Darren’s brother sat across from him at the kitchen table as their mom moved around them like lightning, putting together a “quick meal.”

A quick meal for him mom usually consisted of several courses and the kind of ingredient list one would find at a five-star restaurant and not a simple Montana ranch home.

Darren was torn. On one hand he loved his mother’s cooking, on the other, he had a woman to get back to and somehow convince that she had real feelings for him. He had to do this while not touching her or getting too close to her so he could smell her shampoo. He also had to avoid accidentally looking at her lips…or her breasts…or any other part of her body. For the first time since he’d suggested that she join him on this trip, he was starting to doubt the wisdom of this particular plan.

To convince her that this was about more than sex meant that he had to steer clear of sex. Yet, he’d invited her to a romantic location in the middle of nowhere with no buffer except a couple of insatiably touchy-feeling newlyweds. Well, newly coupled, if not engaged. Though he had a sneaking suspicion that an engagement was on the horizon.

But that was beside the point. How the hell was he going to keep his hands off her?

And, more importantly, how was he going to get her to see that there was a real connection here? Even if she acknowledged the connection, he still had one more hurdle. The biggest hurdle of them all. How was he supposed to convince her to get past her fear of commitment long enough to give him a chance?

He slathered a biscuit with some of his mom’s homemade apple butter as he stewed it over. He thought best on a full stomach.

Brett hadn’t stopped staring since he’d shared his news. Darren didn’t particularly mind as he was used to his older brother looking at him like he’s sprouted two heads. He’d been doing it since they were toddlers and to stop now would be discomfiting.

“So, let me get this straight,” he said, leaning across the table and grabbing Darren’s beer out of his hands so he could help himself. “You brought a woman home for the holidays.”

He opened his mouth to confirm, but Brett cut him off.

“You,” he said, emphasizing the word with a point in his direction. “You, Darren Jasper Pensky, have brought a person of the female persuasion home to meet the family.”

He narrowed his eyes at his brother. Normally, his older brother’s teasing wouldn’t bother him, but at this particular moment, he was feeling uncertain and unstable—an odd sensation for him, to be sure.

He didn’t need anyone adding any more doubts to his already doubt-filled psyche.

But his brother kept pushing his buttons, relentlessly teasing him about the fact that he’d never brought a girl home before, not even when he’d lived in Montana all the way up through college.

But then, he’d never felt this way before.

Brett had, he was sure of it. He watched his brother, with his easy laugh and his broad, charming smile. He tried to block out the words coming out of his mouth and focus instead on the objective differences between them.

They were night and day, and always had been.

Brett had always been the charismatic, outgoing, and charming one. The one with social skills and a trail of girls he’d dated that was so long, Darren had stopped trying to keep track.

He, on the other hand, had been the quiet one. The one who excelled in school, who was deemed “too serious” by just about everyone he met, and who most assuredly did not have a backlist of girlfriends that anyone would consider lengthy.

Though he wasn’t listening, Brett’s teasing must have gone a tad too far because his mother, with her neat silver bob and her starched apron, deviated from her zig-zagging in the kitchen to swat Brett on the back of the head before returning to the stove.

He smirked at his brother as he rubbed the back of his head with a feigned pout. Darren was certain his mother’s smack didn’t hurt that badly but this was a familiar, oddly comforting ritual and he relished it.

It brought him back to the moment and to the fact that he was home. Despite the teasing, and the incessant doubts that made him wonder whether he’d made the right decision in bringing her here, he was here now and surrounded by people who loved him.

Surely they could help.

He glanced at his mom who’d married their father straight out high school and had lived happily ever after ever since. Well, maybe she couldn’t be much help.

But Brett could.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Brett asked, his hand stilling on the back of his head as his fake pain turned to wariness.

“I may need your advice.”

The room stilled. Even his mother stopped her movements to turn and gawk.

The silence turned awkward as his brother stared at him with wide eyes. “You,” he said slowly, “want advice from me?”

Darren blinked. This wasn’t a difficult concept to grasp and Brett’s obvious shock was confusing. “Yes.”

Brett sat back and ruffled his dark hair. “Um, okay.”

Their mother was still watching, listening. Much as he loved his mother, his sex life was one topic he did not need to share with her. He nodded toward the garage and Brett got it instantly.

“Want to see the motorcycle I’m fixing up?”

Darren nodded. He’d never had an interest in anything car-related but he went along with the lie. “I’d love to.”

* * *

A little while later Darren found himself on the receiving end of one of Brett’s shocked stares for the third time that evening.

Was it odd that he was starting to take some pleasure out of shocking his brother speechless? Possibly. Still, he allowed himself a moment to revel in it before his brother broke into his thoughts.

“I don’t get it.” He shook his head, leaning back against the ledge that held his tools. He’d moved out to a place of his own in town years ago but his place didn’t have a garage so his workbench and equipment were still here.

“What don’t you understand?” Darren asked.

“Why you’re not sleeping with this chick.”

He flinched at the use of the word “chick.” She was not a chick. She wasn’t a girl. She was a woman. A lady.

And she was his.

Brett shook his head again, his brow furrowed in honest confusion. “This girl is hot, right?”

He nodded. “She’s stunning.”

“And you guys had a great time in bed,” Brett clarified.

Darren gave a short nod. He did not feel the need to give the specifics of just how mindblowing it had been.

“And she wants to continue sleeping with you?”

Darren hesitated before giving another short nod.

Brett blinked rapidly, to the point where Darren feared his brain might short out from some sort of system overload. “I don’t get it.”

Darren stared at him. This was not the helpful advice he’d been hoping for.

Brett sounded almost anguished as he asked the next question. “Why don’t you just sleep with her?”

Darren bit back a sigh. He should have known his brother wouldn’t understand. “She’s used to dating men who don’t treat her right,” he said. At least, that was the impression he got from Kat. “I think she’s afraid of real intimacy. She seems to have a problem dating a nice guy.” He used air quotes around the term nice guy.

“Yeah, I get that.” Brett didn’t seem surprised by that. He was nodding, studying his brother as if for the first time.

Darren stilled. “You do?” Of course he did. This was why he’d come to his brother for advice, wasn’t it? Brett knew women. He understood them. He should after all his experience playing the field.

Playing the field. Huh. Was that where the word player came from? Now it was his turn to study his brother with new eyes. “Brett, are you a player? I mean, would you consider yourself a player?”

Brett rolled his eyes in response and continued talking as if Darren hadn’t spoken. He did, however, answer his question. “I get where she’s coming from.”

“Enlighten me, please.” Darren was not a stupid guy. He was, in fact, quite smart by anyone’s standards. But in this particular realm, he had to bow down to Brett’s superior knowledge.

Brett seemed to be savoring the moment, rubbing his chin like he was some sort of professor of casual sex. “It’s easier, I guess.”

At Darren’s look of confusion, he continued. “When there are no expectations, it’s impossible to get hurt.”

Darren stood there in silence for a moment as he digested that. It was in keeping with his initial analysis. She’d been afraid of him from day one—no, not day one. She hadn’t been afraid of him when she’d thought of him as a one-night-stand. She’d only shown that wariness when he’d made it clear he was serious.

He gave his brother a slow nod. “Yes. Okay. That is in alignment with my thoughts on the matter.”

Brett let out a snort of amusement at his brother’s serious manners. It had always been this way and Darren barely noticed.

He had another question, one that was far more difficult to ask, but he found himself in desperate need of an objective opinion. “Do you think…” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Do you think that I stand a chance of winning her affection?”

Brett’s eyes widened in surprise.

Understandably. While they were close enough as far as brothers go, he’d never come to Brett for advice before, let alone a pep talk. But that was just it. He didn’t want frivolous words of encouragement—that he could get from his parents or Bryce, or even Kat.

No, he needed a clear-headed opinion, and Brett had never pulled his punches when it came to Darren.

Brett shook his head and Darren felt a surge of disappointment. But then Brett spoke. “I don’t know, man. I mean, I don’t even know this girl.”

Darren let out a breath of relief. “Yes, but you’re like her.”

“I am?” Brett laughed under his breath. “You think I’m like this sexy, artsy, party chick?”

“Yes,” Darren said. “When it comes to your views on sex and relationship, it seems to me as though you are very similar.”

Darren was certain he’d never seen his calm, cool brother ever look quite so disconcerted. His eyes widened, then glazed over, and then his mouth fell open making him look dumber than he really was.

He might not have won the science fair like Darren, but Brett was no dummy.

“Brett?” he prompted. “With your particular insight into her mindset and with your knowledge of me, would you say I stand a chance?”

Brett’s eyes focused on him once more and when they did, his mouth slammed shut and he studied Darren with all the seriousness Darren had hoped for.

“I think you should sleep with her.” That was his final pronouncement.

It was not a yes nor a no and so Darren was left with more questions. “Why? What would that accomplish? What if she still—”

“Look, if you want to show her that you’re not going anywhere after sleeping together, then you need to sleep with her.”

Darren pressed his lips together, trying to consider this logic without his damned testosterone getting in the way. Because if this was up to his hormones, he’d leap on his brother’s advice, using any excuse at hand to rationalize sleeping with her.

He narrowed his eyes as if that would help him focus on the situation with reason and logic. When he thought about it, he supposed Brett had a point, logically speaking. If he were to continue to keep a platonic distance, she might start to think of him as a friend.

He did not want to be her friend.

And if Brett was right about her issues involving commitment, then the only way to prove to her that he wasn’t going anywhere was to sleep with her and then…well, and then not go anywhere.

Ever.

And he didn’t intend to. If it was up to him, he’d never leave her side.

His original thought process came back as he reminded himself of why he’d kept his distance all week even though it had nearly killed him. He lifted his head to face his brother. “I need to show her that I’m not like all the other men she’s dated. She needs to realize that I’m not just in it for sex.”

Brett considered that, leaning back against the workbench again as his gaze moved up to the ceiling as if he saw the answers up there. When he looked back at Darren, he shook his head. “First of all, she’s got the hots for you. You’ve got to use that to your advantage.”

Darren grimaced, wanting to be convinced but not.

But Brett wasn’t done. “What makes you different is the kind of guy you are. You’re not going to lose interest after sex, because that’s not you. You’re serious about everything, including people.” His brother’s lack of sarcasm or mockery made his words seem particularly important. “You’re going to stick around, that’s just who you are.” Brett said. “If you want to prove that to her, just be yourself. Don’t play games.”

Darren bristled at that. “I’m not playing games, I’m—”

“Withholding sex to make a point? That seems like playing games to me.” Brett suddenly seemed wiser than ever, and far more intelligent than Darren had ever giving him credit for.

Worse, his brother was right.

“Fuck.” He rubbed his forehead as his brain registered the truth in Brett’s words and his view of the situation shifted once again. “I’m so confused.”

“Welcome to the wonderful world of dating.”

He didn’t have to look up to know that his brother was grinning at his own joke.

“What do I do now?” He wasn’t really asking Brett so much as talking to himself, but Brett answered nonetheless.

“Now, we eat. After that, you go seduce your woman.”

* * *

As far as plans went, Darren supposed it was a good one. They did as Brett suggested and ate a fantastic dinner with his parents. Darren was mildly anxious throughout dinner and, oddly enough, missing his Sarah to a degree that made him physically uncomfortable.

Despite how nice it was to see his family and eat his mom’s food, he was the first out the door when his brother offered to give him a ride back to the lodge.

His parents offered to drive him too but he declined, insisting that he needed some one-on-one time with his brother.

“One-on-one time, huh?” Brett asked.

Darren nodded. “One-on-one time at the store. I need to pick up a few things for tonight.”

By the time he arrived back at the lodge, he had a brand new Brett-inspired plan to seduce Sarah, along with a shopping bag filled with necessities. He lugged the bag of candles, condoms, and other assorted accoutrements through the dark, quiet lodge.

If Kat and Bryce were around, they were in their bedroom in the opposite wing, and Sarah was nowhere to be seen. Maybe they’d all gone out—not that there was much of a nightlife in the area.

He crept past the closed door to Sarah’s room. Maybe she was asleep. Should he wake her?

Damn it, why hadn’t he thought to ask Brett about that part of the plan? What to do if she was sleeping?

Brett had been surprisingly good at helping him reformulate his game plan, this time with a new mission. Seduce Sarah and show her just how great they could be together, woo her with romantic gestures, and then not go anywhere, no matter how much she tried to push him away. It might take months or even years, but he’d show her that he loved her and couldn’t be scared off. More than that, he’d never do anything to hurt her.

His plan was simple and straightforward. He could do this.

He paused at his own door, trying once more to listen for any sounds coming from Sarah’s room down the hall.

Nothing. He heaved a sigh. It was his own fault for taking so long at the store. Now he’d have to wait until tomorrow to attempt his seduction.

When he opened the door to his room, he gaped at the sight before him.

He was dreaming, obviously. Or maybe Brett had driven them off the side of the road and he’d gone to heaven instead of the lodge. Both seemed like likelier possibilities than the fact that this was real.

This couldn’t really be happening.

Sarah couldn’t possibly be lying on his bed, her purple hair spread out around her as she gave him a sexy, welcoming smile. It was a smile that gave new definition to “come hither.” And only in his wildest dreams would Sarah be clad in nightie that was more wispy lace than actual material.

But not even in his dreams would he have imagined that Sarah would decorate the room with candles and flowers, as he’d been planning to do. Almost as if…as if…

His body finally started to function and it kicked into gear by blurting out words. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

Her brows shot up and her eyes widened but then her head fell back with a laugh he was starting to love more than life itself.

Was it possible to fall in love with a laugh? If so, he was a goner.

When she lifted her head and met his gaze, she said, “Is it working?”

His body screamed “go to her,” but his brain needed to catch up. He hesitated for one, brief moment. This was not the plan. He was distinctly aware of the heavy bag of accoutrements in his hand. He was supposed to seduce her.

He didn’t realize he was frowning until her smile faded and he caught a flicker of vulnerability that made his heart melt in his chest.

She started to sit up, propping herself on her elbows. “What are you waiting for?”

He shook his head quickly, dismissing the logical portion of his brain that said this was not the plan. That she still hadn’t come around. Instead, he told his overactive brain to shut the hell up and let his body have its way for once.