Joslynn lost track of how many times she paced past the windows in Chip’s hotel room. Each time she scanned the sidewalk below looking for any sign of him but from the height, she couldn’t make out any features. Every person below looked like a small dot.

“Where are you, Chip?”

Her cell phone beeped, as if answering her. Except it wasn’t from him. Annie’s name popped up on the screen with a text. Just got off work. Everything okay?

Okay? Nothing seemed to be okay at the moment. For a brief instant when Chip had found her in the bar, she’d thought everything would be fine, but now she wasn’t sure. He was out there somewhere. Even with his word that he wouldn’t go in search of Sal, it didn’t mean the two of them couldn’t bump into each other. If that happened, there’d be no stopping Chip. He was too headstrong, just like her brother. Between the two of them, she had cleaned enough wounds to last her a lifetime. That was one of the reasons why she hadn’t followed in her mother’s footsteps and become a nurse.

Did you know Chip was coming? She pressed send before she could rethink her question. With Chip in Dublin there was no reason to worry Annie with what had happened. There was also no reason to tell her that Chip might be out there walking the streets in search of Sal. She could fill her best friend in once she got back home.

I told him about Sal but didn’t think he’d show up. Did it cause another big fight with you and Sal?

She stared down at her phone, debating how to answer that question. Long story. Sal and I are done. Staying with Chip until we fly home. I’ll fill you in then. She hit the send button as her gaze turned back to the street.

As always with her, her thoughts conjured up the worst outcomes to any possible situation. If Chip didn’t come back, she would be in the same position she had been in hours before. Only now one less option of help was out there for her to call. Actually, it would eliminate two options. If Chip ended up in an Irish jail because of her, she couldn’t ask Annie for the money to help her get home. Not after she became the reason her cousin ended up behind bars.

“Deep breath. It’s going to be fine.” Even saying the words aloud didn’t stop the anxiety from rising within her. Everything seemed to slam into her at once until she felt as though she was drowning in all of the bad shit that had happened.

Sinking down onto the small sofa near the window, she brought her hands up to her face. Squeezing the bridge of her nose, she tried to push her tears away. Everything was crashing into her and she couldn’t handle it. She wanted to be back home and put all of this behind her.

The hotel room door opened, and Chip stood in the entryway. “I’m back.”

She ran her fingers under her eyes, drying up any tears that escaped. “Thank Heaven.” She let out a sigh of relief.

“The lobby clerk recommended shepherd’s pie from the diner across the street. I guess it’s their weekly special.” He held up a brown paper bag. “I hope that’s okay with you.”

“It’s fine.” Even though she wanted to rise from the sofa and go to him to put her arms around him, she forced herself to stay where she was. This was Chip, her brother’s best friend. She couldn’t allow her emotions to get a hold of her so much that she forgot this. No matter what she felt for him, she couldn’t allow herself to get carried away.

“While you were gone, Annie texted. You didn’t tell her you were coming?”

“No.” Sitting the bag on the small two-person dining table, he began to pull out the food. “It was a spur of the moment decision.”

“Spur of the moment? Really?” She moved over to the table so that she was standing next to him. “This isn’t like you just got into your truck and all of a sudden ended up at my door. You flew to Ireland to see me.”

“True.” He sat two bottles of water on the table and tossed the bag aside. “I found myself sitting outside the airport, debating what to do. At that time, I wasn’t sure if you needed me or if I was overreacting. I did know I was going to have words with your asshole boss and his son when you returned. But I wasn’t sure it was necessary to come here and possibly embarrass you.”

“What made you go into the airport?” Uneasy, she focused her attention on the task at hand and took the lid off the to-go containers.

“You, Jos.” His finger brushed along the curve of her face until he reached her jaw and gently he tugged her head up to look at him. “From what Annie told me I could tell how upset you were. I couldn’t sit by and do nothing. Even if all that happened was that I come here on the pretense of business and offered you a little comfort.”

“That’s a long way to go to offer comfort.” As she stared up at him, their gazes locked.

“There’s no distance I wouldn’t go for you.”

His words tightened her chest until she thought she couldn’t draw another breath. She didn’t want to read further into what he said but her heart told her to trust her instincts. She moved close to him. Their chests brushed against each other as they breathed. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me I’m reading into this.”

He slipped his arm around her and pressed his hand against the small of her back, drawing her even closer to him. “Is that what you want? Or do you want to see where this could take us?”

Us. That single word sent her heart rate into overdrive. What about Jack? The thought of her brother slammed into her, but she couldn’t stop herself from rising up to press her lips to his.

Butterflies danced within her stomach as their lips met. She looped her arms around his neck to gain some balance as his tongue slipped between her lips. The kiss she meant to be sweet blossomed into passion. Until that moment, she never understood it when her mother would tell her that during the first kiss with her father, fireworks exploded, and she knew he was the one. Now it was as if the grand finale was lit within her.

As the kiss ended, she leaned against him, her thoughts hazy while she tried to digest what had just happened. This was the moment she had been waiting for but there was still a huge ball of concern in her stomach. Going down this road with Chip could mean the end of their friendship. If things didn’t work out, it wouldn’t just ruin things between them but would also affect things among the four of them—she, Chip, Annie, and Jack. They had been almost inseparable all of their lives. Now, if they went through with this, they’d throw a curve ball into their friendships.

As much as she wanted to explore what might be happening between them, she wasn’t sure she could risk that. He was one of her best friends and the thought of losing him hurt her like a stab in the heart.