Saturday night we beat everyone to Garrett’s and grabbed a booth. The MCATs were behind me, and I felt good about them. I probably wouldn’t break any records, but I thought my score would be strong enough for applications. The real celebration was that Roman had passed his defense. In a few weeks, he’d graduate, but all that was technical. He had his PhD, and I was buzzing with pride. Despite the accomplishments, I was more than a little nervous to be here with Roman—in public, particularly a college bar. Jillian had begged and argued her case. Then Cassie had gotten in on the action. God help the American justice system if those two ever opened a law firm. I glanced around shiftily like I was about to rob the joint. It wasn’t as if most people would think anything of seeing the two of us together. He wasn’t much older than me and dressed down in jeans and a T-shirt he just looked like another hot guy at the bar.

But I knew and couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“Stop fidgeting, mi bella,” he whispered, taking my hand into his so I couldn’t bite my nails.

“What if the dean walks in or something?” I asked.

“I hear he hangs out here all the time,” he said wryly. “And even if he did, he has no clue who I am. I’m not a tenured professor, remember? Just an instructor. No one in my department is going to show up at a bar on a Friday night.”

He was right, but that fact did nothing to calm my racing heart. Without the others here to distract me with stories and bad jokes, I had time to think and there was only one thing on my mind: getting caught. Although technically we were both students, I knew our relationship existed in a gray area. I’d always been one to follow the rules. My driver’s license photo probably appeared under the definition of good girl in the dictionary. The trouble was that the initial thrill of rebelling had been usurped by something scarier. Being found out wouldn’t just spell trouble, it likely would force us apart. I didn’t even want to think about it.

Thankfully I was distracted from my analysis by the appearance of Cassie. She strutted to the table, looking her usual fashionable self and then unleashed a string of curses that would put a sailor to shame.

“Having a good day?” I asked, already feeling more comfortable.

“Computer crashed, so I have to rewrite an entire paper by next Friday.” She waved over Frank to place an order for the special: frozen pizza cooked in their toaster oven. It wasn’t gourmet, but it was cheap and a tradition.

Frank, the resident bartender, ambled over, scratching at his bushy eyebrow. “The usual?”

“You have a usual?” Roman asked under his breath.

Frank might have as much hair growing in his ears as on his head, but he caught it, glancing at Roman with disapproval. It was the look he gave any guy who dared to sit with us.

“Yeah, but double it,” Cassie said. “We brought the boys.”

“Where’s your boy?” Frank asked.

“No more boys for me. Unless you’re available, Frank.” She batted her eyelashes at him suggestively.

“I’m too old for you, hon. Thought I told you to stay out of trouble this year.” His words were gruff, but we all knew he was a teddy bear underneath his tough exterior. He’d seen his fair share of our love interests through the years, and he treated them like any father figure would: as jerks until they proved otherwise. He had only stopped calling Liam ‘that Scot’ a few weeks ago.

Cassie shook her head, spilling dark locks of hair over her shoulders. “Boys my age are trouble.”

“Been telling you that for years,” Frank called over his shoulder as he headed back toward the kitchen.

“Hey guys! Doctor Markson.” My head perked up on hearing the familiar Scottish accent. Liam bowed like Roman had been coronated.

“That makes me feel old.”

“Maybe someday there will be two Doctor Marksons.” Leave it to Cassie to wreck a celebration with expectations. I kicked her under the table.

“That sounds like a sitcom,” Jillian said, immediately shutting up when I shot her a warning look. She hadn’t sat down yet, so I couldn’t kick her. Unlike Cassie, she got the message and swiftly changed the subject. “I can’t believe it’s May.”

Liam caught on and began discussing summer plans. He wanted to go camping with Jillian, which was one of the worst ideas I’d ever heard. Over the past year, I’d grown to love Liam as much as Jillian. Judging from how she clung to his side that might be a stretch. The two of them looked relaxed and happy. In fact, I’d never seen Jillian so content before and I could only hope it would last. They scooted into the booth next to Cassie. It was a tight fit but no one complained. Having my whole, extended family here was enough to put me instantly at ease. Within an hour, we’d polished off both combo pizzas and the conversation was flowing as swiftly as the penny pitchers.

“Any news?” I asked Jillian as the men discussed soccer.

She stiffened in her chair and took a long swig of her beer. She was on her second of the night. I’d been counting, knowing I’d have to step in if she tried to have more or risk it interacting with her medications.

“No official news, but the student liaison’s office says it doesn’t look good. Apparently every foreign exchange student wants to come to Washington.” Judging from the tension ticking in her jaw as she finished speaking, she thought this was unfair. “Why can’t we go to school somewhere boring like Cleveland. I mean, Liam’s already here. Why not let him stay?”

“You could marry him,” I said with a shrug.

Jillian’s face turned fire truck red, but next to her, Liam laughed and leaned over to me. “Careful, now. You’re going to mess up my plans.”

“Shut up,” she said, turning even brighter red.

“Oh, chicken. Stop now, love.” He planted a kiss on her forehead. “That looks like painful embarrassment.”

This was why I loved him. He didn’t bat an eye at the idea of a long-term relationship with Jillian. Chronic illness would have scared most guys away, but not Liam. He had staying power. He was in love with her and that was all that mattered. My gaze darted to Roman. He wasn’t so easily scared off either. If only we could find a real man for Cassie. But two out of three wasn’t bad, and it proved to me that life had a way of sending you what you needed.

“It’ll work out,” I assured her, suddenly and totally certain.

“How?” She looked at me with the familiar, searching eyes I knew so well. She hadn’t looked at me that way in months. At some point, I’d stopped being the person she turned to for comfort and advice. I suppose facing the prospect of losing Liam, she’d fallen into old habits.

I glanced to Roman, understanding how subtly romance changed all your relationships and not always in bad ways. “I just know it will.”

Something had shifted in our relationships. There was a time—not terribly long ago—when the idea of marriage would have had both of us running for the hills. I’d also thought of it as something reserved for women much older than myself. At best, it was about companionship. At worst, it was a solution. I could see why Jillian would be wary of solving Liam’s visa dilemma by saying “I do.” But I also knew without a doubt that when he finally got down on one knee, she would say yes. My stomach did a nervous flip at how adult our lives were becoming.

“Oh my god!” Cassie yelped, slamming her hands on the table. “It’s not bad enough to be the fifth wheel when you two have landed yourself hotties, but now you have to talk about all that serious bullshit right now? It’s enough to drive a girl to take a vow of celibacy.”

“Get thee to a nunnery!” Liam called, pointing at her.

“I’ll have none,” Cassie quipped back.

I raised an eyebrow at her from across the table.

“What? I know Shakespeare,” she said. “You don’t have to be a Brit to know the Bard.”

Liam leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head. “I’m not a Brit. I’m Scottish.”

“You keep telling us that.” Cassie shot him a wicked smile. “But I haven’t seen you in a kilt yet.”

“You’ll have to trust me on that then,” Jillian said, leaning against Liam’s shoulder, momentarily distracted from the visa trouble. “The man has a kilt, and he looks seriously sexy in it.”

Somehow we’d gotten from visa to marriage to Shakespeare to kilts—that was why I loved my friends. Two pitchers later and Cassie had met her next soul mate at the bar. I watched her with a bemused smile, hoping my creep radar wasn’t off. The last thing she needed was another Trevor in her life.

“How about we go back to your place and study some anatomy?” Roman whispered in my ear.

A shiver raced along my neck, but I faked a nonplussed look. “Or we could have sex.”

“If you insist.” He was already pulling a twenty out of his wallet. Standing up, he held out a hand and helped me from my seat. “Jillian. Liam.”

Liam nodded in that typical masculine way. “Good to see you, man.”

“I’m going to spend the night at Roman’s,” I told Jillian.

“Our neighbors couldn’t handle it if we both had our men over at once.” Her lips crooked into an impish smile.

“No doubt,” I said, shaking my head. It would sound like the building was going to collapse. “Keep an eye on Cassie.”

“I’ll try.” We both cast doubtful glances in her direction. Flirting had transitioned to dancing. With any luck things would end there.

Leaving Garrett’s, Roman slung his arm over my shoulder as we stepped into the cool night air. The sky was inky black with no stars in sight thanks to the cloud cover shedding a light mist all around us.

“I always feel like a vegetable when it rains like this,” I confided to Roman.

“A vegetable?” he repeated with a laugh, pulling me closer to him.

“Like in the grocery store,” I continued. “They have those misters that keep the produce fresh.”

“You’re much prettier than a carrot.” He dipped his head and kissed me swiftly. “And sweeter, too.”

I relaxed in his embrace as we headed toward his apartment. I didn’t even mind that it was raining, not with him by my side. Despite the stress of upcoming finals and MCATs, life felt less hectic than usual. Roman had become the constant I could look forward to after classes and study sessions. We could work together and still find time to hang out. It was a nice change of pace.

Stopping on the sidewalk near the dock, I turned into him, lifting my face to his in invitation. He accepted, slanting his mouth over mine and kissing me deeply. My lips parted in welcome and his tongue flicked across my own, sending sparks of desire ricocheting through me. I would never get enough of him. Of this. Of us.

He pressed closer to me as if sensing my thoughts. Our bodies tangled under the starless sky, fighting to be closer together.

“What the hell, Jess?” Brett’s angry voice shattered the mood.

We startled apart, Roman’s hand steadying me as I stumbled on the uneven path. It hovered over the small of my back as my gaze landed on my ex-boyfriend. He was standing in the street, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He was dressed casually, but the hateful expression was anything but.

“This is why you said no?” Brett spat at me. “Christ, did you bring him back from Mexico? I thought you had more taste than that.”

Roman stiffened at the racist remark, and I stepped quickly between them. It was always awkward the first time you saw an ex, but Brett didn’t have any claim on me. Not anymore. Apparently, he needed a reminder. “My life isn’t your business anymore, Brett.”

“You’re Brett?” Roman asked, running his eyes up and down my ex-boyfriend. “Huh.”

“Now what does that mean?” Brett demanded. “Have you been talking about me, Jess? What have you been saying? I bet you tell him what a mistake you made letting me go.”

“It’s over, Brett.” I spoke in slow, careful words. “Go home.”

“You know what’s funny?” Brett continued, ignoring my warning, “I never go to Garrett’s, because I’m avoiding you, and the one night my buddies talk me into it, you’re here—with some guy.”

I flinched at the implication in his words. If only he knew that Roman wasn’t just a random man but telling him that would only make things worse. Letting this encounter get any uglier could only spell trouble. I took a deep breath and opted to play peacemaker. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were there.”

I hadn’t seen him in the bar, but it was clear he’d been watching me. The thought made me queasy. Why couldn’t he get over me already? The rain had picked up now. The drops hit my face and streaked cold down my cheeks like forgotten tears. It was the closest I’d ever coming to crying over him.

“Like hell you didn’t.” Brett moved nearer and Roman’s hand found mine. He wasn’t marking his territory—that wasn’t his style—but I didn’t doubt that he wasn’t going to let Brett come any closer.

Tugging at Roman’s hand, I urged him along, eager to get away from the scene Brett was making. But Brett wasn’t going to let us get away that easily.

“The important thing is that I saw you and your boyfriend,” Brett called after me. “I had to ask around a little bit, but you can guess how surprised I was when I found out he’s a professor.”

I froze in my tracks. Of course, he would take things too far. I should have seen that his obsessive side would only make matters worse after our break-up. Once he’d stopped calling and texting, I thought he finally moved on. Now I knew that was a futile hope. Wheeling around, I turned on him. “He’s not a professor. What do you want me to say? Things are over between us, Brett. It’s not your business who I date.”

“The university might feel differently. Maybe we could talk and you could explain.” Brett held his hands up innocently, but I wasn’t buying his act. It was at odds with the rest of his behavior.

“I’ll think about it,” I said. “Good night.”

This time I didn’t take Roman’s hand. I didn’t want him to feel mine shaking. We started moving, heading in the opposite direction of Brett. Neither of us spoke, and it took me a few minutes to realize he wasn’t leading me to his apartment anymore. I didn’t object when we reached the stairs to my place.

“Maybe it would be better…” Roman let the suggestion trail away, but I knew where he was headed with it. Being together didn’t feel all that wise after Brett’s threat. In the morning, we’d feel differently. Right now, I had a lot to think about.

I nodded. “Let me talk to him.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Concern shone in his dark eyes. “He seemed unstable.”

“He’s just upset,” I assured him. “Believe me, Brett is pretty much all bark, no bite.”

Roman opened his mouth like he was going to argue with this, but kissed me instead. “Take one of the girls with you.”

I agreed, fingers crossed behind my back. If I was going to face Brett, I needed to do it alone. I’d never come clean to my best friends about Brett’s proposal. I still wasn’t sure why. Initially, I’d wanted to spare Cassie’s feelings, but she had gotten over Trevor months ago. I’d never even told Jillian. I’d wanted to forget it had even happened. Maybe Brett knew that, which was why he was acting like a first class dickhead now.

Talking to Brett might allow him to see that we weren’t as compatible as he’d deluded himself into believing. His threats regarding my relationship with Roman were just a symptom of his own regret. If we faced facts, he’d see that. Unless he acted like he had tonight. Then it would be easy to walk away without remorse. A girl could hope.

Then again, I knew to be careful what I wished for.