I knew I was in for an interrogation the second I arrived at Hailey’s house. Val was there too, and instead of berating me for being late, the girls were smiling coyly. Hailey was repainting her living room, and Val, Jace, and I had agreed to help. The two of them had already started.

“Girls, why didn’t you wait for me?”

“Thought we’d start on our own.”

They’d already made a mess. Hailey had a speck of paint on her cheek, and Val had smeared it in her hair.

Just as I took the third roller, Jace arrived. We divided the room equally in four, even though I would much rather have done the job only with Jace. The girls tended to lose themselves in conversation and make little progress and a lot of mess.

As each of us concentrated on our respective walls, Hailey said, “How was your hike yesterday, Will?”

I’d known the question would come up from the moment I’d asked to borrow her leather jacket.

“Great. Was crowded, though.”

“Paige come to her senses, or does she still like you?” Val teased.

“Paige is a smart girl. Knows a catch when she sees one,” I volleyed back.

Val whistled. “Woot, brother, she’s got you wrapped around her little finger, doesn’t she?”

I straightened. “I’m a grown man—”

“Who almost elbowed everyone out of the way to make sure he caught the garter, after swearing up and down he wouldn’t do it,” Hailey supplied helpfully. She had a point. Paige made me a little nutty. But after she’d caught the bouquet, things clicked in my brain. I saw the herd of men hurrying on the dance floor, and my only thought had been, Hell no. 

I wasn’t sure if it was our respective connections to our families or the fact that her sassy antics were addictive, but being around her was like breathing in deeply for the first time. Yesterday had been a lot of fun, even though reining in my inner vigilante, as she liked to say, hadn’t been easy. It went against my instincts—against who I was—but the last thing I wanted was to make her uncomfortable. I was excited to explore things with Paige and see where they could lead, even though I didn’t have a stellar record when it came to relationships.

I couldn’t say I’d had deep ties to anyone I’d dated. It wasn’t a conscious decision or something I could explain, but I’d never felt that strong bond that I thought was necessary for a long-term relationship. The few I did have were monogamous and based on mutual respect, but they didn’t lead anywhere. Maybe I wasn’t even capable of developing such a bond—some women I’d dated certainly expressed that thought.

“You thought bringing a date was so smart. Now you’re all....” Jace grinned, waving a hand as if he couldn’t find the right word.

“Jace, don’t haze him,” Val chided.

“But you’re doing it.”

“Yeah, we’re sisters. It’s our job. You’re supposed to have his back.”

“Even Val says it, man,” I said with a grin. But truthfully, I liked it when Jace gave me shit. I returned the favor as often as I could. Still, it never hurt to have an ally against my sisters.

“Besides, Jace, you’re one to talk,” Hailey said. “You were all over that blondie Pippa introduced you to.”

“What can I say? Pippa struck right this time. But Blondie was only in town for the wedding, so there goes our great love story.” 

I listened carefully for the sound of the rollers moving. Jace and I seemed to be the only ones working. I half turned to my sisters to confirm my suspicion. Yeah, the girls were slacking.

“Girls, when are you going to learn to multitask? Either paint and gossip, or own up to the fact that your painting skills aren’t worth jack shit.”

Hailey and Val looked at each other, then attacked me at the same time. Paint flew in every direction. Jace watched and laughed.

When I left the house two hours later, I had smears of paint on my jeans and shirt. I’d had some on my face and arms too, but I washed them off. We’d finished the job, though. Hailey was content. I was glad to see my little sister finally living like a normal person. For a few years, she’d seemed to be in a race against time, working as a business consultant. To complete projects, to catch flights. I wouldn’t have minded if she’d been happy, but she hadn’t been. Not that Hailey would own up to it, but she’d smiled far less than usual, and her expression had been haunted when she talked about work at Friday dinners. But now she was here, with a new job, happy, and ready to plan interventions with Lori and Val. Or was it an ambush? I never knew. Sometimes I thought the girls had their own secret language. I’d come with my car instead of my bike, and as I climbed into it, I decided to drive to Paige’s inn. She’d mentioned during our hike that she’d be there this evening.

I recognized the car she’d filed that police report for in front of the gate, and parked right behind her. Then I headed straight into the yard, but came to a halt when I saw Paige wasn’t alone. She was with a guy. They were pointing at the facade, talking with their heads together.

Their ease with each other made my insides churn. They were obviously familiar. Paige noticed me and strode over, and the dude followed.

“Well, I have to leave now, but call me if you need anything. We’re on for dinner tomorrow, right?” he told her.

“Sure,” Paige answered him.

Dinner? Call me if you need me? Had I completely misread the situation with her? Damn, I liked her. A lot. Was he a friend?

“Hi, Paige,” I said when they were close enough. I was proud that I sounded relaxed, though if the guy was an ex, I’d lose my cool fast.

“Hey, Will. What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Remembered you said you’d be here. Thought I’d drop by.”

The guy put a hand on the small of her back. Paige smiled up at him. Dude was getting all her smiles, it seemed.

“Will, this is Declan, my brother.”

I’d have felt like an idiot if I weren’t so busy being relieved. Declan and I shook hands, and then he left.

Paige ran her hands through her hair, looking me straight in the eyes as if trying to gauge something. “I’m going to get myself a drink,” she said. “I still have some wine. Do you want a glass?”

I nodded, following her into the house. So the brother issue was cleared up, but something was still off. By the way she walked—more like stomped—and the slight sag in her shoulders, I surmised that she was upset about something. We went to the kitchen, and I took the wineglass she handed me. She was avoiding my eyes.

“Paige, what’s wrong? You’re acting strange.”

She wasn’t her usual self: laid-back, fun, sassy. She hadn’t even pushed one button. She drummed her fingers on her own glass, then took a swig. I’d questioned enough people to know what the hesitation meant: whatever was wrong had to do with me.

“Did I do something to make you mad?”

She took another swig, then finally said, “I don’t know what you being here means.”

My mind went blank. “You don’t know... what? You were there with me on that mountain yesterday, right? We had fun, we connected. Why does it surprise you that I’d stop by?”

Paige looked at her glass, then back up at me. She jutted her chin forward, and I saw that some of that fire I loved was back.

“Because when you dropped me off yesterday, you didn’t seem too... into me. You didn’t even ask to come inside.”

I tried very hard to rein in my smile, but I failed.

“You’re upset that I didn’t come inside?”

“Don’t make fun of me,” she muttered. She seemed vulnerable, and every instinct in me wanted to right whatever was wrong. I put the glass on the counter behind her, then placed my palms on the sides of her face, tilting her head slightly up. I needed to communicate more clearly with her. It wasn’t one of my strengths, but I was going to give it my best shot.

“I didn’t trust myself to be alone with you. I want you so badly that I lose control when I’m around you, and I don’t want to rush things with you.”

“Oooh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

I took the glass out of her hands, putting it on the counter too. I wanted nothing between us for the way I planned to kiss her. She looked up at me as if she was begging to be kissed, and I moved in on her, hooking an arm around her waist to bring her closer, taking her mouth like she belonged to me. Paige moaned against me, which made me explore even deeper.

“You’re tense,” I muttered when I moved on to pepper kisses on her cheek.

“Not the best day.”

“Want to tell me what happened?”

She sighed, kissing my jaw. “The general manager jerk pulled out of the deal.”

I smiled. “That means you won’t see him again?”

Paige poked my ribs. “Can you at least pretend not to be so happy?”

“Sorry, I can’t.”

“It’s bad form to rejoice at my misery,” she informed me.

“Can’t help it. Why did he back off?”

“Because I didn’t go out with him.”

I straightened up, looking her straight in the eyes. “What?”

“Yep. His secretary brushed me off via e-mail, then I called, and he was oh-so-willing to discuss this again, over dinner. Get this, when I told him that I don’t discuss business in my private time, he actually told me that it wouldn’t be just business. Turned him down again, and he said the deal was dead.” She spoke quickly, as if wanting to get it off her chest.

“That bastard,” I said through gritted teeth. I tried to rein in my anger, because that wasn’t what she needed. “I’m sorry. Does that kind of thing happen often?”

“Used to happen more often. Now I’m better at sniffing them out, but from time to time I’m blindsided.”

“Thank you for trusting me enough to share this with me.” I was proud of how she’d handled the situation. I wished she didn’t have to handle anything, but nothing I could do about that. What I could do, though, was to take her mind off it.

I kissed her again, and Paige responded with so much passion that my dick started to twitch. I wasn’t content with kissing just her mouth. I explored her neck too, kissing just below her ear, licking that spot. She rewarded me with a delicious moan.

“So... now that you know I’m very much into you, you’re going back to push-the-buttons Paige?”

“Hey, I don’t push just anyone’s buttons.”

“Does that make me special?”

“Very much so.”