THE INSIDE OF The Brew was warm and welcoming—just like always. Today it was the guy standing next to me that gave me a bit of a chill. It was like a cool, calm summer evening before a storm, lulling you into going out in shorts without an umbrella.

I was not going to be lulled.

I was lull’less.

I headed toward the counter, Connor following behind me, his hand slipping to the curve of my back again. We were early for the Sunday morning crowd and only had to wait a minute or two before Abby the Barista deigned to greet us in her usual warm and sunny manner.

Yes. That was sarcasm.

“You're early.” She pointed toward our empty corner. “Your friends aren't here yet.”

“Right. I saw that.”

“Maybe you want to come back later and not lounge around taking up space.”

“We'd rather lounge.” I smiled, trying to rush past this part and get to the tea and muffin goodness.

Abby fixed me with her patent-ready stare. At eighteen she was more hard-nailed than Catherine was. If Catherine ever quit agenting, Abby might be a good person to step in. She'd probably have publishers crying.

“Abby.” John's voice came from the backroom. “We've talked about threatening our regulars, right?”

“It wasn't a threat.” Abby glanced my way and it felt like a threat. “It was just a suggestion.”

John pushed through the swinging door, his arms filled with to-go cups and gave me a warm smile. “Morning, Hailey.”

“Hey, John.”

I waited. I'd been through too many of these learning situations with Abby. Oddly, the girl didn't seem to mind being corrected in front of an audience and I knew John liked to do it right away. Like you might with a puppy.

I knew a few customers who would pay good money to watch him rap her on the nose with a rolled up paper.

“Abby, you know Hailey and her friends are here more than any of our other customers. They spend more money here than anyone else. They do it because they buy the time to lounge. I've also seen all of them occasionally slip a twenty in the tip jar to thank you, so not only is it rude to suggest she leave and come back when her friends are here, it's bad business.”

I'd watched him do this over and over again. Explain not just the soft reasons, but the business reasons for doing something.

Jenna had told me once Abby was in some type of manager-training program for at-risk teens. She was here during the day too, so high school obviously wasn't working out. She'd recently started carrying one of those big GED books around, so I was hoping that she was making the most of what John offered her.

“Fine.” She sighed as if he was pointing out a detrimental truth that she was going to have to accept in order to allow world order to continue. “You're right. They spend money.”

“And you secretly like me.” I grinned. I couldn't help it. She might be eighteen, but there was something about pushing her a little.

“If I liked you, why would I keep it a secret?” This question seemed to confuse her.

I just kept smiling at her, waiting for her next snappy comeback. Abby upset Jenna the Soft-Hearted and confused Kasey the Kind. But me? I got a kick out of her. I knew that girl could do anything she put her mind to, based on pure stubbornness.

“You.” Abby had spotted Connor. I’d hoped for a little star struck'ness. “You're the guy who shows up on all those trashy magazines covers.”

Oh. Oh, that was even better.

“Um. Yeah?” Connor looked at me not quite sure what to say.

But it was nice someone else was calling him on his public dating habits.

Abby shook her head and looked at me like I'd gone nuts. “What are you doing with him?”

I almost jumped the counter and hugged her. All the looks, all the worry about what he'd be doing with me, and it took a grumpy, eighteen-year-old to ask the opposite.

“Well, you can tell he's a little lost when it comes to women.” I grinned at her because she was making me so happy right now. “I'm mostly humoring him. He asked me out and he's kept me amused, so we'll see where it goes.”

She nodded like this was the most logical reason for me to be standing there with one of the country's top bachelors.

“Abby.” John came back and hovered. “Have you asked them what they're having yet?”

Back to business.

“What are you having?”

“I'll have a green tea and a chocolate muffin.”

“Heated?”

“Of course.” As if this all needed to be done. Abby could have had the order finished before I reached the counter.

“And him?” She glanced toward Connor and then back at me as if she wasn't sure he could put a whole sentence together.

After a short silence, I answered for him. “Coffee.”

“Plain coffee?” She sounded even more horrified by the idea of plain coffee. “He can get plain coffee anywhere. John just bought a new bean from Venezuela. He should try that.”

“Okay.” I nodded. Let’s just move this along. I wanted my muffin.

“Wait a second.” Connor finally spoke up after watching Abby and I bounce words back and forth like two kids playing catch. “How do you know I'll like these new beans from Venezuela?”

“Everyone likes them.”

“That's not true.” Connor nodded his head in my direction. “She's having tea.”

“Well, if she drank coffee she'd like them.”

“Maybe I just want plain coffee,” he argued.

After watching him order last night, I highly doubted that.

“Do you?” I asked. “Do you want plain coffee?”

Connor looked at me as if I were betraying him.

“No.” Answering didn't stop the scowling. “But that doesn't mean I can't pick out my own coffee. I'm not an idiot.”

I patted his hand where it rested on my shoulder really enjoying being the calm one for once.

“Okay. Tell Abby what you want.” I gave him a sweet smile. He seemed like he needed it with the coffee emergency and all.

Connor frowned in my general direction before swinging his gaze toward the chalkboard over the counter. “What's the Pandora's Blend?”

“Oh.” Abby brightened. I could see I was going to lose my ally before the conversation was over. “Good choice.”

She went on to explain some complicated roasting and combining methods for the beans I couldn't have cared much less about. What I did care about was that Connor was doing that smile-welcome-attention-bonding thing and slowing down my chocolate muffin arrival.

Not to mention, winning Abby over.

I walked down the counter, eyeing the muffins as I went. I was two seconds away from pressing my nose against the glass and drooling when John popped out of the backroom again.

“Why don't I just get that for you before you swoon?”

“Thank you.” I managed to tear my gaze off the pastries to smile at John. “You're a god among men.”

He popped the muffin in the microwave and turned back, leaning on the display case.

“Speaking of god among men...” John nodded his head toward Connor. “Looks like he gained another fan. Didn't take him long.”

“I know. It's disgusting.” Even I noticed the distinct lack of heat in my words. I wanted to believe it was, but every time I saw him with someone, he came off as so genuine, I was beginning to believe what he’d said about the bad day and the challenge his brother had thrown at him.

“I meant more, what are you doing with him?” He waved a hand before I could go on the attack. I was sick of not being good enough. “You're smart, funny, successful, and pretty. Why are you with a guy who has a whole column every week dedicated to being shallow?”

I didn’t know if Connor heard any of that. Part of me wished he had. He needed a reality check about how the real world viewed him. The other part didn't want to see his feelings hurt.

I started to politely tell him to mind his own business, but then I looked closer and saw the concern.

“He's settling down.”

John just raised an eyebrow.

“What?” I asked.

“Go grab your chair. I'll bring your tea over while she explains every variety of coffee bean known to woman.”

I wasn't going to argue. While I needed my Sunday morning muffin, I didn't need Connor. Even if it would have been fun to tell him all about The Brew while I ate. I could enjoy the deliciousness while he schmoozed.

I settled into one of the overstuffed sofas near the fireplace. We met there every weekend—me, Jenna, Kasey, and Kasey's boyfriend Max. Jayne came when she wasn’t working one of her three jobs. When Jenna's guy Ben was around, he’d join us and we were also blessed with the effervescence of Dane when he wasn't: A. hungover, B. still in bed, or C. still in someone else's bed.

Any way you looked at it, Sundays were my chill-with-friends morning. One of my favorite parts of the week.

Connor finally got an order in and settled down in the chair next to me and propped his feet on the beat up coffee table before taking a sip of his steaming hot coffee.

John followed close behind him with my tea.

“This place is great. I'm surprised it's not packed.”

I was glad we'd decided to discuss ground rules. The Brew Ha Ha was mine and he couldn't have it. I'd hand over Catherine before I handed over The Brew.

I also didn't want it to become A Spot.

“Connor, this place is where I work and meet my friends. I need you to not be bringing craziness here.”

“I don't bring craziness.”

“Please. Your life is the definition of craziness.”

“Worst case scenario is John gets a little more business and keeps Abby out of trouble. I think it's pretty obvious he needs all the help he can get on that front.”

“I'm serious, Connor.” I leaned forward in my chair, desperate for him to understand what I was saying. “This place is more than a coffee shop. Do not ruin it for me.”

I'd met Jenna for the first time here when she'd already had her first book out and I couldn't believe she'd take the time to have coffee with me. We'd met Kasey here when she'd lost her job and her boyfriend in one swoop. We'd cried together and eaten chocolate cookies fresh from the oven when Jenna's boyfriend, Ben, had gotten on a plane to London. We'd celebrated sales and bestsellers and mourned bad reviews and rejections. When Jayne showed up, this was the first place she asked Kasey to bring her.

This coffee shop was our equivalent of other girls' bars.

It was our Cheers. Our second home.

“If we can keep The Brew under the radar that would be great.” I smiled, knowing how hard that might be. And, on a sudden whim, added, “I don’t mind sharing.”

Connor gazed back at me, no expression whatsoever on his face. That had to be something he'd perfected being chased by cameras all the time. One more reason I didn't need them staying in my life when he was gone.

“Hailey, the entire point of our being together is for people to see us together.”

“I know.” I did. Trust me. I'd been dealing with that fact for a few days now. “But, when this is over, what if you had to move out of your house? This is my second home. Please, Connor.”

His gaze softened, an understanding smile shaping his lips. He leaned forward to speak when a voice interrupted me from behind.

“Hey.” Jenna glanced between us, an unreadable expression on her face for once.

“Hey. You’re here.” Now that she was here, I had no idea what to say. I was glad she knew what was going on, but I was a bit embarrassed to be caught together.

Connor rose from his chair, probably glad not to have me challenging him any more, and stuck his hand out. I should have expected it. He'd shown perfect manners toward everyone else. He always went out of his way to put people at ease.

I guess I hadn't expected that to extend to my friends. The friends seemed to be the equivalent of “off hours” when you didn't have to do your job anymore.

“I'm Connor. You must be Jenna.”

I'll admit it. I was surprised and impressed. Sure, he'd seen the pictures of my close friends and family in the apartment. He'd heard the brief overview of the girls at dinner. He knew they knew.

But that was it.

And yet, he'd picked out Jenna.

“Yes. I'm Jenna. The one who will be watching every step you take for the next several weeks and plotting my revenge well in advance if you hurt her.” She leaned in, her usual pixie face taking on an almost threatening gleam. “I write fiction. I have a very active imagination. In my brain, nothing can stop me. It doesn't matter if you're bigger, faster, or richer. If you hurt her, they'll be looking for your body for years.”

Connor's eyes had gone wider than those big night game lights and I have to admit, I was awed—I mean, shocked. Yeah. Shocked.

The writer in me couldn't wait to see what she was going to come up with next.

The faux girlfriend knew I had to step in.

“Connor, Jenna drinks chamomile in the morning. You can see why.”

Proving once again that he was smarter than the public gave him credit for, Connor pulled his hand from the tiny one it was trapped in and headed toward the counter. Abby was whispering at him before he even made it all the way there.

Jenna collapsed in the seat next to me, watching them with an amused look on her face.

“Thank goodness you sent him off. I think that took up all my energy for the next three days. I'm going to have to power nap for seventy-two hours.”

She was the sweetest person I'd ever met. She'd been hit hard, walked over, and left behind. But on the other side of that she'd come out with a heart still so sweet it sometimes made me feel guilty just to be around her.

“He's not that bad.”

“If you say so.” She watched Abby making her drink to make sure she put lemon in it. “He seems nice.”

“Yes. He wins everyone over. He's got Abby roasting special beans for him.”

“How Jack and the Beanstalk of him. Are you the golden goose?”

“I'm the something alright. I just don't know what yet.”

I watched him lean against the counter as he pulled out his wallet and paid for Jenna's drink. Then I watched him stick another five in the tip jar. He definitely was generous...not in an insane attention catching way. Not in one of those MC Hammer-you'll-have-nothing-left-in-five-years way. Just in a little-bit-here little-bit-there way that no one really noticed if they weren't watching. It was sweet really.

“Oh my gosh!" Jenna grabbed my wrist, forcing my attention back to her. “You like him.”

“No.”

“Yes. You like him. You can’t lie to me. I know you too well.” Her voice dropped and she leaned in, careful to make sure our private conversation was staying as private as possible. “Remember when I knew you slept with Nate? Well, I know this too. You like him.”

“Shhhh...Yes. Alright. I like him. He's likeable. But not how you mean.”

Jenna was just grinning at me. Since she was living the fairy tale, she believed everyone should be…that everyone could be a happy pair. But I knew it wasn't true. She'd lucked out with Ben beyond belief. Not every good-looking, smart, successful guy turned out to be Prince Charming. Most of them just ended up being exactly what you thought they were.

Egotistical heart-bruisers.

Jenna gave me the hard stare that only a close friend can give and get away with. “Are you sure?”

“Can you see me wanting to be followed by cameras every day? To have my relationship monitored and judged? To know that my books were being second-guessed because of who I was dating? To be the center of attention every time I walked out of my house with my boyfriend?”

I could feel my anxiety level rising just listing things off.

“No. But that doesn't mean you don't like him.” She gave me a sad smile. “You can fall for someone and not want to be part of the world their job is in.”

I wasn't sure what to say to that. I knew she wasn't just talking about me and Connor, but her and Ben. Ben had made a hard choice and followed the job he'd already taken across the Atlantic in London for a year.

Jenna had decided not to follow him for Reasons.

“Ben's coming back.”

Jenna's gaze shifted, falling across the empty space between us and half focusing on the fire burning in the grate behind me.

“I know.” Her words came out on a quiver, low and hushed. The confidence I knew she was trying for all but missing. “But, that's not what I'm talking about. This isn’t about me. I'm talking about you. Do not fall into something you can't crawl out of here.”

Jenna's eyes focused and her gaze cut toward the counter where Connor stood.

“I'll be careful. And, the liking him thing?” I leaned in and lowered my voice. “We decided we might as well try to be friends after we argued everything out.”

She froze, her tea forgotten as she gave me her full attention. “You argued with him?”

“Um, yeah. It’s not like we didn’t have to handle some things before we could move on.” Obviously.

“You don’t argue with anyone. It took you three years to tell me to mind my own business when I butt in.”

“So?” I didn’t like where this was going. Jenna was, if nothing else, astute.

“So, in less than a week he has you feeling like you can argue with him.”

Jenna gave a little huh as I tried to see what she was reading into this.

“Well, yeah.” Because it was a desperate attempt to hold onto some control in my own life. “And we decided there was no sense not enjoying ourselves while we're stuck together.”

“That friendship wouldn't involve any type of overly-friendly activities, would it?” She waggled her eyebrows at me from behind her black-framed glasses.

“Nope. Just normal friendly activities.”

“Fine.” She still glared at the back of Connor's head.

“Thank you for your permission.”

She wrapped a hand around my wrist and gave it a squeeze. Leave it to Jenna to nurture where she wanted to shout.

“So, ladies.” Connor set Jenna's drink down on the coffee table. “Did that give you enough time to talk about me?”

Coming from anyone else it would have made me want to smack him. But Connor delivered the line with just the right amount of self-deprecation and a grin that would make you forgive him just about anything.

It was sad, really, how good he was at making people like him.

“For now.” Jenna picked up her cup and took a sip, watching Connor over the rim. “But, I'm watching you. Don't mess with her. I can be scary.”

“I believe you.” Connor nodded as if Jenna being scary wasn’t the most ridiculous thing anyone had ever heard.

Connor spent the next thirty minutes trying to charm Jenna. It was nice to know there was someone out there—besides me, of course—who was immune.

I was wondering when he was going to give up when Kasey and Max wandered in. Kasey eyed Connor and then gave Jenna A Look.

I gave Kasey A Look because I wasn't stupid and had been friends with both of them for a while and could translate just about any Look traded between the three of us.

Kasey, of course, gave me my own Look that clearly said, Have you lost your mind?

I glared back a, No. And you knew he'd be here.

In return I got a clear, Don't get too cozy.

As if I would.

In the meantime, Max had stuck his hand out and introduced himself to Connor.

Connor stood and grasped Max's hand. It was probably a guy thing to put himself on equal footing. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too," Max said, but his tone said We'll see.

“Max is a cop.” Jenna added. “In case I need help with the body.” And gave Connor A Look.

Apparently all my friends were very skilled in subtext. Too bad I couldn’t have used that to fulfill my foreign language credits.

Max went to grab their standard order as Kasey settled into the loveseat across from us.

“So, where did you guys go to dinner last night?” See? That's a true friend. Steering us toward the normal conversation. Not to mention, letting me off the hook.

I tried not to sigh. All this meant was that Jenna and Kasey were going to double team me later when there were no witnesses. They'd break me and force every secret I'd ever have out into the open.

I considered how much I wanted to hide the fact that my first crush had been on Weird Al in sixth grade.

I was just starting to relax when Connor shifted, crossing one of his ankles over the other knee and slipping a hand around my shoulder.

There was glaring. Much glaring. From all three of them. And Max was all the way over at the counter.

I couldn't say if Connor didn't notice or was ignoring them. He went on to discuss the way I'd tricked him with The Notebook and how relieved he was when I’d popped in the Terminator instead.

I was just starting to re-relax—everyone was just starting to re-relax—when a ticked off voice came from behind me.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Uh-oh.

Connor stood, a new tension I hadn't seen before rushing through him.

“I asked a question. What is he doing here?”

“Dane.” I stood next to Connor and slipped a hand around his arm, wondering where this was going. “This is Connor.”

“I know who he is.” Dane’s jaw was tight with a rage I wasn’t used to seeing. “What I don't know is what he's doing here with you.”

“Are you saying he's out of my league? You don't think I can date a hot guy.”

“Sweetheart, I'm saying you're too good for a womanizing ass who shows up with a different warm body every week and blew a double play in the World Series.”

I couldn't tell which Dane was more ticked at Connor for.

Slowly, like air seeping out of a tire, Connor relaxed next to me, his defenses dropping faster than a book’s ranking after a bad Paige & Prejudice review.

“Is this your brother?” Connor started to reach out, to drop his hand down to my lower back like he seemed to do whenever we were standing next to one another. Instead, his hand dropped right to his side, his fingers flexed once. Twice.

“My brother?”

I turned toward Dane and studied what was probably the best-looking guy I'd ever see in my life. He made Jenna's Ben look frumpy, Kasey's Max look weak, and Connor look average.

In what world would that guy be my brother?

“He's just awfully protective.” Connor's hand slipped across my waist to my back then, either as a warning or a taunt. Who could know?

“Connor, have you looked at him?” I waved a hand toward Dane. “What gene pool do you think would create him and a girl you weren't sure you wanted to be seen with at first glance?”

“That's it.” Dane reached across the back of the sofa and grabbed at Connor's shirt. “Outside. I'm kicking your ass.”

Before I could do more than collapse onto a chair as Connor pushed me out of the way, Max stepped between them. “As much as I’d love to allow that, I promised Kasey a movie this afternoon. Watching you two ladies rough each other up would be fun, but I'm going to have to say 'no' to that.”

There was something magical about Max. He had this authority in his voice that convinced you to do exactly what he was telling you to do. Maybe it was a cop thing.

And so, while he stood between them, Dane let go of Connor and Connor took half a step back.

Dane stepped over the loveseat and dropped into Connor’s seat next to me.

“Dane.” Max jerked his head to the overstuffed chair at the end of the coffee table.

“Fine.” Dane stood and glared at Connor. “But, I’m watching you.”

“Join the club,” Connor mumbled as he sat back down.

“I know you're going to say this is an apartment conversation.” I patted his leg to get his attention as he stared down Dane and put his arm around me again. “But no one else is here. You're going to have to let me tell Dane if you want any peace in the land.”

Connor glanced around before lowering his voice and saying, "Fine. But only because you’re uncomfortable. Not because he’s uncomfortable.”

“Oh, you don’t know uncomfortable. I’ll—”

“Dane.” Max gave a shake of his head and watched him subside.

As I filled Dane in—and everyone else more fully—no one relaxed as much as I expected. By the end, coffees were drunk, pastries were eaten, and the guys still looked like they didn't care for the arrangement one bit.

After an hour, Kasey and Max packed up to go to their movie, Jenna pulled out some work, and Dane headed home to finish recovering from his weekend. Dane’s exit included a very long, pointed glare at Connor in which Connor sat there looking back as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

“So, we have to go do a lap.” Connor stood and began clearing our cups away surprising me with how he wasn’t just letting the help take care of it.

If he thought I was going to train with Superman, he was dead wrong. “What?”

“You know, go run some errands while holding hands and getting fresh vegetables from the farmers market.”

Oddly, that almost sounded like the perfect Sunday.

“Did we magically get a dog in the last hour and I don't know it?” I asked, rounding out the picture.

Connor broke out that grin that I was beginning to realize was his real one. Not the humoring-grin or the aren't-I-something-grin.

“Not yet, but I always wanted a dog. Between the traveling and the crazy hours I thought it wouldn't be fair to him, though. But, if you're volunteering to let him live with you and feed him and walk him and all that stuff, we could go to the pet store right now.”

That's all I needed. To go from faux girlfriend to dog walker when this was over. The tabloids would have a field day with that. I could see the headlines already: Con'd Into Doggy Day Care or Fever Pitch Custody Battle.

“Um, no.”

Connor handed me my jacket, then turned to Jenna. “It was nice to meet you. I know you'll be watching. Feel free to send your comments through Hailey.”

Jenna shook her head at him, probably lost in that same feeling of what to make out of the bad boy who was just so darn likable. That's what made him dangerous. Jenna was lucky. She didn't have to deal with it non-stop. She only had to keep her shields up for small bursts of time. I, on the other hand, was going to have to buy special sunglasses to deflect the looks he tossed around.

You know, just to be safe.

“Connor, just because you're charming doesn't mean I trust you as far as I could carry a Suburban.” She gave him the sweetest smile in her repertoire. “Have a fun afternoon, kids.”

With that, she went back to her laptop and started flicking through the notes she'd been opening when we'd cleaned the table off.

I knew what that was. That was her trying not to be rude or argue but also not backing down. Jenna's heart was too soft for tough words. Knowing her, she was on the verge of apologizing to Connor and trying hard not to.

In Jennaland, what she had said was terribly mean.

I didn't know how she went through life without every person she passed taking advantage of her.

To be fair, the last few months had been a whirlwind of strength for her—ditching a horrible friend, taking a chance on a guy she considered out of her league, trusting him with her heart even as he took off to London.

Maybe I should take a lesson from her and all her newfound strength.

Connor was reaching past me to open the door when I turned back.

“Give me a second. I'll be right back.”

I rushed over to Jenna and leaned down to wrap my arms around her.

“Thank you. Thank you for being such a good friend and for being you.”

I could see her eyes get that pre-tearing-up glazy look.

“Let's do something later," I rushed on before she could say something. “Just the two of us. Let's go over to Betty’s Pages and mock all the bad literature covers with their depressing endings telegraphed on the back cover copy and then go out and eat carbs.”

She grinned, the tearing up complete. “That sounds good.”

“I'll call you. You know, after I go be the oddest trophy girlfriend known to man.”

She laughed like I knew she would and waved me off toward Connor standing at the door.

I dodged under his arm and out into the sunshine.

Free at last.