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I’d never forget. Prom nights were the best. Exciting. But I’d found Ro alone on the deck. As the heat of summer and the chirp of crickets buzzed around us, I’d lost all control of my good sense. She’d looked so good, so damn beautiful, so different from my best friend’s tag-along little sister. All dark hair spilling over her shoulders. And those glossy pink lips. Pure temptation.

I told her to be careful, hating the thought of someone else dancing close to her, breathing in her perfume. And then she kissed me. A sweet, innocent kiss. One that I never earned. One I didn’t deserve. Selfishly, I’d kissed her back.

The corners of my lips peaked at the memory.

“You okay, Brody?” Maggie asked, putting the muffins on a plate. “Want to try one?”

She held out a dark brown pastry. But as I went to take it, someone else snatched it away.

“Sorry, but I’m hungry,andI’m in a hurry.” With a raise of her brows, Ro took an enormous bite of the cake, chocolate crumbs coating her lips. She closed her eyes and let out a tiny moan of appreciation. “Mm. These are delicious.”

I shook my head slowly. No. It was Ro who was all kinds of delicious. But I couldn’t think like this. I had to keep my feelingsto myself. Cooper could never know how much I’d thought about his little sister over the years. He’d freak. Besides, I wasn’t good enough for her. I wasn’t the man she needed.

“What are you doing today?” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

“Work,” she said, popping the last bit of muffin into her mouth. “But first, I’ve gotta meet Eve.”

“The two of you still hang out all the time?” They’d been inseparable as kids.

“We sure do. Get together every Wednesday for breakfast.” She nodded, her words forming around the mouthful of chocolate.

“Easy Swallow?”

She huffed a laugh, a glint in her eyes. “I don’t know if I should answer that, but yes, that’s where we meet. Eve works there. Does the early shift.”

A fizzy feeling sprung low in my gut. Was she flirting with me, or did I just have my mind too far in my pants for my own good this morning? I tightened my eyes. Shewassmiling at me. It didn’t matter, though. I wasn’t about to upset my best friend by hitting on his sister for a second time. The fact I’d hidden our kiss from him didn’t sit well with me to this day.

It wasn’t just Coop. Ro had two older and much bigger brothers who lived out of town. The three of them looked out for their sister. They were a little too caveman when it came to Ro for my liking, but they loved her and trusted me. If I got on the wrong side of her brothers, a busted leg would be the least of my worries.

“Do they still have the best fries on Earth?” I asked. Ro’s smile faded. She gave me a blank look, and I swallowed. Damn, I was desperate to keep this conversation going. Murky comments about swallowing and lame questions about fries. I was acting like a nervous teenager who’d never spoken to a girl before.

“I wouldn’t know anymore. I mean, you’ve been out in the big wide world, Brody. I don’t know if the charms of Tuft Swallow can live up to your big city expectations.”

At the quirk in her brow and the sassy cock of her shoulder, I tamped down the burn low in my stomach. No. Ro wasn’t flirting with me. She was just standing in her kitchen, eating a muffin and swinging her ponytail as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Just like any other Wednesday. But the way her nose wrinkled when she smiled, and the scatter of freckles on her cheeks had me wishing I was wrong.

“Do you mind if I walk you?”

At my question, her eyes widened. “Where’s Coop?”

He was still in bed, but she didn’t need to know that. Didn’t need an excuse to turn my suggestion down. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want to leave her. Not yet. “I think he had an early start.”

Her brow furrowed a little, and she paused, her hand hovering over her bag. And then she nodded.

“I’ll be riding my bike, but sure.”

Fuck, if the biggest grin didn’t spread on my lips. Nothing like playing it cool. “Great – I’ll grab my stuff. I’m going to check out the gym. Can’t let myself go.” As I spoke, I stood and lifted my T-shirt a little, tapping the solid stomach I’d spent countless hours building. It was an amateur move, but I wanted her attention.

Ro just looked at me, glanced down at my abs, and then rolled her eyes. “I’d say you’re okay for a while, Brody.”

4

RO

Seven minutes after almost dying at the sight of Brody’s abs, I cycled on my old cruiser along the pristine sidewalks of Tuft Swallow. He walked beside me as the early sun beat down on our backs and the green lawns that lined the asphalt shone with dew. Brody walked faster than I expected for someone with a busted leg.

At least with him striding out, I didn’t wobble too much. If I went too slow, I risked veering into a garden and ending up face-first in a flowerbed. The two times I did get ahead, I swung out onto the road and double-backed in a circle to rejoin him.

“What happened to Daisy One and Two?” he asked.