The cafe was noisier than usual. I preferred to get my coffee at off-peak hours to avoid the crowded lines. But today was my standing lunch date with my sister, so we were right in the middle of the afternoon rush.

"…we're really excited to have everything back to normal, as hectic as it can be."

I nodded at her and took a sip of my coffee.

I still couldn't get over what Damon had said. How could he possibly try to feel me up in public and then turn around and start talking about the hoards of girls he has to choose from? How could he be possibly thinking I'd be okay hearing something like that?

"Cassie's planning a party to welcome him home," Hope continued.

"Mm-hm," I said vaguely.

That jerk had the audacity to hit on me every time we saw each other, and yet couldn't get it through his thick head that I just wasn't interested in casual sex.

"You remember I told you about Cassie?" Hope continued. "The one who took all those photos of Ian on tour? She asked me to invite anyone who might want to come."

"That's nice," I murmured.

At this point, I wouldn't even accept if he asked me out on a date. That jerk didn't deserve my time or attention.

"Damon's going to be there."

I fumbled with my paper cup, nearly spilling the piping hot liquid all over my blouse.

Hope pointed an accusatory finger at me. "I knew it."

I hastened to steady my coffee before I burned myself. "Knew what?"

"You and Damon," she said, a twinkle in her eyes.

"What about us?" I asked. "We're working together. That's all."

"It's more than that," she said. "There's something going on between you two."

"Sure there is," I said, pretending to fix the lid on my cup to avoid her eyes. "Animosity and hostility."

She shook her head. "There's more to it. He's been snippy and moping and being a general drag lately. He's always asking about you and you're always asking about him."

"I'm not always—!" I began to protest. "It was just the once—"

"Faith." Hope stopped me with one of those looks she often gave people. That searching, probing look that told me she was trying to dissect me from the inside out.

"He's been hitting on me since day one," I said, feigning a casual shrug. "I keep on shutting him down. He'll give up eventually."

"Do you want him to?" she asked, eyes oddly penetrating.

I nearly choked on my tongue as a dozen different replies popped into my head. I pressed my lips firmly together, trying to straighten out my thoughts into a coherent answer.

"He's practically your brother-in-law," I said, deciding to deflect instead. "You know what he's like."

Hope examined me. "I've never seen him so fixated on one girl for this long before."

"No girl has ever made it this hard on him," I told her. "I'm a challenge. It's a game to him. Everything is. I'm not going to let him win."

"It's not about winning or losing," she said. "It's about two people who are attracted to each other. Two people who might be developing feelings for one another."

"The only feeling I have concerning Damon is acute loathing."

Hope stared at me, before quirking a small smile. "Is that all?"

"Yes," I insisted. "He's always saying things to piss me off. Gross stuff about his sex life and making comments about my body and calling me a workaholic like Dad—"

I cut myself off as pain flashed across Hope's face.

I hadn't wanted to mention Dad. I hated seeing Hope get hurt, and any mention of him usually did the trick.

"You're nothing like our father," my sister said quietly, looking down at her own coffee.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to bring up…" I trailed off.

The two of us sat in awkward silence.

"I haven't heard from him in months," Hope spoke up, still not looking at me. "I don't think he even knows about me and Ian."

"He does. I told him."

She looked at me, a flicker of something like dread in her eyes. "Did he say anything?"

"He's happy for you," I lied. "He talked about all of us getting together for a dinner some time soon. He wants to meet the man who's making you so happy."

A small hopeful look crossed my sister's face. "Really?"

I winced internally. I shouldn't have lied. It would just make finding out the truth that much worse. She still didn't know how bad it was. Didn't know how sick he was. She thought he was still the same workaholic he'd been during our youth.

If she knew how far he'd fallen… if she knew how much care he needed… She'd want to help out. She would insist. I couldn't let that happen. Hope didn't need to face our father's indifference. Didn't need to be reminded of how much he resented us.

I'd just have to make sure Hope never found out.

"His job keeps him so busy, though. It may take some time to coordinate our schedules," I said, making up an excuse on the fly.

She nodded. "Just let me know when and where, and we'll be there." She sat up straighter on her chair, smile returning. "Maybe we can invite Damon along and make it a double date?" she said, only half-teasing.

"That would be a world of no," I said firmly. "I don't even want to be in the same room as him."

"That's going to make planning your event kind of hard."

"He's the one who keeps playing games. I'm all for keeping it professional."

"Have you told him that directly?" she asked.

"Well," I hedged, thinking about my offer, or ultimatum, or whatever you wanted to call it. I'd as good as told him I was interested in him. I just had certain caveats. "Sort of."

"If you really want him to back off, just tell him."

Hope's advice sounded perfectly reasonable. It was true that the moment I'd said stop that day in my office, Damon had immediately halted. But then I'd told him to ask me out.

"I suppose I might be giving him mixed signals," I said grudgingly. "It's just…"

"You like him," she said simply.

"He's an ass," I said automatically.

"You're not exactly a ray of sunshine yourself," she pointed out. Hope reached out across the table and took my hand. "There's two things I think could happen," she continued. "One, you get together and bring out the worst in each other. Two, you get together and bring out the best in each other."

"Damon's idea of getting together is a quick hump and dump."

Hope let out a small sound of understanding. "He's not really the commitment type."

I snorted. "Gee, really? I hadn't noticed."

"I don't think he would still be pursuing you if he wasn't interested in you for real," Hope said. "He's got a million girls to choose from. If he just wanted a quick lay, he could snap his fingers and have a girl at his door within minutes."

I grimaced. That was exactly what Damon had said. And that was exactly what had pissed me off.

Then again, he'd also admitted that dating wouldn't be a horrible idea. It wasn't the enthusiastic response I would have liked, but he hadn't dismissed it out of hand.

Maybe I had been a bit too hasty in getting upset.

"Cassie's throwing a welcome home party for August," Hope told me again. "Damon's going to be there. Why don't you make an appearance?"

I hesitated. I'd resolved to ignore Damon except when absolutely necessary for my job.

"At least do it for me," she cajoled. "I told you. He's been acting different lately. He's a pain to be around. Talk it out and settle things once and for all. You do have to work together, after all."

"If he says one more thing to piss me off—"

"If he's a jerk, I'll kick him out myself," Hope assured me.

I gave in with a weary nod.

I couldn't keep agonizing over this. It was distracting. I hated distractions.

One way or another, I was going to resolve things with Damon, even if it meant throwing him out on his ass.