“Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my GOD!” Laura clamped her hands down on Tia’s as she jumped in the air and shook her light, curly hair all over the place. “I can’t believe we’re about to go to a party at Elijah Bird’s house because he personally invited you!”

Laura did a little booty wiggle dance that immediately cut out the very second that she took in her sister’s outfit. “T. That can’t possibly be what you’re wearing.”

Tia frowned and looked down at the jeans and soft white v-neck she’d picked out. “What? It’s comfortable and flattering and—”

“God awful.” Laura pushed her way through Tia’s house toward the bedroom closet. “Seriously Tia, all of your high school wet dreams are about to come true. A date with Elijah Bird. And you pick a grocery shopping outfit?”

Tia followed behind, knowing better than to put up a fight when her sister got into this sort of mood. “I’m on call tonight. There’s no point to getting all dolled up. And it’s not a date.”

She rounded the corner and peeked into her closet, sighing when she saw Laura tearing shirts off the hangers. “It is totally a date, T. He came to your office specifically to ask you. And then he gave you his number and took yours.”

Tia bit her lip and tried not to smile when she remembered what had happened about ten seconds after they’d exchanged numbers. She’d received a text. And she saw that instead of inputting his name in the contact info, he’d put three emojis. A football, a clenched bicep, and a flame.

She’d had to laugh out loud when she saw it. She didn’t have to fawn over the content of the text as well—his address—but she had. She was a surgeon, for god sakes, a very busy one. But she hadn’t been able to help herself from taking out her phone every now and then, glancing down at the text, allowing a little thrill to run through her.

But it was the next day now. And those little butterflies he’d given her had fully turned into slippery knots of anxiety. And Laura was not helping.

“It’s not a date if there are fifty other people there who he also invited.”

Laura turned back, holding up a pair of black skinny jeans that still had the tags on them. Two strappy red heels dangled off the fingers of her other hand. “You’re allowed to wear that v-neck still as long as you wear these things with it and add a little jewelry and let me do your hair and makeup.”

Tia, well accustomed to this, folded her hands over her chest and haggled. “No makeup and minimal jewelry.”

Laura folded her own hands over her chest. “A necklace, earrings, no rings or bracelets, lipstick and mascara.”

“No lipstick and you’ve got a deal.”

The sisters shook hands briskly and Tia whipped the pants out of Laura’s hands. She changed and then sat perfectly still while Laura did whatever she was going to do. Tia was used to it. And usually she was grateful for it. She and Laura balanced one another out. Tia kept Laura on track and Laura showed Tia how to relax and cut loose.

Tia had never had any problem relaxing in the confines of her own home, but Laura had been the one to show her how to have a good time when they were out and about. And Tia had long ago realized that wherever her sister was, the fun was. So she’d stopped resisting Laura’s efforts to dress her up like a doll.

Tonight, though, when Laura stepped away and let Tia see her own reflection, her stomach flipped. Wow. She really looked nice. Her hair fell in shiny waves over her shoulders, two small green stones winked at her ears and a thin gold necklace kissed her collar bones. Laura had been light on the eye makeup, but somehow they were still popping, even behind the large blue glasses she was currently wearing. And when she stood, she saw that the skinny jeans hugged her ass nicely and the bright red heels made her legs look even longer than they already were.

This was how she was going to look when she walked into Elijah Bird’s house.

“You alright?” Laura asked, her pushiness immediately falling away when she saw the look of mild nausea pass across Tia’s face.

“Yeah. Just nervous, I guess. I’m so glad you’re coming.”

“We’ll stick together until you get your feet under you.”

Tia nodded and the two of them headed out toward Tia’s car.

“I hope Jay Brady is there tonight,” Laura said, pulling down the visor to do her lipstick in the little mirror. “The man’s got an ass like an Abercrombie model.”

“And you would know this how?” Tia raised an eyebrow as she pulled smoothly onto the street.

“I spent one, glorious night with that ass about a decade ago.”

“You never told me you hooked up with Jay Brady!” Tia exclaimed.

Laura waved a hand through the air. “It was not a love connection. Trust me. But still. You’d have to be dead not to admire the pure perfection that is his body.”

Tia grew quiet, worry drawing her brows together. She was on the fence about this party anyways. And then to learn that her sister had hooked up with Eli’s best friend and never even told her? And that friend was gonna be at the party tonight? Tia’s stomach flipped.

She pulled up to a stop light. “I really think this might be a bad idea.”

Both she and Laura knew that if she was saying it out loud, she was still on the fence. If she’d really thought it was a bad idea, she would have turned the car around and taken no arguments from Laura. But part of her was obviously wishing for Laura to talk her down.

“Because Jay and I rolled around one night in college? No. Come on, T. It was nothing. Less than nothing. And I promise that it won’t get in the way of our effortlessly cool entrance where we captivate the room while somehow magically not drawing too much attention to ourselves.”

Tia felt herself softening a little. “Effortlessly cool, huh?”

“You’ll see. That’s why I dressed you up like that. I’ll bet all the women at a party for Elijah Bird are gonna be dressed for a red carpet. And then you stroll in looking all biker chic. And you’re a surgeon? And that hair? And your figure? Please. Effortless, cool, and hot all at once.”

Tia sighed as she parked her car out front of Eli’s address. “I love you.”
Laura fluffed her hair. “I know.”

***

Eli tried as hard as he could not to scowl at all the guests in his house. There were too many people. How did he even know this many people?

Not built to maintain that kind of irritation, he glanced out at the milling crowd of friends and acquaintances, and he softened. It wasn’t their fault that he was this mad. It was his stupid ribs and his stupid, dumb ass judgment. He’d tweaked them earlier this afternoon lifting a case of water into the fridge. It had been so dumb, but he’d been feeling so much better, he hadn’t thought it would be an issue.

But Jay and Marcus had seen it happen and they’d been up his ass about it. They were actually forcing him to sit on the couch and ice his ribs in the middle of the party. Jay had told him that he could stand as long as he was icing. Eli had opted for sitting on the couch so the cushion hid the ice pack. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to think he was fishing for sympathy.

It was the opposite in fact. He’d wanted this damn party to show everyone he was totally fine and they should all move on with their lives. He couldn’t stand any more cards or visits or flowers. What the hell was he supposed to do with all these flowers?

Jay waded through the crowd with a glass of something and plate loaded with nachos. Eli glanced up.

“Don’t scowl at me,” Jay said. “I did not put you in this predicament. You put yourself in this predicament by lifting that case of water like an asshole.”

Eli scowled further, for just a second, before the grin broke out over his face. He could never stay mad at his friends for very long. “Yeah, yeah. At least it’s got you waiting on me hand and foot. The natural order of things has been restored.”

“I spit in your drink,” Jay responded dryly as he plopped down on the couch next to Eli.

“What the hell is this?” Eli tipped the red plastic cup toward the light, squinting at the green-brown liquid in there.

“Iced green tea. I made it this afternoon.” Jay leaned his blonde head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes. The man could sleep anywhere. And often did. When Eli didn’t say anything back, he cracked an eye. “What? It’s good for you.”

Eli eyed the drink with a skeptical look on his face. Jay was a health nut, and Eli had been tricked many a time into eat a carob chip cookie or a choco-bran muffin. Iced green tea sounded about as appealing as a cup of fresh cut grass juice. He set it aside and went for the nachos instead.

“So your girlfriend’s standing you up, huh?” Jay’s eyes were closed again, but a Cheshire cat smile curled his lips.

Eli went back to scowling. “She’s not standing me up. She’s fashionably late. It’s only 6:45.” He didn’t bother to correct Jay about the girlfriend thing.

“Which one’s your girlfriend again?” Marcus asked, coming up and sitting on the armchair next to the couch. Eli was his best friend, so he tried to keep a general track of all the women hopping in and out of his life, but the man made it a little difficult. If he had a girlfriend, it was news to Marcus.

“Dr. Tia Camellia.” Jay’s smile grew.

“What!” Marcus sat right up, swallowing the rest of the beer that had been traveling down his throat at that moment. Jay and Eli stared at him. As an FBI agent, Marcus was usually pretty reserved and calm.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Eli was finally forced to admit, feeling for all the world like the three of them were back in high school again.

“Yeah, but he asked her to come tonight.”

Marcus set his beer on the table in front of them and quickly recuffed the sleeves of his button-up shirt. “So let me get this straight. Tia Camellia is coming here tonight and she’s not your date?”

“That’s right.”

Marcus, halfway hoping he was right and halfway hoping to provoke Eli, smoothed his hands over his dress shirt. “So she’s fair game?”

Eli scowled. “It’s not like that, man. It was hard enough to get her to come to this party at all. I don’t want her to get relentlessly hit on the entire time.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow at his friend. “Definitely fair game.”

Eli threw his hands up in frustration but winced at the sudden movement. He pressed a flat hand to his ribs and eased himself back. “What, have you been carrying a torch for her since high school or something?”

Marcus softened. He knew Eli. And if Eli thought that Marcus was really serious about his feelings for Tia, he would back off right away. Marcus didn’t want that. He just wanted to give Eli a hard time. “Not really. I haven’t thought about her a ton. It’s just that she was so goddamn pretty back then and…” he trailed off, his eyes focusing across the party. “And she still is now. Ho. Ly. Shit.”

Eli turned and looked over his shoulder and felt like his breath had been extracted from him on a long, thin string. He got the strangest feeling like he was only in charge of half of his life. The other half was currently standing across the room from him. It must be because she’d saved him.

He let out the long, low breath. Dr. Tia Camellia had just walked into his house looking so pretty it hurt. It actually hurt. And she was not on the arm of a man. She’d brought her sister. He couldn’t even begin to say how much that relieved him.

The other women who were milling around were all decked out in short skirts and flashy, low cut shirts designed for man’s attention.

But not Tia. Eli let his eyes skate down from her glossy hair, over her outfit. And now he just felt like he’d been hit by an offensive lineman. So. She had a body. He hadn’t quite been able to tell underneath her scrubs. But damn if she wasn’t filling out that shirt. And the way those pants were clinging and shaping to her ass?

“Wow,” Jay said, observing Eli. “I’ve never seen somebody’s eyes do the Awoooooga thing before. Like in cartoons? When the boy’s eyes explode out of his head.”

Marcus studied Eli as well. Yeah. No matter how much of a crush he’d had on Tia in high school, he was not getting in the way of that look on his friend’s face. “I’ll go get her.”

Marcus stood but Eli’s hand shot out, grabbing his arm. “Do not dance with her,” he warned.

Marcus couldn’t help the smug grin that broke over his face. All three of them knew exactly what happened when Marcus danced with a girl. She became completely blind to all other men. And somehow in the process her panties disintegrated. “I’ll keep my superpowers to myself.”