“So basically, you want to have sex with me,” Scott said to Derek as Derek set a beer down in front of him.

“That is absolutely not what I said,” Derek told him. He looked at Kyle. “You get what I’m saying, right?”

Kyle nodded. “Sure. But if you want to have sex with one of us, I don’t know why it isn’t me.”

These two were his best friends, and he’d known he was going to get shit about this. But if they hadn’t given him a rough time, he would have thought they weren’t really taking him seriously. “I don’t want to have sex with either of you,” Derek said firmly but calmly.

“But you said that you have no women in your life like us.” Scott waggled his thumb back and forth between himself and Kyle. “But you’d like to have the kind of sex you’re having now with someone like that.”

Derek gave him a look that said, “I know you’re being a dumbass on purpose.” He sighed. “I want to have hot sex with a woman who knows me the way you two know me.” He held up a hand before either of them said anything. “I want to have someone like Peyton or Hannah.”

There. That would make it clear what he was talking about. Peyton and Scott knew each other inside and out and were still having rock-the-house sex all the time. Hannah and Kyle had known each other and been in love since high school. They had a history that was both awesome and a little painful, and they were as close as any couple Derek had ever seen. And they were as hot together as Peyton and Scott.

Derek knew—in fact, he was pretty sure he’d been the one to point out to these guys—that when you were with someone who knew you well, and loved you in spite of knowing you well, the sex was even better. He knew that. He’d had something very close to that a couple of times. He didn’t take on the whole I-want-to-be-your-everything bit that Scott and Kyle did, so even the relationships with the couple of women he’d been serious about weren’t as all-consuming as what Scott and Peyton and Kyle and Hannah were doing. There was no way Derek wanted to be anyone’s everything. That was a hell of a lot of pressure. But he did know that sex with a woman he truly cared about and knew well was amazing and…well, other things were amazing too. Like spending time outside of the bedroom. Something he didn’t do with women very often.

But maybe he should. Maybe it was time to have a longer-term relationship. Maybe it was time to get serious. It was sure working well for Scott and Kyle.

Of course, Scott and Kyle were the more serious types by nature. Definitely. Kyle was a straight-laced, perfectionistic physician, and Scott was a by-the-book, save-the-world cop. Derek was…a playboy bartender.

It probably wasn’t great for him to model his whole life after these guys. He didn’t think he could be a rule-following perfectionist if someone paid him a million bucks to do it.

So why was he all of a sudden thinking about his relationships with women?

But the answer was obvious. And annoying.

Riley.

The talk with Riley three nights ago had replayed in his mind for hours afterward. And he was pissed the next morning when he’d awoken tired. And alone. He hadn’t gone out to talk to the women who’d been there looking for him. He’d told his friends he needed to get cleaned up from the mud and had headed home. Where he’d proceeded to think about the fact that Riley obviously thought he was an ass about women, and had been since high school when he’d debauched her basement couch.

He frowned. And now he was thinking about her again. Why did he care what Riley thought of him? He wasn’t a dumb kid—or a dumb early-twenty-something guy—anymore. He’d grown up. He was doing shit with his life. He was an integral part of the community, was close to his family, had a job he loved, and lots of friends. He was happy. His situation was damned near perfect. It didn’t matter if Riley knew any of that or believed it. She wasn’t actually his little sister. He wasn’t even sure he’d call her a friend.

Yet, he was still pissed that she thought he hit on women with broken hearts because they were easier. He wasn’t an asshole. And he didn’t need easy, thank you very much.

Scott took a swallow of beer. “Well, sorry, buddy, can’t help you there. Peyton is very taken.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ve ruined Hannah for any other man,” Kyle said.

Clearly neither of them actually thought Derek was talking about having sex with their girls, but he sighed anyway. “Thanks for the talk, guys.”

His friends were absolutely head over heels in love. The whole let’s-get-a-dog-and-spend-every-Christmas-together-and-tell-each-other-everything kind of love, but they were also having Vegas-worthy sex. It could be done.

Not that this was all some great revelation to Derek. It might shock Riley Ames, but he was actually a pretty insightful guy.

“Look,” Kyle finally said, setting his coffee cup aside and leaning in—the sure sign he was finally going to give Derek some real input. “You think you’re Vegas to all these girls who are stuck in Sapphire Falls. You think you’re giving them this short-term good time when things in their real life get a little boring or don’t work out the way they plan. But I think what you have to ask yourself is…how much do you need the regular trips to Vegas.”

Derek refilled Kyle’s cup, thinking that over. It wasn’t quite time to switch the bar over from alcohol to coffee and tea only, something he did every night around midnight, but Kyle was on call pretty much twenty-four seven. It wasn’t unusual for him to not drink, no matter what time it was.

“You think I’m doing all of that for me more than for them?” Derek asked.

“You send them back out into Sapphire Falls,” Kyle said. “You help them let loose for a night, or a weekend, or even for a few weekends, but eventually they go back to their real lives, find nice guys, and settle down. And everyone knows that’s what’s going to happen.”

“Because that’s what they ultimately want,” Derek said. “Nobody wants Vegas all the time.”

“Except you.”

Derek felt himself freeze. He looked at Kyle. “What?”

“You’re the one who doesn’t go back out into the ‘regular’ dating scene after one of your flings.” Kyle picked up his cup and sipped with that smug look he often got when he was right about something.

Derek didn’t really know what to say to Kyle’s revelation.

“But he does go back out into regular life in Sapphire Falls,” Scott said. “I mean, it’s not a relationship, but Derek is as Sapphire Falls as it gets. All the odd jobs around town, running the main social hub, involved in everything, knows everyone.” Scott regarded Derek with a thoughtful look. “Yeah, maybe those ‘Vegas trips’ are for you as much as they are for the women. It’s a way to let loose and get out of the regular grind around here and then, Monday morning, you’re back to being committed to your longest-term, most serious relationship.” He nodded as if figuring it all out. “You can’t be serious about a woman because you’re already in a committed relationship. With this town.”

Derek felt his eyes narrow. But he didn’t hear himself arguing.

Was he avoiding commitment in a relationship because he was already over-committed to…everything else in his life?

“I think I just really like the hot sex with beautiful, willing partners who think I’m amazing,” he finally said.

Scott shrugged. “Or maybe it’s just that.”

“Yeah, that makes sense too,” Kyle said, picking up his cup again.

Derek rolled his eyes. Yeah, these guys were a ton of help.

“Officer, I’m here to report a crime.”

Peyton Wells, Scott’s girlfriend, slid between Scott and Kyle, her body rubbing against Scott’s. The big cop grinned down at her. “Yeah, what happened?”

“You’re going to have to cuff me and frisk me before I talk,” she told him.

“That can be arranged.” Scott pivoted on the stool and settled his hands possessively on her hips. “Though I don’t know where you’d be hiding any weapons in this outfit.”

Peyton was, as usual, dressed in short shorts and a tank that fit her body like a glove. She was Scott’s, completely and without a doubt, but as a red-blooded straight man, Derek had to admit that Peyton was damned nice to look at.

“Oh, I think I might have a thing or two that I can use against you,” she told Scott with a smile that said very clearly to everyone looking on what she meant.

Scott gave a low growl and said, “I’m not going to get any work done on that paperwork tonight, am I?”

“Oh!” Peyton leaned back slightly. “I forgot about that! You are definitely going to get work done on that.”

Scott pulled her close again. “I don’t want to work on it.”

“I’ll reward you afterward.” Peyton batted her eyes at him and licked her bottom lip.

Scott started to lean in to kiss her, but she pulled back at the last second.

“After.”

“Dammit, Trouble,” Scott grumbled.

“You have to get that in by next Friday,” she said. “Seriously.” She looked over at Derek and Kyle. “Tell him that he has to go do this presentation. He’ll be so good at it.”

“What presentation?” Derek asked.

“He didn’t tell you?” She frowned up at Scott, then looked back to Derek. “He was asked to present at a multistate convention of law enforcement working on sex trafficking issues.” She put a hand on Scott’s cheek. “I know you want to do it. I’ll help you with the paperwork. We’ll get it done super-fast, and then you can…” She trailed off. “Whatever you want.”

Derek actually felt the heat spiking between them. And he decided that, yes, that would be a very interesting thing to try—being with someone who knew his talents and dreams and encouraged them, even while tempting him with hot, handcuff-me-to-the-bed sex.

Then again, what talents and dreams did he have? Pizza ovens in the Come Again kitchen and maybe adding a couple of local microbrewery beers to the drink menu. And both of those things were going to be done in the next couple of months.

Huh. Maybe he didn’t need a serious girlfriend because he didn’t need any help being a better man.

And Riley floated through his mind again.

She would probably disagree.

No, she would definitely disagree.

He stubbornly resisted looking over at the table where she sat, her feet propped on the chair across from her, her laptop open, her headphones on—the universal signal for “I don’t want to talk”. She came in every night to work, just like a number of other people, including local bestselling author Michael Kade.

The Come Again had become an after-hours place for night owls who didn’t have their own offices to work in. It had started because the work to expand the Come Again for the pizza business happened after the bar closed, and the lights had drawn Peyton in when she’d decided to take classes online. Other people had quickly noticed the lights and cars in the lot, and Derek had simply gone with it, keeping the coffeepot going until the wee hours.

Now it was just a routine, and he kind of liked it. His buddy Bryan Murray actually owned the bar, but Derek was going to be the owner of the pizza business, and he loved being a part of the Come Again. It really was the social hub of Sapphire Falls, and it mattered to him that he was a part of a place where people always felt welcome, where celebrations were held and defeats were made a little less painful, where you could come with a group of friends to make memories, or where you could come alone to make friends.

“Hey.”

He focused again on the people in front of him as Hannah slid up onto the stool next to Kyle.

Kyle gave her a sweet kiss on the temple. “How was your day?”

She nodded, leaning in to rest against him. “Okay.”

Kyle’s hand rested on the back of her neck and he rubbed gently. Hannah had chronic neck pain from an accident a few years prior, and Derek wondered if Kyle even realized he was massaging her. It seemed an instinctive, protective action.

“You sound tired,” Kyle said softly.

“I am.”

“Okay, time to go home.” He put his arm around her and started to stand. “Hot bath and then I’m tucking you in.”

“And getting in with me?” she asked, giving him a sexy—if sleepy—smile.

“Just to sleep, Hannah,” Kyle said. His expression was full of affection.

And Derek found himself having to swallow hard. On his right was the couple that had upped the temp in the whole bar just looking at each other, and on his left was the couple in which one was simply taking care of the other. And that was kind of hot…or something…too.

“This,” he announced. Both couples looked at him. He gestured between them. “This is what I’m talking about.”

Hannah, Kyle, Peyton and Scott all looked at one another, then back at Kyle. And Kyle and Scott nodded.

“Yeah, this is pretty great,” Kyle said.

“You definitely want some of this,” Scott added.

Yeah, he thought maybe he did. Vegas and Sapphire Falls all in one beautiful, sweet, naughty, fun package.

Kyle and Hannah said their goodnights and left. Peyton went up on tiptoe and whispered something in Scott’s ear that had him saying goodnight a minute later.

And then Derek was alone.

He started wiping down glasses, lost in thought, until he heard, “Well, hey, I was hoping you were here tonight.”

He looked up to find Ashley Archer leaning on the other side of the bar. “Hey, Ash. What’s up?”

Ashley was a girl he’d “visited Vegas” with a couple of times. Maybe three. Or four.

“I was just wondering what you were up to this weekend?” She gave him a flirty smile.

He thought about it. He studied her lips. He thought about the last time they’d been together. Then he surprised them both and asked, “Have you read any of Michael Kade’s books?”

Ashley frowned. “Um, no. Not really my thing.”

Well, at least she knew who Kade was. He was living here in Sapphire Falls now though, and Derek wondered if she’d known the author before he moved in and started making a big deal about writing a tongue-in-cheek murder mystery set in Aquamarine Ridge, a town that bore an uncanny similarity to Sapphire Falls.

But Derek didn’t ask. Because he didn’t really want to know. He was about to ask a woman on a date, and he didn’t really need to know that it was a dumb idea.

“He’s hosting a thing here in town in a few weeks,” Derek said. “It’s a murder-mystery thing where fans can come to Sapphire Falls and actually live out the story in his book.”

Derek thought it was fabulous. That would probably surprise a lot of people, but he was an avid reader and was, admittedly, a fan-boy dork over Michael Kade’s stuff. He’d loved the Aquamarine Ridge book. It was funny and suspenseful with just enough gore. And he couldn’t wait for the fan weekend. He was the guy building the sets they needed and the keeper of the weapons and clues, and he was stupidly into it.

That would surprise Riley, he bet.

And dammit, there he was thinking about her again.

“I heard something about the weekend thing,” Ashley told him.

“Yeah, I’m working on the planning and everything. Was wondering if you’d want to go to his book reading next Sunday afternoon?”

Kade was going to be reading from the book and signing copies at Lucy Geller’s bookstore in town. The first hour was for Sapphire Falls only, then it would be open to anyone who wanted to make the trip to the little town. They were expecting a huge crowd, and every place from the diner to the bakery was gearing up to serve and charm their visitors. Hailey Conner Bennett, the woman in charge of everything having to do with tourism in Sapphire Falls, was nearly beside herself.

“A Sunday afternoon?” Ashley asked, as if he’d just asked if she knew how to tap dance.

It was true that most of his “dates” were long over by Sunday afternoon, and he was typically either at the pond fishing or lounging on his couch watching TV.

“Yeah, it starts at three,” he said, telling himself he couldn’t bail on the invitation just because she looked completely confused.

“Um…” Ashley glanced around. “I haven’t read the book.”

“You can still get a signed copy,” Derek said, giving her a little smile. “You could get it read before the big murder-mystery event.”

It wasn’t much of a mystery, really. If people had read the book they knew how it would turn out. But they were still expecting a big crowd of people who wanted to live the book by seeing the places that Kade had described in the story and meet the people who had inspired some of the characters. Like local millionaire Levi Spencer, who had ended up as a sidekick to the detective in the story because of his near nightly negotiations—i.e., whining—with Kade. Of course, the sidekick had been brutally killed in chapter seven. But Levi thought that was the best thing ever and was now in negotiations with Hailey to let him use fake blood and stage the murder scene at City Hall himself.

And Derek couldn’t forget the small-town doctor who doubled as the county’s medical examiner and had been the one to blow the case wide open. None other than his buddy Kyle Ames. Who was not all that pleased with being the story’s hero, because it meant that the doting fans would want to meet him. And dote on him.

It was all going to be a ton of fun. Derek couldn’t wait.

But Ashley wasn’t returning his grin. She shook her head. “I don’t think so. But if you want to hang out Saturday night, let me know.”

He knew what she meant by hang out, and he knew it did not involve a discussion about Kade’s book. Or really a discussion of any kind, other than deciding who would start on the bottom. Got it. He nodded. “I’ll let you know. Not sure what’s up yet.”

“Okay. See ya later.”

Ashley walked away and Derek shook his head. Not only had he asked a woman on an actual date—and been turned down—but he realized that it was very likely the first time since he’d seen his first pair of breasts that he’d turned down sex.

Okay, he was technically just putting it off. It’s not like he and Ashley needed to make concrete plans right now. He could still end up with her in his bed.

But he wasn’t going to. He was going to ask someone else out.

And he blamed Riley Ames. Completely.

He shot a frown in her direction again, but she was completely oblivious to him.

Why did it matter what she thought?

Or rather, why did what she think of him influence what he thought of himself?

But suddenly he wanted to know that he could ask a woman out on a date and she’d want to go. A real date. Not hanging out as foreplay. Parties out at the river, dancing at a street dance, shooting pool here at the Come Again, even sitting at football games were all just a chance to flirt and do some major hinting. It was all foreplay. The lead up to sex. The opening act.

And now that Riley had gotten into his head, he really needed to prove that someone would want to go out with him even if that was all it was going to be.

He shoved a hand through his hair and looked around for something to do. But he had everything cleaned up. Dammit.

The door opened again and he looked up, hopeful. Maybe another of the girls he’d gone out with recently would come in and help reassure him that he was a nice guy who was good for something other than orgasms.

Lucy Geller stepped through the door—and Derek smiled. The universe didn’t think he was all bad.

Lucy wasn’t someone he’d gone out with before, but she was what he’d loosely call a friend. And she was nice.

Maybe that’s what he needed. To be a nice guy, maybe he needed to hang out with nice girls. God knew, that would be something different. Not that the girls he spent time with were all bitches, but they weren’t Lucy-nice. They were I’ll-be-nice-and-suck-your-dick-on-the-drive-back-to-your-place nice.

He cleared his throat. Yeah, maybe to be a guy who did things other than have sex with the girls he took out, he needed to hang out with girls who didn’t just want to have sex with him. And maybe that was best accomplished by spending time with someone he hadn’t had sex with yet. Because—and he was only kind of bragging when he thought it—once they’d been in his bed, it might be hard to convince them they wanted to be anywhere else with him.

“Hey, Luce,” he said.

She was wearing a pale-yellow sundress. Much like the one Riley was wearing. But where Riley had her arms and legs—and tattoos—exposed, Lucy was wearing a light sweater over hers. It was a far cry from the baggy sweatshirts, but it was still hard to really get a good look at her shape. Unlike Riley, where every curve was clearly on display.

Derek frowned at that. The last thing he needed on top of everything else was noticing how Riley filled out her clothes. Jesus.

“Hi, Derek.”

Lucy gave him a sweet smile, and he purposefully focused on her lips. Yep, shiny peach lip gloss. And very nice lips underneath it.

“Can I get you something?” he asked.

Instead of a coy, flirtatious look like he so often got with that question, Lucy looked around the room. She spotted Riley and smiled. “Nope. I’m meeting Riley.”

“No coffee? Nothing?”

Lucy looked back at him. “Oh. Um.” She studied the chalkboard behind him where he had a few of the hot drinks he served at night listed. “Could you make cocoa?”

Cocoa. Yep, Lucy Geller was unlike the girls he usually hung out with. “Cocoa it is.” He had chocolate syrup for the café mochas and chocolate martinis he served. “I’m guessing you’re a whipped-cream kind of girl?” he asked with a wink.

She simply nodded. “That would be great.”

Not a hint of a smile, not a teasing quip, nothing in response to the whipped-cream-kind-of-girl comment. Or the wink. She really just wanted whipped cream on top of her hot chocolate. Huh. Yeah, this was new.

She started in Riley’s direction, and Derek noticed that Riley had her headphones off now and was watching them.

“Lucy,” Derek said quickly before she got past the bar and within earshot of Riley.

She turned back. “Yeah?”

“I’m really looking forward to Kade’s murder-mystery weekend.”

Her brows rose, but she nodded. “Oh, me too.”

Derek knew that Lucy was a huge Michael Kade fan. To the point that she stammered over her words and stumbled over her own feet in front of the author. It was adorable. “I was planning to be there on Sunday,” he said of the book signing. “You need any help getting ready for it?”

She faced him fully. “Well, um…actually…”

She tucked her dark hair behind her ear, and Derek noticed that her fingers and her ear were both really small. That was a weird thing to notice, but it occurred to him that Lucy was very petite. She was probably only five-two or so, and he was 99% sure that she’d never worn a pair of high heels. It also occurred to him that this was the first time, other than the lip gloss thing the other day, that he’d ever really noticed her body.

“I’m happy to help with anything,” Derek said quickly. Okay, it wasn’t really asking her on a date, but it would be spending some time together, and he got the impression that working up to this with Lucy might be a good idea. If she didn’t catch the teasing about whipped cream, then he was going to have to dial back his usual approach. Take it easy. Make a plan beyond “wanna do some shots and get naked?” Not that he ever said exactly that, but his reputation did a lot of talking for him.

“I could actually use a couple more hands,” Lucy said.

See, if that had been Ashley saying that, he would have made some comment about hands and what she was doing with hers, along with some suggestions for his, but…this wasn’t Ashley. Or Jeni. Or Anna. Or Abi. Or Madison. Or any of the other girls he would have also said that to.

“Just tell me what time to be there,” he told her. Sincerity. That’s what he’d try with her. Not that he was ever not sincere about doing shots and getting naked, but this was…different. And maybe different was good. Maybe it was exactly what he needed.

“How’s noon?” Lucy asked.

He nodded. “Fine. But…let’s have lunch beforehand. How’s eleven?”

There. That was a nice invitation. There would be no shots, no nakedness. It would be a casual chance to get to know her a little…

Lucy blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear. Again. The same hair. That was already behind her ear. “Oh, I don’t…you don’t have to do that.”

He watched her, a little confused. “I’d love to take you to lunch, Lucy,” he said. Also sincerely.

She wasn’t making eye contact now, and her cheeks were even brighter pink. What was it with women blushing around him lately? Women never blushed with him. At least, not the women he usually hung out with. Just Lucy. And Riley.

“I just—”

“Hey, honey.” Suddenly Riley was right there beside Lucy. “You ready to get to work?”

“Um, yeah,” Lucy said, almost seeming relieved. “I brought all the stuff.”

“Great.” Riley pointed to the table she’d just vacated. “Go on over. I’ll get us something to drink.”

“I ordered a hot cocoa,” Lucy told her.

“Awesome. I’ll bring it over.” Lucy moved off and Riley whipped around to face Derek. “What are you doing?”

He frowned. “What? I’m not doing anything.”

“Lucy looked completely uncomfortable.” Riley narrowed her eyes. “What did you say to her?”

Derek felt the getting-familiar frustrated tension inching up his spine. “I asked if I could help with the book signing on Sunday.”

Riley put a hand on her hip, looking highly suspicious. “How did you say it?”

“What are you talking about? I just asked if she needed any help.”

“Did you say it like ‘hey, Lucy, need any help on Sunday?’” Riley was, apparently, trying to imitate him. She’d dropped her voice and emphasized “help” in a this-might-mean-something-dirty way.

He sighed. “That doesn’t sound like me.”

She lifted a brow.

“No, I didn’t say that. I didn’t mean that either. I sincerely,” there was that word again, “want to help if she needs it.”

“She doesn’t.”

“She does,” he said. “She said that she could use an extra pair of hands.”

Riley sighed. “She didn’t mean it like that.”

“Like what?” But he knew what Riley meant. She got the way that could be flirtatious.

“What else did you say, Derek?” Riley actually seemed annoyed now.

“Okay, I was a huge asshole. Is that what you think?” he asked, annoyed too. “I offered my help—sincerely—and then asked her to lunch. What a dick, right?”

Riley stared at him. “You asked her to lunch?”

“Yes. Before we set up for the signing.”

“Just the two of you?”

“Yes.”

“So you asked her on a date.”

He shrugged. “Yes.”

Riley took two steps to the edge of the bar and pointed her index finger at him. “No.”

He looked at her finger, then back to her face. “No? Seriously? Like I’m a dog?”

“You are a dog, Derek Wright,” Riley said. “And you are forbidden to ask Lucy on a date.”

“I’m forbidden?” He actually laughed at that. “By who?”

“Me.”

“And what makes you think I’ll listen to you?” he asked.

Her eyes narrowed, and she got a look on her face that actually made a chill go down his spine. “You don’t want to mess with me, Derek,” she said. “I’ve been to prison.”

But he couldn’t help it. He snorted. “You were in jail. And all the charges were cleared.”

“Still.”

“For a cybercrime. It’s not like you killed anyone.”

“Yet.”

He leaned onto the bar across from her. “You’re not so tough.”

“I could make you very miserable.”

Now that he kind of believed. “I want to take a nice girl to lunch. What’s so wrong with that?”

“You’re not good enough for her.”

Okay. So that was exactly what he’d figured Riley thought of him. And it was maybe true. And it was what he kind of wanted to change. He blew out a breath and focused on Riley, letting sincerity show in his expression. He hoped.

“So, tell me how to be good enough.”

Now it was her turn to snort. “Just give you a list and you’ll do it?”

“Yeah.” Why not?

“Why do you want to be good enough?” she asked, instead of answering.

“Maybe I think it’s time for me to…be a better guy.”

She seemed a little stunned by his answer. She frowned, then wet her lips. And for an instant, Derek noticed that her lips were pretty nice too.

He shook his head and focused. Wasn’t that just like him to be thinking of another woman’s lips mere minutes after asking another out? And seconds after saying he thought he should be a better guy.

“Lucy is a nice woman,” he said. “And we live here in the same town, have a ton of friends in common, have known each other for a long time. What’s wrong with lunch?”

“She’s not your type,” Riley said.

“Exactly.”

Riley studied his face for a long moment. “You want to turn over a new leaf? Or are you actually thinking that you’ll show her what she’s been missing?”

“You mean am I thinking about taking Lucy over to your mom and dad’s basement?”

“Yeah,” Riley admitted. “Is it bugging you that Lucy is one of the few women in town you haven’t been with or something?”

He frowned. “Sarah was a very willing participant in all basement activities, Riley. I know you kind of love making me out to be this big bad guy, but every pair of panties that end up on my bedroom floor are put there by their owners.”

She swallowed but then said, “That doesn’t answer my question. Is Lucy appealing because her panties haven’t been on your floor yet?”

“Maybe I’m thinking that I need to find out what all the hype is about, keeping panties on.”

She chewed her bottom lip. Finally, she nodded. “I think you do need to learn that.”

“So I have your permission?” he asked dryly.

Riley shook her head. “No.”

“You can’t stop me from asking her out.”

“I can keep her from saying yes though,” Riley said. “Trust me. Lucy listens to me, and she’ll definitely listen if I tell her stay far away from you.”

“You’re a brat.” And he meant that very sincerely.

“I know. But I care about my friends.”

Finally, he scowled at her. “Did Sarah tell you something happened that night? Is that why it’s such a big deal to you that I stay away from your friends?”

“It was more what happened after that night.”

“What happened after that night?”

“You never called her or asked her out again.”

Shit. He straightened and ran a hand through his hair. “No, I didn’t. It was sex. That’s it.”

“Exactly.”

“So she wanted me to take her out? Ask her on a date? Spend some time with her with her panties on?” he asked.

Riley was chewing her lip again. But she nodded.

“So why are you so against me doing those things with Lucy?”

“Because I don’t actually think you know how to do those things,” she told him. “I don’t think you have any idea how to be a boyfriend. I don’t think you know how to be with a nice girl.”

Yeah, she was definitely a brat.

But she also had a point.

And he hated that.

“I’ve got hot chocolate to make,” he said, pushing back from the bar. Hot chocolate. For a nice woman. Maybe the nicest he knew.

Riley seemed to hesitate, but finally she nodded. “I’ll take one too,” Riley told him as he turned away.

He was unable to keep from asking, “And are you a whipped-cream kind of girl?”

“I’m more of a melted-marshmallow girl.” Then, seemingly out of the blue, she gave him a grin. “Even on my hot chocolate sometimes.”

And damned if there wasn’t a teasing glint in her eye. So she wasn’t passing up the chance to tease about whipped cream. And more.

“You sure?” he asked. “I’m very good with a whipped cream can.” Was he trying to see what she’d do or say to that? Yes. Yes, he was.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much a given, Sex God,” she said—and actually laughed.

Sex God. It might have been sarcastic, but Riley Ames had just called him a Sex God.

“Which is exactly why you should stay away from Lucy,” she added, effectively taking him right back down a notch.

“Lucy’s got enough whipped cream and Sex Gods in her life?” No one could really have enough of either, in Derek’s opinion. Which might be the entire problem.

Riley just looked at him for a moment. “I think Lucy has exactly the right amount of both in her life.”

Then she pivoted on her heel and headed for her table.

And Derek was left with a number of thoughts like so the melted marshmallows aren’t too hot then? And I could too be a good boyfriend. Probably. And Riley really does wear that dress well.

Dammit.