Days trickle by, and Brody and I tiptoe around one another in that ever-shrinking house as if we might accidently combust. Honest to God, it’s like wading through gunpowder with a lit match. We haven’t reenacted that kiss that started at ten o’clock Friday and ended at six a.m. Saturday. I swear on all that is holy, about halfway through that tongue twisting lip-lock, I thought I was having an orgasmic out-of-body experience. It was sublime. Flawless. There is simply no other way to describe it.

I drive through Hollow Brook on this serene fall afternoon, knowing full well the day is about to escalate into an all-out love-fest. Things have finally settled down, and Low is meeting Lex and me for coffee at Hallowed Grounds. I pull in and spot them both at a booth near the window and skip inside.

Low and I scream the obligatory sorority girl siren song.

“My God, I’ve missed you!” I pull her into an eternal rocking hug.

“Enough already,” Lex barks loud enough to straighten both our spines stiff as pins. “You’re causing a scene,” she reprimands. “Sit. I bought your coffee. I know how you like it. I was your maid for two months, remember?”

I grunt as Low and I fall into the seats beside her. “How can I forget? You were also the keeper of my crotch, too.” I glance to Low as I pull forth my coffee and take a quick sip. “Ohh.” I look to Lex and nod. “And you nailed it again.”

Low holds up a finger. “What do you mean, she’s the keeper of your crotch?” She grimaces. “That sounds fifty shades of wrong.”

“It is!” I slam my hand over the table like a gavel. All of the pubic wrongs Lex inflicted upon me in Low’s absence are about to be brought to vaginal light. “She made me go to some witch doctor and tried to give my girl parts an exorcism! Let’s just say she arranged for a reprisal of my prepubescent days. And the exit door has since been bleached clean of all its sins.”

“What?” Low pounds her own hands over the table in a rage as she looks to Lex. “I leave you two alone for five minutes, and you’re vajayjay bonding without me?”

“Geez.” I sink in my seat as three different women turn to scoff at us. “It was hardly bonding. It was more like drifting. She gave me the heave-ho and sent me packing.”

Lex’s affect brightens. Of course, it would. She’s wicked. “I sold my house for almost double the asking price.” She and Low share a quick high five.

Low offers a pained smile my way. “Levi told me you had to move in with Brody. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you!”

Lex scoffs. “Don’t be. She’s exactly where she wants to be. Safe in Brody Wolf’s den.”

Low inhales so sharply half the establishment turns around, and I’d swear three people just got up prepared to do the Heimlich. “My God, have you been bedding the animal and nary a text did you send?”

I lean in, horrified. “Would you stop! No. I have not even gone near his bed. I’ve got my own mattress, thank you very much.” I glare at Lex a moment. “And it’s far more comfortable than that futon you stuffed with rusty nails you demanded I lie on.”

Lex scoffs. “If only I had thought of it first.”

I stick my tongue out at her—lovingly, of course. “Why do you hate people so much, anyway?”

She glowers at me a moment. “Because you’re all the same.”

Low chortles as if it were the cutest thing. “She is so not a hater. Lex has come a long way, I’ll have you know. She wants nothing but the best for people.”

“That’s not true,” the queen of mean is quick to protest. “I’m constantly wishing people dead. It’s exhausting.” She glances my way. “Does that make me a bad person?”

“I’m pretty sure you qualify.” I take a sip of my coffee and groan it’s so good. Almost as good as one of Brody Wolf’s kisses. “We kissed,” I confess without prompting. “And I might have married him by accident—and before you ask—no, we did not consummate the nuptials.” A weight lifts off my chest that I hadn’t even realized I’ve been lugging around.

Both Low and Lex stare at me, slack-jawed, stripped of any affect they might have had just a moment before.

Lex reaches over and sniffs my coffee. “What in the hell did they put in this?”

Now it’s Low and me with our mouths open. Lex is slow to commit to an expletive.

“It’s true.” I take my coffee back. “The kisses, the marriage—not the spiked latte.” I take another sip and moan as I imagine Brody’s lips over mine. And why is it that java suddenly reminds me of Brody? Maybe it’s the fact we’ve been brewing coffee together for the last few weeks. Boy, would I ever love to grind his beans.

“What?” Low shouts so loud you’d think she was speaking to me from across a football field. Her palms land hard against the table, creating a coffee tsunami. “You did not deny me the right to be a maid of honor at your wedding.” If looks could kill, I would have died yesterday by way of a spiked stiletto through the heart. And I know Low. That’s exactly what it must feel like for her.

“Relax,” I hiss, glancing around in the event one of my brothers should pop up, and then just like that, I sit up straight in my seat. “Oh my God.” I slam my own hand down over the table once again. “I just remembered you’re married to Levi,” I whine as tears come to the party. “You cannot—you must not under any circumstances tell him a thing.” I look to Lex, forlorn. “I can’t tell her secrets anymore. I can’t expect her to keep secrets from her husband.” I smack Low over the arm three times fast. “Why in the world did you have to marry my brother?”

She smacks me right back. “Because you didn’t bother to warn me that he was so darn sexy!”

Lex groans like she might be sick. “As much as I enjoy watching the two of you bang the crap out of one another, I have a wedding to plan.” She glances at her phone a moment before dipping into that Louis Vuitton bag she calls Poppy. Lex has a name for every inanimate object in her home, and she thinks I’m the odd one.

“Your wedding!” Low moans, looking quickly from Lex to me as if she were torn. “Okay.” She folds her hands together as if she were centering herself. “First”—she looks my way sternly—“you will explain briefly how you came to be Mrs. Brody Wolf and what in the world is going on between the two of you, and then we need to quickly discuss a certain girl’s bachelorette party before she up and leaves.”

“Leaving.” Lex stands, and Low pulls her right back down again. “Oh no, you don’t.” She continues to keep her hand wrapped around her arm. “Spill it, Raven. We have three good minutes before she body slams me to the ground.”

“Half of that.” Lex glowers at me.

I tell them all about my hairless kitten celebration, waking up in Brody’s arms the next day with nary a hint of a walk down the aisle, and then finding the marriage certificate tucked in my bra.

“Aw.” Lex doesn’t bother to hide the fact she’s mocking me. “Isn’t that sweet? I’m sure your grandkids will love the part about Grandma’s hairless kitten, coupled with the fact she’s a lush.”

I grunt at the thought.

“Oh, hush,” Low reprimands. Her glowing tan highlights her pale eyes. “I think it’s kind of sweet. So, you’re certain he’s not interested in you?”

I shake my head in response. Honestly, I never want to verbalize that thought.

Lex makes a face. “And why Mojo? I like him. If he asks you out, you should be honored.”

“Oh, I would be. And terrified. Something tells me he’s not your textbook bad boy. Although, at this point, it would be a miracle. I’ve been hitting on him for weeks.”

Low’s mouth falls open. “So weird. Have you shown any interest in the things he likes? Motorcycles, music—”

“Sharp knives?” Lex interjects.

“No, because I’m not really interested in Mojo. And to be truthful, my plan seems to be backfiring. Brody actually makes an effort to give me alone time at the bar with him. I guess we’re just not meant to be.” I nod to Lex. “Anyway, I’m the last person I want to talk about. Your turn. We’re going to go out and get wild whether you like it or not. How about a naughty night at the Dungeon? I come bearing the promise of spankings and naked men.”

“No,” both she and Low sing in a chorus.

Lex smacks her lips. “I’ve forbidden Axel from any girlie clubs. Turnabout is fair play.”

Low gives a vigorous nod. “I’ve promised Levi the same. But he swears he doesn’t care, and he does want us to have fun.”

“Of course, he does.” I blink a devious smile. “They both do. Leave the details to me. When’s the wedding?”

“Day after Christmas.” Lex shrugs. “My cousin Nolan is getting married New Year’s Eve, and I want to be back for the wedding. We’re having the ceremony and the celebration in the banquet room at The Pelican.”

“You should do it on Christmas Eve.” Low gives Lex’s hand a quick jostle as if trying to wake her up to the idea. “December twenty-sixth is so anticlimactic. A Christmas Eve wedding would be something very, very special.”

Lex scoffs. “And ruin everyone’s Christmas Eve? I could never do that. Besides, I need to cook the turkey and make sure the presents are wrapped. I’d be robbing my family of a true Christmas celebration.”

“Not if you let me cater the event,” Low offers. “I promise nobody will think you’re robbing them. If anything, they’re used to you running the show.”

I give a slight nod. “Plus, this way you can have the entire restaurant to yourselves. The Sloppy Pelican isn’t open on Christmas Eve.”

“Yes!” Low rattles her like a ragdoll, trying to shake her out of her December twenty-sixth stupor.

“Fine,” Lex concedes with a tight smile. “But no bachelorette party on December twenty-third.”

“Oh, it’ll be way earlier than that. In fact, I’ll surprise you!” I say as Lex picks up her purse and heads for the door.

“I hate surprises!” she sings back.

Low and I share a quick laugh.

“She is a barrel of fun.” I scowl, lifting my coffee as if toasting her.

Low’s affect falls, and the smile glides right off her face. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t think you should try to pursue anything with Brody.”

My mouth falls open. Low is usually the first to push me in any penile direction.

“Why the hell not?” A part of me wants to reach over and pull out Low’s perfectly blonde coif with both hands. She can’t be serious.

She waves it off. “It’s nothing. It’s just…” She looks to the ceiling and grimaces.

“Speak, Masterson,” I say it sternly, but we share a giddy smile over our shared last name. I always knew Low would make a great sister, and now she’s proving me right.

Low leans in, her features quickly morphing to worry. “Okay, but don’t tell anyone I said a word. Levi mentioned that he and Brody had a conversation at the bar the other night, and it sounded as if he were getting pretty serious about someone else.”

“Who?” I rack my brain trying to figure out who in the hell could have slipped underneath my radar. We’re together twenty-four seven for shit’s sake.

“I don’t know, some blonde chick.” She sinks in her seat as if I were about to deck her.

I suck in a breath. “Bo Peep! UGH.” I tip my head back at the thought of that little frilly-laced, two-faced Southern belle stealing my man. Leave it to fate to throw in a fairy-tale monkey wrench into my plans.

“I gotta go.” I collect my things and give Low a quick embrace. “Are you working tonight?”

“In just a few hours. Will you be there?”

“You bet. I think it’s time I outgun Little Miss Lost Her Sheep. I know where to find them, and it’s not at The Sloppy Pelican.”

I head home and shower and dress for a night that Brody Wolf will hopefully never forget.

I meet him out in the living room, and his jaw roots to the floor.

“You like?” I give a little spin in my blue sequined dress that I was saving for New Year’s Eve. But if everything goes the way I plan, tonight will be the night we’ll be popping the champs—as in Brody and me.

“Yes, I like.” He frowns and manages to look decidedly sexy while doing so.

“Good,” I say, looking at my reflection in the mirror and fluffing my hair with my fingers. “My favorite bartender won’t know what hit him. Tonight, I’m gifting Mojo my virginity.”

Brody freezes. His eyes grow wild. His features harden to stone.

He doesn’t say a word all the way to The Sloppy Pelican.

Open mic night brings all the home warblers to the yard. It might be the reason the usual clientele has all but done a disappearing act and a much younger, far more boisterous crowd has moved in on its place.

I spot Low waiting on a table in the back and give a quick wave before heading to the bar.

Lex glowers at me from the bar and, in all honesty, I consider it a greeting coming from her. I hop onto the stool next to her.

“Have you met the new waitress?” She strums her black cherry nails over the granite.

“No, is it your sister, Serena?” Serena works at the Black Bear, and for the longest time Lex had a problem with that. If she’s working at The Sloppy Pelican, Lex here can keep an extra eagle eye on her little sis. But then Serena is probably too smart to let that scenario pan out.

“No. It’s the blonde ditz who can’t stop talking about how cute Brody Wolf is. She asked me twice if she had lipstick on her fangs.” She looks as if she’s going to be sick. “If she asks again, she won’t have teeth.”

“Blonde ditz?” My eyes scan the crowd, and I spot her. “Oh, crap.” A horrible sinking feeling takes over. “It’s Bo Peep. Now we’re never going to get rid of her.”

“I told you to take the job”—Lex mocks—“but no, Miss High and Mighty is too good for a paying position.”

“I never said that.” Not with words anyway.

“But let’s get honest.” She stands and tightens the apron behind her back. “You thought it. Look—after my honeymoon, I’ll be running my own business. You can have my spot if you want it. Think of it this way. You’ll be closer to your honey.” She glances past me at Mojo. “Both of them.” She takes off, and a knot builds in my stomach at the thought of working at the bar—at a bar. It’s practically hard labor. It’s grunt work for sure. And I don’t think I’ve ever stood on my feet for more than ten minutes.

“I like my seat right here!” I shout after her. “Sans the apron full of dollar bills.” I spin around to find Brody in front of me and Bo Peep to my left.

“I get it.” She rolls her eyes. Her name is spelled in all caps on the gold tag she wears proudly. JESSIE. And I can’t help but feel she’s rubbing her presence in my face. “Waitressing isn’t for everyone. And it’s truly humbling, especially for myself. I’ve got a doctorate degree in library sciences and, believe you me, I had to leave my ego at the door.” She looks to Brody with a straight face. “I need three Buttery Nipples.”

“Raven’s all ego.” Brody gives a slight wink my way, and I suddenly want to kick him in the shins—then lovingly kiss that shin all the way up to his—

“I’m not all ego.” I glower his way for both invoking such dirty thoughts in me and making me angry at the very same time.

“Sure you are.” He gets right to work on those Buttery Nipples. “You wouldn’t take a job like this. It’s beneath you.” He lands the first two drinks on the bar, and Jessie is quick to sweep them up.

“Well, your loss is my gain,” Jessie purrs with an utter innocence in her voice that just makes me dislike her all the more. “I sure needed the money. It’s crazy how expensive life is. Just my cell phone and my car payment have me drowning in debt. Not to mention my apartment.” Her perky little face lights up. “Oh, and hey—I’m looking for a roommate, so if you know of anyone I’d sure appreciate it.”

I shoot Brody the look of death as he glides the last Buttery Nipple her way, and she boot-scoots her way across the restaurant.

“Don’t be long, darlin’,” he calls after her in a fake country accent, and right now I can’t figure out what or who I hate more.

“Oh, drop the country fried love-struck act,” I howl. “And how dare you make me sound like an ego maniac. I’m as humble as they come, and don’t you forget it. And I also happen to know where you stash the Snickers bars. Don’t think I’m above raiding your freezer reserves. I might have to down all you’ve got after making me feel so lousy.”

He belts out a laugh. “You can have at my Snickers anytime.”

The air charges between us, and suddenly that seemingly innocent candy reference seems overtly sexual and oh-so-delicious.

Mojo comes over, and I sag in my seat. I’m so tired of faux pining after the snake man only to have him laugh me off as if I were the cutest little thing he never did want. I need to win back Brody’s attention. He needs to see me as more than the little sister he’s willing to share his Halloween candy with—one he puts down for having an overblown ego.

“Raven, my girl.” Mojo mixes a drink and slides it my way. “Shirley Temple with a shot of vodka just the way the big girls like it.” He offers up a wink, and I thank him for the drink. I’ve filled Mojo in on my annoyance over the fact Brody insists on treating me like a kid. In fact, I think Mojo and I have had more conversations about Brody than anything else. I rant, and he listens. He’s a great bartender in that respect.

“Now there’s a real man for you.” I give Brody the side-eye. “One who knows how to mix a real woman a drink. Thank you, Mojo. You are a knight in vodka shining armor. I was just about to faint what with all the bodies knocking around in here raising up the heat index. I need a good stiff drink.” I emphasis the word stiff to no one’s amusement.

“The only thing smoking in here is you, princess.” Mojo tosses an extra cherry into my glass. “You are looking hotter than a five-alarm fire in that dress. You sure your daddy knows you left the house tonight?”

We share a quick chortle and, swear to God, I can see the steam rising from Brody Wolf’s ears. Let’s just hope that’s jealousy and not some brotherly urge to protect my girl parts from the V-card threat I made earlier.

“Funny you should gift me this sweet little treat.” I fish the glowing red cherry out of a bed of ice and wag it before him. “I was thinking of gifting you the very same thing a little later on tonight.”

Mojo’s brows lift in amusement. “Oh, honey, it’s on. I get off in an hour.” He picks up the vodka and adds another splash to my drink. “Get ready to have your world rocked.” He leans in, those dark eyes of his so intense they burn right through me with their wicked intent. “You’re playing with the big boys tonight.” He gives a hard glance Brody’s way before taking off and working the other end of the bar.

Brody balks, “Did he just take a potshot at me?”

“Come now, leave your ego at the door.” I can’t help but give a gloating grin while raising my drink to him. “Looks like I scored my date with Mojo after all! Aren’t you going to congratulate me?” I bat my lashes at him manically, and he scowls as if the act actually offended him.

“Why are you single?” he gruffs it out as if demanding an explanation.

“Why are you a crater filler?”

He recoils at my crude analogy. It’s true, though. I’ll go out on a limb and say those hos he’s hauled back to his place weren’t exactly riding in their first rodeo.

“And I haven’t always been single for your information,” I sneer at him. “I had a very serious boyfriend named Brad during my European run last summer.” I shudder at the thought of Brad and his hard as granite hair. I hated the fact I couldn’t run my fingers through it. Come to think of it, he’d bat me away if I tried. “We landed in Kansas for a country shoot, and he referred to cows as boys.” I avert my eyes at the memory. “I broke it off that night.”

Brody sniffs a light laugh while mixing an entire row of glowing blue cocktails. “So, you don’t appreciate idiots?”

“I must appreciate them somewhat. I’m living with you, aren’t I?” I give a sly wink. I’d hate to ding his ego too much in one night. I need to save the real grenade once Mojo takes me by the arm and leads me out the door. If Brody doesn’t cry wolf—pun intended—well then, I guess I’ll be busy dodging a bad boy for the rest of the night. The entire thought has me sagging.

“What’s the matter, princess?” He pulls out that last word and dips it in sarcasm. “Having second thoughts about taking off with the mafia man? I heard that indecent proposal.” His jaw clenches a moment. “I guess you’re finally getting what you want.” Brody glares at me a moment. Those lucent eyes of his bear into me hard, and I feel the heat from his stare right down to my weary soul.

“Guess I am.”

Low comes over, and Brody hands a couple of drinks off to her. She’s quick to blow me a kiss as she races off with the goods.

Brody rests his elbows on the counter and leans in. “You do realize he was once a P.E. instructor for Hollow Brook High.”

“Wow, really?” I shake my head wistfully in Mojo’s direction. “Now that’s one teacher I can’t wait to bang erasers with.” I shove the cherry into my mouth and pluck the stem out painfully slow as Brody simmers to a boil.

His hulking frame leans in farther until he looks as if he’s about to climb right over the bar, and my heart drums to a climax. What in the hell is happening? Either he’s putting on those pissed big brother shoes once again or he’s so jealous he can’t see straight. Dear God, let him go blind with fury!

The muscles in his jaw tense, and my thighs start in on a quiver that doesn’t seem to have an end in sight. “You know, I never would have pegged you for someone who would go for a guy like that. You are predictably unpredictable.” He lifts a blue glowing drink my way before knocking the whole thing back himself.

“A good girl does love trouble.”

Jessie reappears winded with an empty tray in hand and her hair frazzled like a bad ’80s ’do.

“It’s time for a break.” Brody takes the tray from her. “You’re doing great. Keep up the good work.”

“Are you kidding? I’ve never tripped or stuttered more in a single night. I’m nothing but a bundle of nerves out there! I’m going to need a stiff one when this night is through.”

“Ha!” I balk. “Well, you’re in luck, sweetie. Brody here has laid more pipe than Exxon.”

“I beg your pardon?” she squawks as if I implied something out of the realm of sexual possibility. Hey? Maybe Bo Peep here isn’t a skank after all? “I was thinking more along the line of a vodka tonic.” She looks to Brody and bites down hard on her bottom lip. “But I like your line of thinking.” She glances to me. “Even if you are a little crass.” She glances over her shoulder. “I’ve got one more table to tend to, and then I’ll take you up on that break.” She trots off with a sexed-up spring to her step.

“Graduate degree in library sciences?” I scoff. “No wonder she’s bitter. I’d rather have an enema full of rusted nails than be in your shoes tonight,” I growl at him for even contemplating taking Bo Peep on a barnyard romp. This is not how this was supposed to go. This is not how Brody and I were supposed to end up—with other people.

“Who knows? Maybe we can double date one night.” He’s glaring at me as if this entire fiasco were entirely my fault.

Bo Peep bops back and squeals as the music takes a turn for the morbidly slow. “This is my all-time favorite song. You have to dance with me.” She titters on and on so fast while expertly extricating Brody from behind the bar, and before either of us realizes what’s happened, they’re swaying hips on the dance floor with nary a space left between them for the Holy Spirit.

“I can’t believe this,” I mutter as Low and Lex come up beside me.

“I’m so sorry, hon.” Low gifts me a soft kiss to the cheek. “It looks as if Brody has his sights elsewhere. Don’t you worry, girl. The right man will come along, and he won’t dare look twice at any other woman.” She brushes her finger over my nose with that I’m so sorry for you look on her face. I hate sympathy. I hate that I’m in dire need of it. She takes off for the kitchen, and Lex steps in close.

“Don’t worry. I’m not wiping any imaginary tears off your cheeks.” For once I appreciate her hostile manner. “I’m here to tell you to fight for your man.”

I look over at the two of them on the dance floor, still swaying to the rhythm while Jessie does her best to dry-hump Brody in public.

“What if all I really want is my man to fight for me? Is that so wrong?”

“Nope. But when you give someone mixed signals, it sure makes things a heck of a lot harder for him to try.” She shrugs. “Who knows? Maybe you’re both just too full of mind games to realize you could have played it straight all along.” She takes off before I can accost her and shake any truths that Axel may have whispered to her. Maybe Lex knows something I don’t?

I glance back at the dance floor and catch Brody whispering into Bo Peep’s ear and she’s laughing, lifting her knee as if she were some soon-to-be war bride who just met her man at the USO. Now it’s my blood boiling. Brody Wolf is getting laid tonight, and by the looks of it, it isn’t with me.

Mojo comes my way while putting on his leather jacket. A set of chains dangles from the pocket, and I gulp down a whimper.

“You ready to hit the road, sweetheart?” He tips his head back, and that snake tattooed to his forehead actually looks as if it’s slithering my way.

I glance back and spot Brody eyeing the two of us.

“You bet.” I hook my arm through that thick leather jacket as Mojo leads us to the exit. Every stride in that direction feels like a step toward my vaginal doom. My God, I hope I don’t do something truly stupid like ply myself with vodka and dive into his bed. Mojo isn’t exactly the person I was saving myself for all these years. But in hindsight, saving myself for Brody has proven to be a waste. He doesn’t want me. He wants Jessie.

We hit the night air, and the heavy chill runs right through me. Just the thought of hopping onto his hog sends a shiver through me. And I’m not looking forward to riding his motorcycle either.

“Hey, Raven,” a male voice booms from behind, and we turn to find Brody running this way. Everything in me freezes. There are so many directions this can go in, and a part of me is afraid he’s just bringing me my purse. He bolts over and plucks me from Mojo’s grasp, his arms wrapped around my waist like a safety restraint. “You’re not going anywhere with this guy.” His chest expands with every panting breath. “You’re coming home with me.”