you. Next."

"Goals." Josie took a green pen and wrote the heading on a new page. "I need to make these selfless."

"Help Buddy and Evan reconcile."

"Right. That's totally selfless. I'm such a do-gooder." Josie scrawled it across the page. "Number two: Help Evan get over his guilt."

"You're such a sweetheart."

"Aren't I? No wonder Buddy loves me." Josie turned back to the board. "Number three: convince Buddy he doesn't love me so he will be free to meet the right woman for him."

"Again, you are the most selfless person I know."

"I tell you, I'm a shoo-in for the golden gates." Josie tapped the back of the pen against her hand. "Number four: allow Evan the freedom to pursue what or who will make him happy. Too transparent?"

"Not at all. You aren't saying that he should choose you. You're just wanting him to be able to be happy, and if it happens to be you...well, isn't that a handy piece of luck?"

Josie grinned. "I knew you were my best friend for a reason."

"What about a Josie goal? Even though failure is empowering, you should do something for yourself."

"Hmm...excellent point. I am trying to be more selfish." Josie studied the board. "How about to make Alice suffer for a while before coming back to work?"

"Might jeopardize the golden gate status."

"Maybe. How about I get loans? Now that I'm employed again I might qualify. Then it'll be clear that I'm not trying to get Evan just so he can support me. Not that I'm trying to get Evan, because I'm not. I'm just being selfless, and it needs to be clear how selfless I'm being."

"Sounds like a wrap to me."

Josie scrawled it down. "Okay, short recap. Alienate Buddy. Reconcile the boys. Free Evan to chase his dream and get me into school. I like it."

"Now what?"

"Figure out a plan." Josie grinned. "This is where we get to be creative." She picked up a book titled, How to Get a Raise and a Promotion Even If You Haven't Shown Up to Work in Sixty Days. "What do you think? I picked it up this morning. I think it's got potential, huh?"

"Does it advocate blood shedding and blackmail?"

Josie pursed her lips. "Maybe a little."

Monica sat up. "Sounds cool. Let's get on it."

* * *

That evening at precisely fourteen minutes past eight o'clock, Josie sidled casually into the kitchen where Evan was peering in the fridge for an evening snack. "So... Evan..."

He immediately stood up. "What?"

"Why do you look so suspicious?"

"Because you're never so casual and deliberate. What do you want?"

Hmm...he seemed a little tense. "Did you have a visit from my brothers today?"

He immediately scowled. "Did you put them up to it? Because it wasn't funny. I was in the middle of an important meeting and..."

"Hey! I had nothing to do with it. They decided you'd been getting your jollies with me and they went out after you. I told them nothing and I tried to stop them, so back off!" Yes, she was an Amazon. "Did I tell you that I start sword fighting classes tomorrow? I signed up for an intensive session. Three nights a week for six weeks. That way I'll be finished before school starts." Assuming she was able to start school. That finance thing was still a wee bitty concern.

"Great. So I should lie awake at night in case you decide to skewer me in my sleep? Can't wait." He slammed the fridge shut. "Why are you and your whole family after me? I admit it. I made a mistake. I shouldn't have made love to you once, let alone twice."

She decided to not point out it had been a few more times than twice, though it had been two separate nights. He seemed a little testy. "So what exactly did my brothers do to you?"

"And your brothers-in-law. Can't forget them." He stalked across the kitchen and yanked open a cabinet.

Brothers-in-law? "How many of them showed up?"

"Eight. That's the whole lot of them, isn't it?" He grabbed a bag of pretzels, muttering something that even a sailor might find offensive.

"So, what'd they do?"

He scowled at her. "You don't know?"

"Would I ask if I knew?" Would she ask if she had a brain in her head? Completely foolish to get involved in a game between the boys.

"Probably. Just to make me relive it." He shoved another pretzel in his mouth, made a face, then tossed them in the trash. Max promptly dove in after the bag, grabbed it, and disappeared around the corner.

"Yeah, I noticed they were stale yesterday." Should she be calling Max? Nah, it was neither her house nor her pretzels.

"And you put them back in the cabinet?"

And her mom thought her calling in life was to be a devoted housewife. Yeah, right. There'd be mold all over everything. "I'm a terrible housekeeper."

"Apparently." He yanked open the cabinet again, this time pulling down a bag of cookies. "So, I was sitting there in a meeting with a new client and I hear this ruckus outside. Your brothers were attacking my secretary."

"Don't believe you. They'd never attack a woman." He glared at her, and she suddenly grinned. "They bribed her, didn't they? She stood aside and let them in."

"Maybe." He shoved another cookie in his mouth. "You'd think there'd be some loyalty after all this time, you know? But no, she just grabs the vat of chocolate and disappears into the break room. Can you believe it?"

"Yes." Her brothers could be incredibly persuasive when they wanted to. "So? What'd they do?"

He looked at her. "Walked into the conference room, announced I was disgracing their sister, dragged me out of there, tied me up in my office, and took turns extolling your desirable qualities for two hours."

She was about to feel bad for him, but then she saw a glint of humor in his eyes. "You let them kidnap you, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"And they didn't lecture you for two hours, did they?"

"Sure did. Funniest damn thing I ever saw."

"Funny? What was funny?"

"Eight grown men trying to tell a guy not to shtup their sister without ever actually wanting to picture their sister shtupping anyone. Never heard so many euphemisms. They were so embarrassed by the whole thing they couldn't even remember to throw me out the window." He sobered. "They love you, though. That was clear."

So that's why he was happy. Because he'd spent the afternoon surrounded by brotherly love, even at the expense of his physical freedom.

"When I explained the Buddy situation, they understood."

"What?" How could her brothers go to the other side? Not that she'd wanted them to go beat up Evan, but come on! She was the one who'd been wronged.

"And there's that whole code about not messing with your friend/brother's woman."

"But you already did that."

He took another bite of cookie. "I made sure not to confirm that fact for them. No need to complicate things."

"So you lied so my brothers would like you." And she'd been worried that Evan liked her for her family. Obviously, she'd been so wrong. Not.

"I omitted certain facts to avoid bloodshed." He tossed the cookies on the counter. "Anyway, it's over."

"What's over?"

He rested his hands on the counter on either side of his hips. "Us."

"Just like that? So casual, like I'm a rat that's been living in the walls of your house?" Jerk. Jerk. Jerk.

"It's not that simple, and you're no rat, but it's the way it has to be. When your brothers were coming at me today with their inflatable baseball bats—" he grinned at the memory. How cute. Not. "—I realized they were right. I have no business getting involved with you when this thing with Buddy's still hanging over us. So, let's just end it now. Part as friends."

"Friends who've seen each other naked. Sort of hard to forget." She scowled and tried not to listen to the sound of her heart cracking like the ice flows on the brink of summer.

He nodded. "That's for damn sure."

Ah hah! Was that a tinge of regret she heard? Absolutely! It was most definitely not wishful thinking or her imagination. She was grabbing ahold of that little nugget and not letting go.

Evan wanted her.

Clear as a bell.

Anyone else in the room would have heard the unspoken plea to help free him to fall in love with her.

No problem.

She could accommodate.

That's what warriors did. Rescue people in jeopardy.

I shall save you, my love!

First step underway. "So, want to go get some ice cream?"

He narrowed his eyes and studied her suspiciously. "Why?"

Was she that transparent? "Just a simple offer to go get ice cream. Why are you all paranoid? Think I'm going to sic my brothers on you or something?

"I'm not sure." He peered closer. "What's on the agenda besides ice cream?"

Well, stomp on her frittata and ruin her day. How did he do that? Men weren't supposed to be perceptive. She should distract him with sex. Men were never much good at concentrating when that topic was afloat. "Actually, I was hoping to bring the ice cream back here and smear it all over my body and convince you to lick it off."

He looked dutifully startled by that remark, and his eyes darkened about ten shades. Phew. She was feeling mighty hot as well. Maybe she'd have to buy an extra pint just in case...

"I thought I just said that part of our relationship was over," he growled, but his eyes were roaming her body as if he had no control over himself.

Mmm...delicious. He was definitely worth fighting for. "So you did. I was just testing you." She grinned. "You failed."

"Josie.."

She held up her hand. "Oh, quit bellyaching. I'm just giving you a hard time. Let's go get ice cream and try to be friends. After all, I still have to live here, don't I? I have to shower, knowing you're across the hall and could walk in at any time and see me naked, with soap rushing over my body..."

"I'll meet you in the car." He grabbed his car keys and bolted out of the kitchen, the tendons in his neck flexing.

And he actually believed he was over her.

Fat chance of that, Dorsett. You are so not over me. And it's just going to get worse. Grinning, she grabbed Max's leash and whistled. Yes, this just might be fun.