Scott approached the door to the Come Again with trepidation. He didn’t know what the hell was going on in there, but Peyton’s truck was parked out front, so he was going in.

He stepped into the bar, expecting to see the usual crowd of people and hear the usual loud country music, laughter and conversation.

But the place was mostly empty and quiet. Well, except for the guy behind the bar, the guy sitting at the bar, and the four occupied tables. And what sounded like a muted electric drill.

And the place smelled like coffee.

What. The. Hell.

His eyes immediately found Peyton. She was already on her feet and coming toward him. Scott completely ignored Kyle and Derek—the guy behind the bar and the guy sitting at the bar—as he met her halfway across the Come Again.

Of course, they were mostly just looking at him with knowing grins, so ignoring them was pretty easy.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she came to stand in front of him, head tipped back to meet his eyes. She was wearing slip-on tennis shoes rather than the heels or boots she typically wore here, and she only came up to his chest without that extra lift. “You should be in bed.”

God, he just wanted to wrap her up in his arms. He didn’t need to even kiss her. He just wanted to touch her. He’d not touched her for so long that now the dam had broken, he couldn’t stop the flood of want.

“I always check it out when you’re not where I expect you to be, Trouble,” he said, settling for tucking a strand of hair that had escaped her bun behind her ear. “Seems to save me headaches later.”

She didn’t smile but she didn’t frown either. She was studying him as if searching for something. Or as if she’d just realized something. “I’ve been studying down here for a while.”

“Yeah, guess I kind of thought when you said you were getting up to study that you meant at the kitchen table or something.”

She looked around and a faint smile touched her lips. “The first couple of nights, it was just me—and Derek and Mitch and Andi—but more and more people keep showing up.”

He followed her gaze, actually taking in the other people in the room for the first time. When he realized who was there, he swung his gaze to look back at Derek and Kyle. Kyle’s sister and his ex were both back in town? Derek was grinning his usual shit-eating grin. Kyle looked, predictably, exasperated. Scott needed to get the story here.

“So you’re taking your test?” he asked, focusing on her again.

“Yeah, just, um…getting ready to.”

He looked over to where Heather sat. She gave him a little wave and he lifted a hand, then grinned down at Peyton. “Were you talking about me, Trouble?” he asked.

She crossed her arms. “Yeah, but nothing good.”

He moved in closer and put his finger under her chin. “I don’t believe you.”

She lifted a brow. “It’s true.”

“Then you didn’t tell her about the maple syrup, and that you didn’t even make it out of the pantry with it.” He was gratified to see her suck in a little breath. He grinned and leaned in, kissing her softly and taking a slow swipe over her lower lip with his tongue. He lifted his head and gave her a wink. “Go kick ass on your test.”

He watched her hesitate, wondering over that brief pause where it felt like she was going to say something—or do something. But she finally turned on her heel and headed back to her table.

As she settled in front of her computer, her eyes came up to his again. Satisfaction coursed through him. He’d drifted back to sleep after she’d left his bed, but not for long. He’d found himself reaching for her and then going to find her in the kitchen—appropriate, he’d thought, considering he was still hungry for her. But she’d been nowhere. He’d dressed and headed for her house, thinking she must have gone home to study. But passing the Come Again, he’d seen her truck and he’d of course had to pull in.

He took a seat at the bar across from Derek and next to Kyle. Derek, that stupid grin still on his face, pushed a cup toward Scott.

There was a light foam on the top and a sprinkle of…

“Is that cinnamon?” Scott asked, looking up at his friend.

“Nutmeg, actually,” Derek said, “though I’m not sure you, or I, could really tell the difference.”

He wasn’t so sure about that. He had a big thing for cinnamon. “So this would be a…” Scott trailed off, intending Derek to fill in the blank.

“You don’t know what cappuccino is?” Kyle asked. “Really?”

Kyle was definitely grumpy, and Scott had a pretty good idea why. And he sympathized. Kyle’s little sister, Riley, was home, and then there was Hannah—the one that got away. Yeah, Scott would be grumpy too. But the thing was…he was in love. And he didn’t care if it was a little insensitive to be incredibly happy in the face of his friend’s stress.

“I just wanted to be sure that my friend who is a bartender is actually making cappuccinos and then sprinkling shit on top,” Scott said, picking the cup up and taking a sip. “Not bad.”

“Spoken by the guy who uses flavored creamer,” Kyle muttered, picking up his cup of black coffee.

Scott laughed. “Maybe Doc here needs something stronger than coffee,” he said to Derek.

“Bar’s closed,” Derek said, shaking his head. “Coffee, tea, cappuccino, soda, water.”

“Yeah, what exactly is going on here?” Scott asked, swiveling to take in the room again. He’d mostly been focused on Peyton, and had then noticed Heather, and then Riley and Hannah. But Conrad and Frank, two of the older guys in Sapphire Falls who were involved in everything, sat at the table talking with Hannah, and there was also a guy at the corner table Scott had never seen before.

“Frank and Conrad are out kind of late, aren’t they?” Scott asked. Considering the guys were part of the group that met at the diner every morning for coffee at six a.m., he was shocked to see the guys out at one a.m.

“They’re here getting advice from Hannah,” Derek said, his mouth stretching into a huge grin as he looked at Kyle.

Scott looked at the good doctor as well, but Kyle was glaring at his coffee.

“What’s up with that?” Scott asked Derek.

“They came in because they heard Hannah’s been in here the past couple of nights. They wanted to ask her some questions but didn’t want Dr. Ames to find out.”

Scott looked at Kyle again. “And yet, Dr. Ames is right here.”

“Yep,” Derek said. “Here he is. Weird, when he has rounds at the hospital bright and early in,” Derek glanced at the clock on the wall, “a little over six hours from now.”

Scott turned toward Kyle and rested his elbow on the bar. “Yeah, that is weird.”

“But I guess if someone’s in town trying to take some of your business away, you’d probably want to keep tabs,” Derek said.

“Hannah’s trying to take some of Kyle’s business?” Scott asked.

“Well, it didn’t really start out that way,” Derek said, leaning on the bar with both forearms. “It’s actually kind of a funny story.”

“It’s really not that funny,” Kyle said.

“Well, it’s probably in how the story is told,” Derek said.

“He has a point,” Scott said, totally rolling along with this. It was pretty fucking fun to make Kyle uncomfortable. Kyle was a perfectionist, and everything always worked out for him, and he rarely had so much as a wrinkle in his shirt. Even a hint that something might not be going exactly according to plan for him was enough for his friends to jump all over.

“Well, it was Kyle’s idea that they talk to her,” Derek said.

“Shut up, Derek.”

But they both knew there was no way Derek was going to shut up. “Kyle wanted to show her that it’s really nice to be involved in taking care of the people in your hometown. You know, kind of rub it in that she didn’t come home to practice like she’d promised. But he wanted her to talk to them as a physical therapist.”

“Because she is a physical therapist, right?” Scott asked.

“Yeah, but Hannah’s not talking to them about physical therapy. She’s telling them all about acupuncture and massage and immersion therapy and stuff,” Derek said, shooting a look at Kyle as he said it.

“Immersion therapy?” Scott repeated.

“Oh, you’ll have to have Hannah explain it. She gets really excited talking about it,” Derek said with a smirk.

Kyle’s eye roll was big enough to be seen across the room.

Derek went on, “She’s very anti-pain medication and, well, pills in general it seems. So she’s telling our old guys with arthritis and gout all about how to change their diets and to use meditation and massage and other stuff instead. Which, of course, kind of rubs our doc the wrong way. Pun totally intended.”

Scott processed all of that. Including the pun. Which was actually pretty funny. “So,” he said to Kyle. “She came to town, you sent people to talk to her to show her what she’s been missing, and now she’s telling them the opposite of what you’ve been telling them,” Scott summarized. “And on top of that, they’re sneaking around and meeting her after hours to avoid you.”

Kyle just lifted his cup, but Derek said, “Pretty much.”

Scott couldn’t help it. He laughed. Everything always went Kyle’s way—except Hannah.

“How long is she back?” Scott asked.

“Her grandma had her hip replaced, so she’s here to help with her rehab. I guess she’ll be here for, what, another six weeks or so, Doc?”

Kyle nodded. “Or so.”

“And Riley’s back too?” Scott asked. “When did that happen?”

Derek shot a look at the gorgeous redhead in the corner, tapping away on her computer. “A few days ago too. She’s staying with her parents while she gets back on her feet.”

“I heard all the charges were dropped,” Scott said. Riley had been in jail. For computer hacking. Always smarter than a whip, Riley had gotten into computers early. She’d been chomping at the bit to get out of tiny Sapphire Falls and had headed straight to California out of high school. But she’d run into some trouble recently. She’ been framed and eventually the cops had cleared her, but she’d been arrested and spent some time in jail before all of that could be proven.

“They were, but it’s hard to get a job in the computer world after something like that,” Derek said.

“But she didn’t do anything wrong,” Scott said.

“Well, she did—it just wasn’t her fault,” Derek said. “She was set up.” He grinned. “But everyone now knows that she’s capable of hacking the biggest, most secure companies. Her skills make potential employers nervous in spite of her intentions.”

“Got it,” Scott said. And he didn’t say anything about how impressed Derek seemed or how his gaze had lingered on Riley. At least, not with Riley’s protective older brother sitting right here. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t say something later.

“So she can’t get a job,” Kyle said flatly. “Which means she can’t pay her rent or buy food or, you know, take care of herself, so she’s back—living with my parents and doing web design until she can find something else.”

“And she hates every minute of it,” Derek added. “Well, except hanging out in here, because her family isn’t here being judgmental and giving her unsolicited advice. Until now, of course.” He gave Kyle a look. “But Dr. Ames just couldn’t stay away. I just haven’t figured out which girl he’s here for.”

“Both,” Kyle muttered, pushing his cup toward Derek for a refill.

“You could leave,” Derek suggested, pouring the coffee.

Kyle didn’t reply.

Scott found Peyton again. She was now focused on her computer. She was biting her bottom lip and staring at the screen. She looked…adorable. That wasn’t a typical word he assigned to Peyton but yeah, her hair up in that messy bun, her leggings, her one foot tucked up underneath her on the chair, no makeup, a gigantic cup of coffee by her elbow—she looked every bit the student. Young and optimistic and on the verge of something fresh and new. And he wanted to take her home, strip her down, and kiss every inch of her body until she was begging him to fuck her.

He cleared his throat and tuned back into his friends. To find that they were both watching him with eyebrows up.

“Shut up,” he told them, lifting his cup.

Derek chuckled. “I don’t know which of you is more entertaining. Calm, cool, to-do-list Kyle being all grumpy and wrinkled and annoyed, or by-the-book, all-his-shit-together Scott being all gaga over a girl.”

Scott and Kyle looked at each other.

“We really do have our shit together,” Scott said.

“Absolutely. You’re as calm and cool as I am,” Kyle said.

“So why are we friends with Derek again?”

They both looked at the bartender.

“Beats the shit out of me,” Kyle said.

But Derek wasn’t bothered. He straightened from the bar and gave them a smile. “Fine. Just remember that I also know how to make you not calm and cool,” Derek said. “Scott, ask Kyle who the guy is at the computer over in that other corner.”

“You bastard,” Kyle said.

Scott glanced at the guy. “Why? Who is he?”

“He came to town with Hannah. They’re even sharing a room over at Ty’s,” Derek said.

Ty Bennett had bought the house right next door to Hailey Conner when he’d moved back to town. He’d figured it was the easiest way to show her that he was all-in on the relationship that he wanted and she didn’t. Now that they were married, they were living in Hailey’s house and they used Ty’s as a sort-of boarding house. As an Olympic medalist in the triathlon, Ty brought athletes to town to train and learn from him, and they stayed there. But there were six rooms in the house, and when they weren’t full of triathletes, other people could rent them. There was a bed-and-breakfast in town, but Ty’s was really for longer-term tenants than the ones who came to town for a weekend here and there and stayed at the Rise and Shine.

So Hannah was staying at Ty’s while she was in town? And sharing her room with this guy? “Why isn’t she staying at her mom and dad’s?” Scott asked.

“Seems that when she didn’t come home as planned, Kyle wasn’t the only one she ticked off,” Derek said.

Yeah, Kyle had been less ticked off and more…heartbroken.

“And she brought this guy with her?” Scott asked. Ouch. “Boyfriend?”

Derek shrugged. “We’re assuming. Right, Kyle?”

“I don’t fucking care.”

Derek gave Scott a look that said “yeah, right”. “But you know who that is, right?” Derek asked.

Scott looked at the guy again. “No, should I?”

“You ever heard of Michael Kade?” Derek asked.

Scott nodded. “Sure. The writer. He does thrillers and stuff, right?”

“Yep. And that’s him.”

Scott looked again. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a photo of Michael Kade, or even read one of his books, but he was one of those guys who was big enough that you’d heard of him, even if you didn’t really follow him. “No shit?”

“No shit. That is Michael Kade, the New York Times bestselling author, and he is here in Sapphire Falls with Hannah for as long as she’s here. He calls her his muse.”

Oh, boy, that was…interesting.

But Scott’s brain completely shut down whatever the guys had been saying when he saw Peyton headed his way. She had a huge grin on her face, and he felt his heart rate accelerate in response. That happy, sassy look really did something to him.

Without even looking at Kyle, Peyton looped her bag over the back of Scott’s bar stool, slipped between him and Kyle, and wedged herself next to Scott.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” He swiveled, and she moved between his knees and up against him as if she had every right.

And she did. He was hers. He wasn’t sure she completely realized that yet—or maybe it was that he wasn’t sure she completely believed it yet—but he was all hers.

She rested her hands on his thighs and looked up at him, and his whole body tightened. “So I finished my test.”

“Good. How’d it go?”

She shrugged. “Okay, I guess. But that’s not what I’m thinking about right now.”

“No?” He could give her a very short list of things he was thinking about right now. And every one of them involved her being naked.

“I’ve had a fantasy about you and this bar for a long time,” she said.

“Yeah? I’ve had a fantasy about you and several things for a long time now.”

She grinned. “I don’t know how many times I’ve looked across this room at you and wished I could just walk up and kiss you.”

He moved a hand to rest on the back of her neck. “What stopped you?”

She shook her head, more serious now. “I’m not really sure.”

“How about now?”

And the smile was back. “Yeah, now seems really good.”

She went up on tiptoe, gripping his shirt in her hands while he pulled her forward and bent his head. His hand felt huge on the back of her neck, and he was able to tip her head with his thumb on the edge of her jaw.

She seemed to melt into him, pressing close against his fly, where his cock was, as always, very happy to see—or feel—her again.

She opened her mouth before he even urged her to, her tongue stroking along his lower lip. She kissed him hungrily and Scott absorbed every bit of it. Having her in his arms was one thing; driving her crazy, touching and kissing and talking dirty to her was another. But the best thing of all? When she came into his arms and made him crazy.

Finally, she settled back on her heels, running her tongue over her own lip and smiling up at him.

“Good thing you got your test done,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Because that was a take-me-home-right-now kiss.”