For some reason, Ben’s black mood—the one inspired by Julie’s reappearance—lifted. Maybe it was because she was so obviously flustered every time she laid eyes on him. It was fairly adorable to watch her hide behind red balloons and non-functioning earbuds. Whatever was going on in her mind, it wasn’t thoughts about what a loser he was, and how glad she was that she’d left him behind.

Meeting Felix had put things in an entirely different light. Was he special needs? Or simply a challenging, eccentric kid? A little of both or neither? In any case, they obviously had a close relationship. Watching her with Felix changed everything. It softened him toward her. He wanted to know more now, not from a place of hurt feelings, but from friendship. What had her life been like since she’d left Jupiter Point? How did Felix fit into it?

At the rate they were randomly running into each other, the perfect moment would arrive when he could have a civilized conversation with her.

But after all those chance encounters, he didn’t see her for another week. Valentine’s Day brought a flurry of tourists to Jupiter Point, and they all wanted to get airborne. Tobias was busy with his new family, so Ben took on the bulk of the flights. When he wasn’t in the air, he was holding interviews with mechanic candidates, or helping Moira train for her race, or working on new flyers, or trying to get their accounting system straightened out, or any one of the thousand details that went with starting a new business.

Not that he was complaining. This was what he’d dreamed of every day while he was in the Air Force. To come home, work for himself, and fly for the sheer joy of it. At the back of his mind, he’d also thought about starting a family. But he couldn’t think about that now, not until he got this unfinished business with Julie taken care of.

But that was never going to happen if he didn’t see her. She wasn’t on social media. Suzanne refused to hand over her phone number without Julie’s permission. He was completely dependent on a quirk of fate throwing them together. And after a couple weeks of running into her constantly, suddenly she was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe she’d left again.

That dark thought brought back his bad mood, to the extent that he even glowered at a couple celebrating their anniversary. Tobias caught him in the act and drew him aside.

“Dude. I’m the frowny one. Not you.”

“Frowny?”

“Sarah’s description. You get the point. It’s your job to smile at the customers, because Lord knows it isn’t mine. I thought we settled this.”

Ben bared his teeth in a forced grin.

“Better. Still needs work, though. Hey, we’re all going for pizza tonight. That ought to make you smile.”

Tobias was right about that.

Being surrounded by his brothers always made Ben happy. Now that they were adding on partners—Merry and Carolyn—and more—Chase and Sarah—they didn’t all fit into one booth at Outer Crust Pizza. Instead, they pushed two tables together. The only one missing was Aiden, currently in the thick of his spring classes at Evergreen.

And Mom and Cassie, of course. And the permanently missing member of their family, Dad.

Sometimes Ben thought that Dad wasn’t gone at all, because he was right there in the back of his thoughts. Times like these, when they were all together, Ben felt his presence even more powerfully.

They launched into a long, noisy discussion of which combination of pizzas to order. Half meat, half veggie? What about olives, loved by some, loathed by others? What about Carolyn, who liked to eat healthy and avoided cheese? What about Merry’s dislike for mushrooms?

“I don’t eat anything that could be described as a toadstool,” she declared from her spot snuggled against Will’s side.

Carolyn stage-whispered to Sarah, “Toadstool-gingerbread pizza, how does that sound?”

“Ewww,” Sarah said, relishing her disgust. Ben was amazed by how well she was adapting to her new life, after spending the first seven years of her existence in a wacko compound run by a militia group. Carolyn and Tobias had gone into the compound to rescue her. Ben had flown the chopper up the coast in case they needed a quick getaway, and so he’d actually been the one to whisk Sarah, and several other kids, away from the Light Keepers. That experience had bonded them forever.

Chase took charge of the pitcher of beer and filled glasses for anyone interested. Ben accepted one and took a long swallow. “How was Vegas?” he asked.

Chase startled. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, how did it go?”

“Oh. Pretty good.” Uncharacteristically, he said no more. Ben glanced over at Merry for help, but she shrugged.

“I’ve tried prying the story out of him, but I got nowhere. And if I can’t make him talk, no one can.”

A wave of ruddy red crept up Chase’s cheeks. “There’s no story,” he muttered.

Will snorted, and Chase turned on him. “You said you wouldn’t tell!”

Will threw up his hands in a defensive gesture. “Did I say anything?”

“I heard a sound,” Chase muttered.

With a roll of his eyes, Will took a glass of beer from Chase. “The good news is, our client is safe and sound. The bad news is, Chase has lost his damn mind.”

The server arrived, ready with a notepad. Tobias beckoned him over. “No one can agree what to order, so I’m taking charge here.” He rattled off a list of pizzas that miraculously seemed to cover all the possible contingencies.

As he was wrapping up, Sarah climbed onto her knees on her seat so she could see over Chase’s head. “There’s that boy! From the ice skating!”

Ben turned to look, his gaze arrowing in on the woman who had just walked in. The bells over the door were still jingling, her cheeks still pink from the outdoor air. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, a knit cap keeping it from her face. She wore a cozy red-and-black plaid wool jacket that made him think of curling up in front of a fire in a cabin in the woods.

Maybe naked.

His cock stirred as that vision took shape. She’d stretch out nude on the blankets, all pink and flushed. He’d keep her warm, every inch of her, with his hands and tongue and…oh hell.

Stop it. Just stop. Public place here.

Felix was a half-step ahead of her, bundled up in a sheepskin-lined jacket. He looked over at their table because Sarah was calling his name, but his glasses were fogged from the steamy warmth. It fell to Julie to wave at them, then tap Felix’s shoulder to encourage him to do the same. The boy took off his glasses, then carefully took out a piece of cloth from his jacket pocket and cleared the lenses.

He really was a character, this kid.

When he saw Sarah, who was now standing on her chair, grinning at him excitedly, he smiled back and headed toward them.

Julie hesitated. She scanned the table, obviously daunted by the group of Knight brothers and company. For a quick flash, he saw things from her perspective. Will and Tobias used to treat her like a little sister, but what did they think of her now? And the rest of the group were strangers to her.

As for him? They had yet to have a normal conversation.

Maybe this was their chance.

With an out-of-body sensation, Ben rose to his feet. “Come on over, Julie. Meet the crew.”

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, still hesitant. Her eyes shone bright against her flushed cheeks. And a visceral memory came over him of the first time they kissed. He remembered exactly how fresh and tender her lips tasted. It was behind the lifeguard shack at the beach. She’d worn her regulation lifeguard swimsuit, which had revealed just a shadow of cleavage that drove him absolutely mad with lust…

He’d brought her a soda and a bag of barbecued corn chips, because she was a junk food addict at that point. Since her mother cooked obsessively healthy meals for the Reinhards, Julie rarely got a chance to eat junk. Nothing made her happier than a surprise gift of completely nutrition-free food.

She’d grinned and accepted his gift with a hug. The sensation of her sun-warmed skin was like an injection of adrenaline into his veins.

“What are you doing here, Knight?” At that point, they weren’t yet boyfriend and girlfriend. They were “hanging out.” Which he loved and hated. They joked and talked and even shared a few secrets. But she had those pretty legs, and those breasts, and that skin, and those lips, and he lusted after her hard.

So, he’d leaned forward and touched his mouth to hers, as if it was pre-ordained. Destined. The sweet sweep of his flesh against hers filled his senses. A quick draw of breath echoed in his ears, amplified by the blood roaring through his veins. Her breath? A gasp? Had he gone too far? Ruined everything?

Almost afraid to know, he opened his eyes. She was staring at him, mouth open, touching her lips with her fingertips. “You kissed me.”

“Yeah,” he said cautiously. “Is that…are you…I’m sorry…”

“I thought you liked Savannah.”

“Savannah? Why did you think that?” He was almost insulted. Ever since he’d met Julie, he’d barely remembered that Savannah existed.

“Because she’s…” She flapped her hand, chasing the thought away. “It doesn’t matter.” She lifted her chin and leaned toward him. “Will you do that again? It’s so much nicer than I even imagined.”

He laughed a little, thrills of joy racing through him. “So, you imagined kissing me?”

“Um, yes. A few times. Now shut up and let’s try it again. But like, longer this time.”

So, they kissed longer, and deeper, and it was amazing and arousing and maddening and satisfying, all at once. After that, they were officially boyfriend and girlfriend.

Until she left.

Ben shook off the memory in time to see Tobias introducing her to everyone at the table. She smiled at everyone, then said, “And this is Felix Reinhard. I think someone here already knows him, right?”

Sarah jumped with happiness. “I do! I do! He helped me skate. What kind of name is Felix?”

“It means ‘happiness,’” Felix said stoically. “But there’s also Felix the Cat. A lot of people know about him. It’s kind of a stupid name because I’m not a happy kind of person.”

Ben’s eyes flew to meet Julie’s, because that’s what the two of them had always done. They’d always shared jokes and found the same things funny. Julie caught her lip between her teeth and amusement filled her eyes.

“You’re not happy?” Sarah sounded amazed by that concept. “Why not?”

“Just not. I’m in a bad mood a lot.”

Julie stepped in. “Felix is a very honest person. Sometimes he’s happy and sometimes he isn’t. But he’s always himself, and that’s a good thing.”

Sarah’s forehead creased as she worked that concept through her mind. “I know how you can be happy!” She turned to Ben, who braced himself for whatever madcap idea she’d suddenly come up with. “Let’s take him on a plane ride!”

“Uh, sure. Anytime. But that’s probably up to the parent-in-charge.” He lifted an eyebrow at her. Hopefully she could tell that he’d be perfectly happy to take her—them—up for a ride. But he didn’t want to exert any pressure, especially considering how Felix had responded to him last time.

Julie looked down at Felix, who twisted his body around to stare up at her. “Would I like it?” he asked her.

She shrugged. “I guess there’s only one way to find out. But we’d hate to impose on you, Ben, and—”

“No,” Ben interrupted before she could go too far in her bowing-out-gracefully process. “I’d love to take you up. Both of you. All of you. Bring the whole family. Name the day and I’ll put it in the calendar.”

“That’s very generous of you. We’ll talk about it, Felix and I. I’ll have to get Savannah’s permission.”

Sarah was so excited that she launched into a long description of her helicopter ride. She kept asking Ben to back her up on the details, so he almost missed a brief conversation between Julie and Will.

“There’s something important I need to talk to you about,” she told Will quietly, under cover of the general chatter. “Can I come to your office sometime this week?”

Ben didn’t catch the rest of their conversation, but he knew one thing for sure. He intended to be at that meeting, no matter what.