That kiss. A week dodges by, and neither Raven nor I dare to bring it up. She sure did have a great big smile on her face the next morning. And I’d like to think that shit-eating grin was all for me.

In other strange people news, I’ve met up with my grandfather twice this week—once again at Hollowed Grounds where he up and declared he hates their shitty coffee. Later that week, we went fishing up at Lake Avalanche, just him and me on a small pontoon. We caught two trout apiece and found a diner up there that cleaned and cooked them for us. It was wonderful, and it killed me that my parents, that my sister, couldn’t be a part of it. He had me promise I wouldn’t tell and, of course, I’ve kept my lips zipped even while having dinner with my parents last night.

And on Friday night, Raven drives down to The Pelican with me. She’s become one of the regulars at the bar, brooding, mooning—hell, she’s all-out moaning after that freak Mojo. And since Raven likes to remain at The Pelican throughout my entire shift, I proposed we start driving together.

“Who knows?” Raven skips in front of me and blocks the entrance. The wind picks up her hair and blows it into a beautiful black wreath around her glowing face. Raven is a sight to behold, with a full harvest moon blessing her from above. But that mouth—damn, if it doesn’t call to me. Her tongue runs a revolution around her lips, and hell, if I’m not getting a little too excited. And if she happens to glance down, there’s no doubt she’d notice. “Tonight might be the night Mojo actually gives me a ride home.” Her eyes spring wide, blue as the Caribbean. “And by home, I mean his.” She gives a hard wink before spinning on her heels and striding into the restaurant. It’s freezing as shit out, and yet she’s wearing a short leather skirt, boots that ride all the way up to her thighs, and a creamy white sweater that looks soft as sin. And the shitty part about it is that she didn’t put those boots or that sinfully soft sweater on for me. Raven is barreling one hundred miles an hour straight into Mojo’s arms.

I head in and the scent of a freshly grilled steak hits me. Smells like hickory-smoked heaven paired with the finest ale. I love the food here so much that I’ve eaten just about every meal that kitchen has to offer at least ten times since opening day. It saves on the grocery bill, or more to the point, it saves me from the fact I don’t know what the hell to do with groceries.

Both Lex and Axel are working the tables, looking frazzled and pissed at the very same time.

I head over to Ax. “What’s going on?”

“A couple of the waitresses up and quit. Something about a road trip and finding themselves.”

Lex pops up behind him. “One of the ditz’s boyfriend left her.” She says boyfriend in air quotes. “And now the whole restaurant has to pay for it.” She glares over at the bar for a moment. “Say, why don’t you get that girlfriend of yours to help out? I’m pretty tired of her doing an impression of a paperweight.”

I look to the bar to find Raven chatting it up with our all too friendly bartender. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

A heavy hand falls on my shoulder from behind and a deep voice strums, “Who’s not your girlfriend?”

I turn around to find Levi Masterson himself grinning like a loon—or at least a groom who has happily gotten laid for the last several weeks, and by his side is his beautiful bride.

“Shit.” I pull him into a brief hug. “Dude, you’re looking good.” Both Levi and Low sport glowing tans to accompany those grins. “And you look beautiful.” Before I have a chance to pull Low into an embrace, Raven screams her way over, and soon Lex is caught up in the hugging hysterics. The entire restaurant grows eerily silent as the three of them scream at the top of their lungs. I’m assuming Lex is screaming because she genuinely doesn’t want to be there, but Low and Raven look as if they died and went to best friend heaven.

Axel and I stare down Levi a moment. We’ve known him as a married man before. It’s just that he’s never quite had this glow.

“Someone had a good time.” Ax bounces his brows. “I’m not a chick. I don’t want details.”

“You’re not getting them either.” Levi smacks him over his arm. “You’re up, buddy. Let me know when and where, and Low and I will help fill in whatever blanks you need us to.”

“Thanks, man. Lex is handling everything. I’m sure she’ll let us both in on the details soon.”

We share a quick laugh on Lex’s behalf. At the end of the day, Lex is a cool chick with balls that might be a little bit bigger than Axel’s.

“How about you?” Levi narrows those dark brows into a solid line as if he might be pissed. “When did you run off and get a girlfriend?”

“Not true.” I lift my hands in surrender. “No girlfriend here, I swear.”

Levi shakes his head. That look on his face lets me know he’s not buying it. “Me thinks he protests too much. Who is she?” He nods over to Ax.

“Your sister.” Axel is apparently overeager to set my neck on the chopping block.

“What?” Levi socks me on the arm so hard I can feel the bruise forming before his fist leaves the premises. “Tell me it’s not so if you want to live.”

“You know it’s not so.” I offer up a dirty look. “She’s just staying at my place. She’s freaking homeless. I couldn’t let her live on the street. And your mother—”

He shakes his head and waves me off. “Never mind. I know my mother all too well. You did the right thing. I know she wouldn’t stay with Chip—not with the whole baby thing. Thanks, man.” He pulls me in. “I really appreciate it. At least this way you can keep an eye on any turkeys that try to follow her home. Some days I feel like that girl needs a homing device. She’s splitting in a thousand different directions. Make sure she gets to bed at a decent hour and remembers to eat breakfast.”

A part of me wants to laugh, but I know he’s dead serious.

“You bet.” For a moment, I envision myself tucking her in, crawling under the covers right along with her—her glorious body leashed around mine.

Levi knocks the back of my knee out with his own. “Tell me the truth. Is she cramping your style? As much as I don’t want her seeing the parade of horrors, I don’t want you to feel you’re missing out because of my sister.”

“What? No.” I close my eyes a minute, and that kiss we shared comes back to me full force. “Actually, I’ve cut back on the nightly mattress romps.”

“Serious?” he balks, and I should probably be insulted by how concerned he looks. “Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me some poor girl has snagged your heart?”

“Maybe.” I glance over to Raven without meaning to. Crap. I should probably throw him off before he picks up on something. “Anyway.” I nod to the blonde that’s been trying to dive headfirst into my jeans for the last few weeks. She’s no quitter. I’ll give her that. “That’s her. I’m still crushing from afar, so don’t say anything, but I’ll probably ask her out soon.” I frown because a part of me is afraid this might be true. I should probably throw myself into any chick that walks by just to get my head away from Raven’s lips. I shake my head as if contesting my own thoughts. Raven is too steeped in my bones for me to ever evict from my mind.

“I’m sure you’ll land her soon,” Levi is quick to assure. “In fact, I’ll look into finding Raven a new place to stay. In the meantime, I really appreciate it.”

I give his arm a swat as he takes off for the bar where the girls have congregated.

“So, when are you going to tell him the truth?” Axel’s gaze remains fixed on Lex.

“What truth? That I’m going to fire both you and your future wife?”

“You can’t fire me.” A shit-eating grin crops up on his face as he stands in front of me blocking the girls from my view. “And you know better than to mess with Lex.” He nods as if the ball is in my court. “You and Raven. You don’t have to pretend around me. I’ve watched you mope after her for the last few weeks. You really need to tone it down if you don’t want to get your balls kicked in by her brothers. Chip might seem docile, but he’ll turn your skull inside out when you’re not looking.”

A part of me says deny it. “That obvious?” But I go for the truth, and it feels as if I just shed five hundred pounds.

“That obvious, dude.” He stands beside me as we watch the scene play out. Levi is busy mixing cocktails for the girls, and Mojo keeps circling around my girl. A dull laugh pumps through me. Is Raven my girl? Yeah, Raven is my girl.

“She’s not into me, though. She’s into him.”

“Her brother?” His voice pitches, and just as fast as he freaked out, he points a finger at Mojo. “Oh, him,” Axel groans as if he were just as frustrated as I am. “Man, I really thought you and Raven made a good-looking couple. Now I’m going to have to stare at that snake in human skin for the rest of my days. Whoever Raven ends up with is going to be family.” He slaps me over the shoulder. “Better luck next time.” He looks to the bar and does a double take just as Jessie waltzes over. “I take it that’s your future plus one. I’ll see if I can get Lex to stop mocking her. I think it’s about time we all play nice.” He takes off for the bar as Jessie steps in close.

“Hey, hon! You wouldn’t want to fetch a thirsty girl a drink, would you?”

“I sure would.” I force a smile to come and go. “Give me a minute.”

She takes off, waving from over her shoulder. That skintight red dress she’s got on doesn’t leave much to the imagination. No bra. Thong. I can see the whale tail. Jessie is pretty. And sweet. She’s just not the one for me.

The one for me just so happens to be throwing herself at a snake—a totally nice snake when you get down to it. Axel is right. Whoever Raven ends up with will be family. Heck, once Raven and Mojo become a couple, it’ll be too late to let her know how I feel. Too late to fight for her. Too late to make her mine.

A self-righteous rage percolates inside me, and I want nothing more than to head over like some juiced-up caveman ready to claim what’s mine. I’ll be damned if I don’t go down without a fight. Not that I’m going to knock Mojo out like a bowling pin. I’ll just make him disappear for a while. And hopefully, Raven will see that it’s me she’s really after.

I make my way to the bar and break up what appears to be a lively retelling of Moby Dick. Mojo is famous for his fish tales. Sorry, buddy. Not today.

I tell Mojo he can go on his dinner break, and he takes off without so much as a whimper.

Raven’s mouth falls open as he takes off. “What did you do that for?”

“Because he’s hungry.” I frown over at her. “So, has he asked you out yet?”

She makes a face and inspects her fingernails. “Not yet, but he was just about to before you barreled in and practically shoved him out the door.”

I shake my head. “If he was going to do it, it would have happened by now. I hate to break it to you, but the dude’s just not that into you.”

Her face contorts with shock. Those doe eyes open wide with horror. “Not that into me?” She clutches at her chest, at that soft sweater I want to turn into a pillow later just so I can take in her scent. I confess, I pulled a sweatshirt off the couch she abandoned there last night and did that very same thing. Raven has always held the faint scent of lilacs, and I crave that scent more than I crave food or water.

I glance to the end of the bar where Levi and Low have Lex and Axel riveted with the details of their snorkeling adventures, so I steal a moment to lean in toward the beautiful woman before me.

“Nope. Maybe it’s time you cut your losses.” I mix a quick Shirley Temple and glide it over to her.

“Cut my losses?” she balks so loud three different tables turn our way. “Do I look like a quitter to you?”

My stomach ties itself in a knot. I know full well Raven always finishes what she starts. One year we entered into a candy-eating contest, each with our own club store-sized tub of red licorice, and she gnawed on half the barrel before puking up a sea of red. Raven is tenacious, fearless, and unabashedly not afraid of carbs.

Raven lets out a dramatic sigh, and a part of me gets the feeling it’s all an act. “Hey? I know! Maybe you can give me some pointers on what guys like—especially that guy.” She points toward the kitchen. “And with a little training from a pro, I can land my man.” That determined spark in her eyes looks all too familiar. Nope, she’s not faking. Damn. Why can’t she leave well enough alone?

“What kind of pointers?” I gruff the words out like a threat. The last thing I want to do is give up my best material only to have her use it on some other dude.

“I don’t know—clothes? Hair? Body language?” She bites down over her bottom lip, and my balls ache just watching the endeavor. “And, you know—other things. I bet he senses the fact I’m inexperienced.”

My entire body shakes, demanding to have her. I glance to Levi in the event I’m about to get a knife to the head.

My phone goes off, and I fish it out of my pocket. “Huh, I don’t recognize the number.”

Raven shrugs. “It’s late. You should get it. It might be an emergency.”

“It’s never an emergency. It’s always someone trying to sell me a timeshare.” I pick it up and listen as the dizzying words fly by like a coven of angry bats. I hang up and stagger back a moment.

“What is it?” Raven sits at the edge of her seat, her hand outstretched as if to catch me.

“It was an emergency. I gotta go.” And with that, I speed the hell out of the bar.

Raven rides with me all the way to the Jepson Police Department where we’re met with Marlin, Lex’s brother whom I met briefly when he flew into the bar looking for his sister one night.

“She’s in the holding tank. She was with a friend, but she got away.” He looks to Raven and me, and it’s spooky how much he looks like Lex. I don’t know how Axel does it—looking at this guy with a straight face. It’s essentially the same face he goes to bed with at night. Raven, however, only slightly resembles her brothers and thankfully so. I’ve been getting a little relief in the shower by way of her beauty these past few weeks, and the last person I want to see while doing so is either of those clowns. They might be my good friends, as good as brothers, but I draw the line once my hand takes a dive for the night.

“One of her friends?” Raven bumps her shoulder into mine and makes big eyes at me.

“I know.” Marlin pinches his eyes shut. “She’s good friends with Teagan Collins. I’ve seen your sister before with her hanging out at The Sloppy Pelican.” He sniffs the air and nods my way. “I’m staying out of it. Pay your fines and get her home.”

Raven yelps, “Not before you tell us what she did.”

Marlin looks to me as if asking for permission, and I nod. He rambled it all out in one long sentence over the phone so I’d sort of like to hear it all again myself.

“She was caught using a fake ID down at the Black Bear. Apparently, they let it fly for almost a week. The owner’s wife took ahold of it, and the party was over. Baya can spot a fake with the best of them.” He tips his hat my way. “If you don’t mind, I’ll go get your prize while you ante up. My shift is just about over.”

He takes off, and Raven shakes the shit out of me. “Your sister is turning into a derelict! How could you let this happen? We’re going to have to put a leash on her. She can sleep in my room, and I’ll make sure there’s no sneaking out with boys in the middle of the night either,” she screeches, and I can’t help but chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“For one, she’s just five minutes younger than you. And secondly, I find it incredibly adorable that you care about her this way.” I head to the officer at the window, and she helps process my derelict of a sister as I sign my life away for her. My parents are going to be pissed.

“I do love her.” Raven butts her shoulder into mine. “She’s like my sister, too, you know.”

I pause from the paperwork and look over at her. “Thank you. It means a lot to me. Colby can use a good influence in her life. A good big sister.”

Her lips quiver a moment. “Sort of the way you’ve been a good big brother to me. I know I don’t say it often, but I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

Before I can properly soak in the moment, Colby comes stumbling out, cussing up a storm, her blonde hair frazzled every which way. Marlin assures us she was alone in a cell, and we take off with Colby still three sheets to the wind. It looks as if she snuck a few in before Baya got ahold of that fake ID. I drive her all the way to Hollow Brook Hills and help her into the home I grew up in.

Mom and Dad amble into the living room sleepy-eyed, both in the matching plaid robes I bought for them last Christmas. I never thought I’d pay off that credit card debt I crawled into. I thought I’d be paying for those robes for the rest of my life, but Low and Lex saved the restaurant. I give a sheepish grin over at Raven. It feels as if she’s saving me.

“What’s going on?” Mom sounds like she’s singing. “Raven!” She pulls her into a hug before pulling back and pinching her nose. “Colby Wolf! Is that you reeking of booze? Oh my word, let’s get you some coffee.” She helps my sister into the kitchen, and Raven follows.

Dad winces, and I see myself in his features—same full head of hair, same marbled eyes. It’s the laugh lines I look forward to gaining the most. I know for a fact my father has had a good time on this spinning blue rock, and that mostly has to do with the fact he’s had the love of his life by his side. I quickly tell him about our adventure tonight, or misadventure as it were.

“I’m sorry, son.” He shakes his head, his features filled with agony. “Let me know what I owe you.”

“I got it.”

“Oh, Mr. Hotshot.” He offers my shoulder a congratulatory slap. “I’m glad things are going so well for you at the bar. It’s always nice to have more than two nickels to rub together.”

“Yes, well, that’s all I’ve got.” I spot an old family picture on the wall nestled among hundreds of similar gilded frames. But it’s my grandfather’s face I’m most interested in at the moment. I nod over to it. “Can I ask whatever happened between you and Grandpa?”

The smile glides right off my father’s face. “Funny you should ask. I was just thinking about the old guy today.” He shakes his head at the picture wistfully. “It was silly, really. I needed some money and didn’t ask. I had always been on his bank account as an account holder. It was something my mother did. Anyway, I helped myself and asked later. It was a foolish thing, and he never forgave me. It was a long time ago when your mom and I were trying to buy this house. After my mother died, he assumed everyone was waiting for him to kick the bucket, too. He didn’t think I was interested in a real relationship with him. He sort of dropped off the radar. Moved and didn’t say a word. I must have apologized a thousand times. I paid him back with interest, too. But an I’m sorry was never enough for him. He didn’t need my interest. When my brother died, we couldn’t find a way to contact him for the services. Missed his own son’s funeral. What do you think of that?”

“Sounds pretty harsh.” My heart stills hearing the sorrow in my father’s voice. Why the hell can’t my grandfather accept an apology from his own kid? A part of me begs to tell him everything, and just as I open my mouth, Raven comes back in.

“She’s good. I think she’s headed to bed. Already asleep on her feet.” She strides next to me and wraps an arm around my waist as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and it feels that way.

We say goodnight to my parents and head back on the road, arriving at my place no more than ten minutes later. Raven and I walk up the porch as the autumn leaves crunch beneath our feet, the night blooming jasmine perfumes the air with its honeyed scent.

“I’ve got a lesson for you,” I say, unlocking the door as my heart beats so fast my entire body shakes in rhythm.

“Oh?” She steps in close with the buttery sweater I’ve been looking to nestle in all night long—those sweet, sugary lips parting just for me. “What’s that?” Her hips graze mine as she presses in close as if to crowd the doorway.

“The goodnight kiss.” I swallow hard, taking in the way her skin glows under the supervision of a baby-faced moon.

She sucks in a soft breath. Her eyes round out like ovals. “Really?” I’d swear on my life that those are genuine tears glittering in her pretty blue eyes.

“Yes, really. But if the thought of kissing me makes you want to cry, I promise I can walk you through it without the actual act.” Dammit.

“Not on your life,” she snips before giving a few wide-eyed blinks. “I mean, I need the full training. Mojo is no idiot. He can spot a fake a mile away. Now get kissing.”

A dull laugh rattles from me. “Okay.” I force the smile to glide right off my face. “But if you’re kissing Mojo, I’d suggest a quick peck like this.” I drop a quick one over her cheek and pull back. “Say I hate you. Then run like hell.”

She swats me over the chest before grabbing onto my shoulders as if she were never going to let go. “And if I’m kissing someone else?” She ticks her head to the side and looks alarmingly innocent. Raven never looks innocent, but I don’t hold this against her.

“Someone else?” I blow out the words. Like me, I want to add. “Well, then I’d say you’d want to put a little more effort into it. Like this.” I lean in slow. My eyes gaze into hers as long as possible, and then it happens again. I collapse my mouth over hers and press in with a lingering, loving kiss that says far more than goodnight. It says screw goodbye, this is hello, let me in, take me to your damn bed and let me have my way with you.

Raven moans with delight and hikes a leg up over my hip. I don’t say a word. Instead, I do the unthinkable and moan right back. Her fingers dig into my hair as she presses my mouth harder over hers. Our lips move feverishly over one another, fighting the urge—holding back the dam that’s about to burst, and then like magic her mouth falls open and I follow suit. Her warm tongue dances into my mouth, and everything in me freezes and rejoices all at once. Raven and I have officially crossed a line. Pushed past any barricade her brothers would have wished were still in place.

My hands glide up and down her back, finding a home at the base of her hips as I move her body hard against mine. My tongue does a sweeping revolution of her mouth as I scope out the landscape, memorizing the taste, the touch, the feel of her in me, of me in her. Hot damn, Raven and I have hopped the friendship fence and landed in that awkward ravine called what the hell now. She’s in love with Mojo, and I’m kissing her as if she were my wife. A dull laugh rattles through me, and she pulls back abruptly.

“Oh my God, you’re laughing at me!” She hides her face in her hands a moment.

“No, I swear.” A chuckle rolls out as I say it. “I was just thinking”—a part of me doesn’t want to say it—“that you’re in love with Mojo, and I’m kissing you as if you were my wife.” I try to shrug it off, sorry that I broke the damn spell to begin with.

Her fingers bounce to her lips. “Wow, I guess maybe we got carried away.” She clears her throat, and her features grow serious. “But I’m looking forward to sharing the benefits with Mojo very, very soon.” Her brows touch near her nose as if maybe she’s not. “And who knows? He, too, might be my husband one day.” She sucks in her bottom lip as if it were the last thing she wanted. “Maybe we should practice some more. You know, so I get it right when the time comes.”

“When the time comes for you to marry Mojo.” I openly glare at the post behind her as if it were Mojo himself. “Why the hell not.”

Raven and I dive over one another like a couple of love hungry teenagers, kissing our way into the house, onto the sofa, and long into the early hours of the morning.

One day, if Raven gets her way, Mojo will be a very happy, happy fucker.