I stepped onto the sidewalk in front of Loft25, thinking it was a good thing the club was only open at night. It didn’t look quite as inviting in the light of day. Not that the building was rundown, by any means. It was more that the surrounding neighborhood was showing its age.

That was the tradeoff for opening a club in a warehouse district, I supposed. The area was being revitalized to an extent, but it was obviously a slow process. Would the success of Loft25 accelerate the timeline? I’d noticed that several of the nearby buildings were under construction, and a funky art gallery down the street advertised its upcoming grand opening. Still, no one else seemed to be around on a Saturday afternoon, which suggested the transition was in its early stages.

I paused and took in the dilapidated buildings across the street, trying to see them with fresh eyes. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to imagine loft apartments and a trendy restaurant or two.

My phone dinged, and I pulled it out of my purse.

Cole: Almost here?

Me: Right outside.

Cole: Be there in a sec.

Ever since leaving the townhouse Wednesday, Cole and I had sent text messages back and forth, but he’d been too busy to update me on the Jeremy situation in person. Since he was still attempting to train his brother for the bartending job, he’d asked me to meet him at the club this afternoon while Miguel worked with Jeremy on the finer points of mixing cocktails.

The door opened, and a smiling Cole greeted me. “Hi, pretty girl.” He gave me an enthusiastic kiss on the mouth. “Come in, come in.”

“Wow, you’re in a better mood.”

“Yeah, sorry about the other morning. I don’t do well without my beauty sleep.”

“Don’t apologize. Even you are allowed a bad day now and then.”

He reached for my hand and tugged me down the hall and into the office. “Let’s hide in here for a little while. I need a break from Jeremy.”

“How are things going?”

“Not too bad. He has limited bartending experience, so he’s not the ideal candidate. But he’s been cooperative so far, which is more than I expected. Don’t think he’ll be ready to serve tonight, though. Saturdays are too crazy.”

Cole sat on the couch and pulled me down, draping an arm over my shoulder. I snuggled into his side, loving how natural it felt to just be with him.

“I’m glad you decided to give Jeremy a chance.”

“What can I say? Guess I’m a softie after all.”

I ran my hand over his stomach and felt his six pack even under the T-shirt he wore. “Not sure I would say that.”

“Does that mean I’ll get high points in the abs category as well as arms?”

I buried my face in his chest. “Why can’t you three let that go?”

“Never going to happen, Emma. Might as well get used to the idea.”

“I hate you all.”

He chuckled and gently lifted my chin until I was staring into his dark eyes. “I don’t believe you.” His lips brushed over mine once, twice before slipping away.

“Xavier wants to know when the Mister Las Vegas pageant—his term—is happening. He’s dying to put it on his calendar.”

I groaned. “You already told Xavier?”

“Of course. He was ecstatic. He said, and I quote, ‘tell Emma she’s my new hero.’”

I couldn’t help laughing. That sounded like Xavier, all right. “I guess we might as well get it over with. How about Monday or Tuesday night?”

“I doubt Shane will be back by then.”

“Really? When I saw him earlier this week, he said he’d only be gone for a few days.” A pang of disappointment resonated through me. We’d talked on the phone a couple of nights ago, but I’d assumed he would be back by this weekend. An entire week or more without seeing him felt like way too long.

“Yeah, I guess the crisis is worse than he expected. I don’t know the details. Real estate isn’t my thing.”

“Speaking of real estate, what do you know about the revitalization of this neighborhood? It looks like there are a few new businesses popping up.”

“Not much. Should I assume reporter Emma is asking?”

“Perhaps. I hadn’t paid much attention to this location since I’ve only been here at night, but now I’m curious about the status of ongoing and potential renovations. It might be a topic worth considering for the research and writing project that’s required for my externship.”

“Well, Shane and even Nic are the ones to talk to. I can give you Shane’s file from when he researched the purchase of this building, though.”

“Are you sure he won’t mind?”

He picked up his cell and typed, paused, and typed again before handing me the phone. “Here.”

Cole: Is it okay if I give Emma the warehouse district file?

Shane: May I ask why?

Cole: She’s researching a story for her externship. Told her she should talk to you when you get back.

Shane: Okay. Tell examining Emma I miss her.

“Examining?” Cole asked.

“It’s a thing we do. He’s particularly fond of enticing and evasive Emma.”

I tapped out a quick response to Shane before returning the phone to Cole.

He glanced at the screen, then laughed. “Stuck Shane? I like it. Can I play?”

“No, it’s my thing with Shane.”

“I want a thing,” he whined rather adorably.

“We already have a thing.”

His head tilted to one side. “We do?”

“Yep.”

“Um, me buying you expensive shoes?”

“No, and you will not be doing that again.”

His eyes took on a dangerous glint, but I stopped him before he even opened his mouth. “Walking dogs at the shelter.”

A huge grin almost split his face in two. “You’ll go with me again?”

“You couldn’t keep me away.” I averted my eyes, focusing on the abstract art hanging on the wall. “Have you heard whether Snow has been adopted?”

I felt guilty for hoping she hadn’t. Of course, I wanted her to be placed in a good home, but I hated the idea of not seeing her again. I never realized it would be so easy to fall in love with a little white ball of fur. If my apartment allowed pets, I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from taking her home with me.

“I stopped by the shelter this morning for an hour, and she’s still there. We had a nice little walk.”

I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “That’s good. That you took her for a walk, I mean,” I added quickly.

He squeezed my shoulder. “You can go with me again on Tuesday.”

“I’d like that.”

There was a knock at the door and Miguel poked his head in, looking distressed. “Cole, sorry to interrupt, but I need you.”

“Okay, give me a minute.” Miguel disappeared, and Cole stood, walking toward one of the closed doors down the short hallway. “I’ll grab that file for you to start looking over while I take care of whatever havoc Jeremy is causing.”

What Cole gave me couldn’t be described as a mere file. Rather, it was a series of files all neatly labeled and sorted alphabetically. I smiled, knowing this was the result of Shane’s ordered mind. He’d always struck me as naturally professional and business-minded, but now I could add organized to that list. Systematic Shane, my kind of man.

I flipped through the folders to get a feel for what information was available to me. From property appraisals and zoning maps to transportation accessibility and crime rates, the research appeared to be exceedingly thorough. Not that I was surprised. Taking on an endeavor like Loft25 would have required an impressive amount of planning. The fact that it was an instant success proved how skilled Shane, Nicholas, and Cole were behind their rich boy façades.

Being handed such a treasure trove of research almost felt like cheating, but I wasn’t foolish enough to reject the head start it would give me on my project. There was still plenty left to do. I’d have to organize the data, interview other business owners and someone with the city, and work with a photographer to capture the neglected buildings and their renovated counterparts. Maybe I could even find an artist on campus to create a few drawings of how the area would look after a full revitalization.

So many ideas were running through my head, I itched to delve into the documents, but I needed coffee and my laptop before I had any chance of making progress. Scooping up the expanded files holding all the folders, I headed out of the office to find Cole. As much as I wanted to spend more time with him, now that I was in investigation mode, I couldn’t turn off my brain. He had his hands full with training Jeremy, anyway.

After Miguel’s rather frantic appearance fifteen minutes before, I expected to find Cole stressed or agitated, at the very least. Instead, he was at the main bar laughing with a guy who looked way too much like him to be anyone other than his brother. As I got closer, though, I could detect rather striking differences between the two. They were almost the same height, with the same dark hair and eyes. But Jeremy’s frame was wiry to Cole’s lean muscular build, and his hair was longer. I saw several tattoos peeking out from the neck of his T-shirt, and his arms were almost fully covered in colorful artwork.

Jeremy’s expression was what ultimately gave me pause. While Cole’s face exuded warmth and openness, his younger brother’s was hard and hostile. Even mid-laugh, he gave off a threatening vibe that instantly made me wary.

“Emma, hey,” Cole said happily when he spotted me, “meet my brother, Jeremy. Jeremy, this is my girlfriend, Emma.”

My heart raced at Cole’s introduction. I should have realized he’d refer to me as his girlfriend, but I couldn’t help wondering what that meant for my future interactions with Shane and Nicholas at the club. It was one thing to be seen with all three of the Ts by some of their employees. It was another thing to go public around family members.

Would he tell Jeremy about my relationship with Shane and Nicholas? Did I want him to?

“Girlfriend?” Jeremy asked with a mocking tone. “I didn’t think you did girlfriends, bro.”

Cole came around the bar and put an assuring arm around my waist. “That was before I met Emma.”

“Well, she’s certainly hot enough.”

“And she’s standing right here,” I snapped, perhaps a little too harshly. In my defense, between his attitude and the lecherous way he was checking me out, I could only be expected to endure so much. Even if he was Cole’s brother.

“Hot and sassy. I like her already.”

I barely resisted rolling my eyes, but thankfully, Cole cut in. “You’ll treat Emma with respect. This is your first and only warning.”

Jeremy immediately turned on the charm. “Of course. I’m sorry, Emma. I’m not used to seeing my big brother with a girlfriend. It took me by surprise.”

“It’s fine.”

Cole gave me a quick kiss before whispering, “Don’t let him get to you.” He then went back behind the bar and started pulling bottles from several of the shelves.

“How did you meet Cole?”

I pointed to the second level. “We met upstairs, actually. Cole invited me and a friend into the VIP section, and the rest is history.” Sort of.

“Are you a Vegas native?”

“No, I’m a senior at UNLV, from Indiana originally.”

“You don’t look like a farm girl.”

I forced myself to ignore his blatant perusal of my body while Cole’s back was turned and kept my voice pleasant. “Maybe because I didn’t grow up on a farm.” Hoping to change the subject before Jeremy spouted something really stupid, I said, “Cole mentioned you’re planning to get an auto mechanics certification. Have you always been interested in cars?”

“Yeah. One of Mom’s boyfriends had an old Camaro, and man, I loved that car. Guess I’ve been obsessed with them ever since.”

“Sounds like the right career for you, then. Do you have a program picked out?”

“I wrote down a couple in the area. Just need to fill out the applications.” For once, his cocky demeanor fell. “I’m not great with paperwork.”

Just like that, I went from annoyed to sympathetic. It must have been incredibly difficult to grow up with Cole as a brother if he struggled with something as simple as a tech school application. In his position, I’d probably be jealous and bitter too.

“Let me know if you need help. Paperwork happens to be one of my specialties.” The words spilled out before I could think them through, and I wanted to slap myself. Pity or no, I didn’t want to spend any more time around this guy than necessary, and there I was offering to help him with something that would probably take hours.

Cole finally turned back to the bar. “That’s nice of you, but I’m sure I can help Jeremy with his applications. You’re busy with your own schoolwork.”

“Okay, well, let me know.”

“Thank you,” he mouthed, giving me a smile that made my rashly-made offer worth it.

“On that note, I need to get going.” I held up the files he’d given me. “I want to get started on this today.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

“Okay. Nice to meet you, Jeremy.”

“You too.”

Cole took the files from my hands and headed toward the door. “I’ll take these out to your car.”

Although they were heavy, I resisted. “I can handle it.”

“I know, but I want to. It’s like I’m carrying my girlfriend’s books to her locker. I never did that in high school.”

“Okay,” I laughed. “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry about Jeremy. He’s always been a punk, but he’s right about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

His eyes flashed with mischief. “You are hot.”

“So are you.”

“I know.”

After placing the files in my backseat, Cole trapped me against my car. “Will I see you again before Tuesday?”

“Probably not. My externship is starting, and I have a paper due next week.”

“I better make this good, then.”

He crushed his lips to mine, and like every time we touched, sparks lit up my skin. The possessiveness in his kiss took me by surprise, but I didn’t mind it. While our kisses had always been sensuous, this felt like something more. Like Cole wanted me in a way that went beyond sex. From him, especially, that meant something.

When he drew back, I somehow felt both satisfied and disappointed. Time with each of the Ts felt fragile. It was as if I never got enough with any of them, and I was always scared each moment would be the last. Would I ever feel comfortable in this relationship?

“See you Tuesday, pretty girl.”

“Bye, Cole.”

As I drove away, I didn’t know what to think about my first encounter with Jeremy Reid. For Cole’s sake, I wanted so badly to believe his brother was genuinely trying to make amends and turn his life around. From what little of him I’d seen, I doubted it. I didn’t dare say that to Cole, though. He deserved a chance to repair his relationship with the one member of his family who still appeared to be making an effort.