“So we good, man?” I ask Ari after I explain everything and we finally get to the bottom of the shit my dad tried to pull.

“Yeah, sorry I jumped to conclusions.”

“It’s all right. You know I’m always gonna look out for you.”

“And I appreciate that.”

“Of course, brother.”

“You know your old man is fucked up, though, right?”

“You don’t have to tell me. I deal with it on the daily and only because soon the company will be mine.”

“Damn straight it will.”

We exchange a hand slap and then go downstairs. The group is all seated around the dining room table, and Quinn smiles when she sees us together. The doorbell rings, and Ari and I grab the abundance of pizzas that were ordered. “Jesus, how many pizzas did you think we needed?” Ari asks Willow.

“What?” she replies, acting like it’s no big deal.

As we set the pizza down in the kitchen, Quinn comes over to us and says, “So, are you guys good?”

“Of course, thanks for pushing me to talk to him,” I tell her.

“Anytime.”

“So in order to keep the peace going, I’m declaring tonight pizza and water night,” Willow announces.

“What?” The room erupts in chaos at her crazy ass remark. But I’ve learned that when it comes to Willow, she’s a bit controlling, and you just don’t argue.

“I’m serious, Ari, you had way too much to drink today, and the rest of you were hitting the flasks all day.”

“Come on, Willow,” Kami pleads.

“Nope! It’s gonna be an early night. We have ice fishing in the morning, and after skiing all day, we could use a chill night and some rest.”

Ari walks over to the fridge and grabs a beer, twisting the top off and dropping the cap to the floor. Willow is stunned as he slams half the beer and says. “How about pizza and beer night, nothing hard?” She rolls her eyes as everyone cheers like a bunch of kids who just got their way with their parents. I glance at Quinn, and she smiles back at me, both of us knowing our bottle of tequila is still in our bathroom.

I grab a beer from the fridge then take one out for Quinn too. As I pass it to her, she smiles, the most adorable expression on her face. “Did they get your veggie one right?”

“Uh huh, it’s kinda hard to mess up, though.”

“I wouldn’t know; I don’t eat veggie anything.”

I open one of the boxes and pull out a piece of pepperoni. As I eat it, Quinn says to me, “What do you say we go take a few shots?”

I wipe my hands clean, loving the idea. The rest of the room is engulfed in conversation making it easy for us to slip away. I lock the bathroom door, so we aren’t interrupted again, and Quinn hops up on the countertop. “So, is Willow always so controlling?” I ask her as she unscrews the bottle.

“Yup, but she’s always been that way, and we’ve all learned to accept her because she really does have the best intentions.” She knocks back a swig then passes me the bottle.

“It can be annoying though.”

She nods and the room is filled with an awkward silence, and I’m not sure what to do. I take a second drink, the alcohol burns, but I love it, and then give her the bottle again. “So ice fishing tomorrow, you ever been?” I ask her, things…still awkward, and she grins.

“Every year, you?”

“When I was younger. I used to fish all the time, but never ice fishing. Now with work, I don’t do much of anything else.”

“So…if your work is so crazy, how come you came on this trip?”

“Ari has asked me for the last three years straight, and I turned him down. This time, I was gonna do the same, but the truth is, I needed the break. My dad and I are at each other’s throats.”

“Why do you work with him? He sounds really terrible.”

“Oh, he is. He has that dumb old school mentality and thinks everyone has to do what he says ‘cause he’s ‘the boss.’ My opinion doesn’t always matter; it’s just about closing deals and making money.”

“Can’t you go elsewhere?”

“I could, but he’s set to retire soon, and then the company is mine. I’ve worked so hard, and it’s right at my fingertips.”

“Wow, that’ll be awesome.”

“It will be. I turned down a full-ride basketball scholarship to Duke, so I could work for my dad. So I’ve gotta make sure this pays off.”

“You play basketball?”

“I did. I always wanted to join the NBA, but it was such a gamble and working for my father wasn’t. It was a sure thing, the safe thing, you know? Enough about me, what about you?”

“Oh, there’s not much to me,” she gets shy, and I’m not sure why.

I snatch the bottle back from her, and she laughs at me.

“Don’t be stupid. I told you, now you tell me,” I nudge.

“Umm, let’s see, I graduated from CU Boulder in Colorado with a Master’s degree in finance and got hired at the first firm I applied to. That was three years ago. Now, I’m an investment advisor with them. I was recently promoted after signing the biggest client they had in the Denver office this year.”

“No shit, that’s fucking awesome.”

“Yup! Not my proudest moment, though, considering the client was my ex. But the job is sweet, and even though things with him ended badly, as least I got something out of the deal.”

“That’s kinda funny.”

“No, it’s not!” She glares at me and snatches back the bottle, her sexy blue eyes glimmering in the bright light of the bathroom.

“What else?”

“What do you want to know?”

“You have siblings?” I ask her.

“No, you?”

“No. What about your parents?” I ask.

“They live in Denver in the house I grew up in. I go to dinner at their house once a week.”

“Lucky! I wish I had that. The last meal I ate with both my parents was when I was a kid.” I’m not even sure why I told her that. It makes me sound like a bitch, but all the alcohol has me spinning.

“I’m sorry.”

“Not a big deal, my dad was always busy working, so he was gone, now I’ve joined him.” Stepping to her, standing between her dangling legs, I lean in, not even thinking as I brace my weight on the countertop and blurt out, “I want to kiss you again.”

“Quinn?” Willow calls out before she can answer, knocking on the bathroom door.

Hanging my head down, the moment—yet again—ruined. I look into her eyes and she responds, “I’ll be right out.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yup.”

“Have you seen Merritt?”

She looks at me with wide eyes and I holler out to her. “I’m here; Quinn was just checking my face.”

Willow rattles the doorknob and I hide the bottle under the sink, then unlock the door and ask Willow as I open it, “Do you think we should replace the butterflies yet?” The question distracts her. She studies the cut on my face as I stand really close to her and then she says, “No, it looks good.”

“Cool, thanks for cleaning it.” I walk off leaving the girls like nothing was going on with Quinn and wink at her, looking back at her still sitting on the counter, in the exact spot where I left her. My cock wants her and is pissed at me for leaving her. But before the night is over…I’ll have her.