***
"Well, well. Look who's here." My sister lifted her arm and pointed across the busy fairgrounds. People milled about, and kids ran around the adults, the laughter lifting my spirits a little. I tried to figure out where Nora was pointing to and finally landed on Luke.
"Oh." I reached up and brushed my hands through my hair, turning to face her. "Do I look okay? Anything in my teeth?" I gave a big-toothed grin.
Her smile lifted. "Why do you care? You falling for the billionaire next door?"
"Someone call my name?" A handsome guy in slacks and a button-down shirt moved up in front of us. He turned toward me and extended his hand. He looked a little like Luke, but not enough to determine if they were full-blooded brothers. "Tanner Daniels. You must be Harper."
"Yeah. Nice to meet you." I shook his hand and glanced over at my sister, who's cheeks were stained pink, and the vein at the side of her neck was beating wildly. Either she was angry or intensely turned on. I smirked, figuring it was a little bit of both.
"Did you tell Tanner I was coming into town?"
"No. I don't talk with him much." She shook her head and moved back as an elderly lady walked up and pulled her attention away from us.
"I'm right here. Jeez, Nora." He gave me a funny look and slipped his hands into his slacks. He was the hottest guy I'd seen at the fair so far, but I knew one that beat him by leaps and bounds. I wanted to push past Tanner and make my way over to his brother, but seeming like I needed attention from anyone was out.
"She's a little hard to deal with at times." I forced a smile. "So you're Luke's little brother?"
"Little as in how?" His eyebrow lifted.
"Not sure what your question is getting at, but let's go with age?" I laughed and slipped my hand around his arm as he offered it.
"Yeah, but only by five years or so. Come on. My brother's the best chili cooker in the state. He's in the cookoff today, but we all know he's going to win." He glanced over at me. "He always does."
"How did you know I was visiting?" I turned and walked through the crowd, trying to dodge little kids and random animals that seemed to be given the right to roam freely.
"My brother mentioned you a few times last night." He shrugged and stopped by a cotton candy bin. "I think he might be interested in having you and Nora over for dinner."
I stiffened and turned to face him. "Why?"
"Um, because people eat and you guys are our neighbors?" He pulled out his wallet. "Pink or blue?"
"Blue." I didn't miss a beat. "Do you guys have my sister over all the time?"
My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I pulled it out and glanced down. Peter. Even after all we'd been through, he was still trying to get back into my life. There was no way in hell I was going back down that same well-worn path. He wasn't the man I needed in my life, and I would continue to hurt him each time he came back until one of us finally called it quits. He wanted security, and I craved adventure.
"No. I wish." Tanner glanced back toward the crowd. "I've been trying to get your sister to go out for a drink with me since she bought the property beside us."
"Three years and no luck? You need a dating coach, obviously." I smiled as he gave me a look. Where Nora didn't like the handsome bastard, I could quickly see us becoming friends. Nothing more, but he had something about him that called to the adventurer in me.
Now his older brother was a different story. I turned and let my eyes run up his body, taking in the thick swell of his shoulders and upper arm muscles. His white t-shirt was stained with what looked like chili powder and sweat. Where I normally would have been grossed out, the translucent shirt made it obvious that he had a rock-hard body beneath it.
My nipples budded and I had to shift to make sure Tanner wasn't aware of my body betraying me.
"I'm thinking you might be just the gal." He moved into my line of site, blocking Luke completely. "What's the story with Nora? She's like an ice princess."
"Ask her yourself. You're a grown man." I pinched off a piece of the blue cotton candy and popped it into my mouth, enjoying the sweetness of it as it melted on my tongue. "If I were you, I'd fake an illness. Bust your head or something. She's a doctor for shit's sake. Get her attention."
His eyes glazed over a little. "That's actually a great idea."
"Good. Now move." I took the cotton candy from him and walked over toward Luke, pausing as a blonde with a cute pixie haircut, and big blue eyes moved around him. She gripped his arm with both hands and gave him a sexy smile. I couldn't make out her words, but she was flirting by the look of things.
I stopped in my tracks and turned to find my sister standing behind me.
"Nope. She's just an old friend of his from high school. Get over there and have some fun." She reached out and brushed her fingers through the side of my hair.
"Are you seriously giving me advice on fun? Last I heard, you had cobwebs in your panties!" I pushed her hand from my hair and smiled. "You go talk to Tanner and I'll-"
"Not a chance in hell." She crossed her arms over her chest. "He's an idiot, and I'm not interested in sex in a barn and then a car and then a closet and then-"
"Wait." I lifted my hand. "Why are you thinking he'd want sex in a bunch of random-ass places?"
"Because he's a playboy, Harper. That's all he wants." She shrugged. "I'm not interested. Luke isn't like that at all, but his brother is a slut."
"So go after Luke." I forced myself to sound even, put together. I was in my early thirties, but being around my sister left me feeling a bit like a kid again.
"Not a chance. He's handsome and a great guy from what I hear, but I just don't feel anything."
"And you do around Tanner, don't you?" A smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
"I hate you. Hope you trip." She winked at me, straightened her shoulders, turned and walked back toward her clinic table.
Luke's deep voice rolled over me from behind and left my heart quivering in my chest.
"Harper?"
I turned and bit my lip, taking him in a few seconds before speaking. "I heard you had the best chili in the state. I thought I'd make sure you were the real deal."
"Well, come on over and taste me then." He lifted a spoon and winked. "You like it hot?"
Chill bumps broke out across my skin, and the air suddenly felt so damn thick. "Are we still talking about the chili?"
He laughed. "I'm not so sure, to be honest, but get over here and let me make a fan out of you."
Funny enough, he already had with little to no effort.