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Detective Sean Callum had a hard time not watching the backside of his best friend’s baby sister. Autumn Jane Evers was all grown up now—and had been for a while.

He’d probably realized that fact around her twenty-first birthday. He’d looked up one day while having Sunday dinner with his partner’s family—Mike’s mother adored him and made no bones about it—and his eyes had met his buddy’s little sister’s. And that had been all it had taken.

She had perfect brown eyes. And a perfect smile that had fascinated him from that moment.

Everything about her was perfect.

She was tall, close to five nine, with warm honey-brown hair that she constantly battled to straighten—even though Sean loved the curls—medium-brown eyes, and the classic peaches-and-cream complexion. There were even small dimples on each cheek.

She’d gone from looking far too young to looking like the all-American poster girl for wholesome hotness.

It irritated the hell out of him. He’d been almost thirty that day—his birthday had been the week after—and far too old for her. In years—and experience.

Even if there had been any feelings on her side.

He was still far too old for the baby of the Evers clan. With seven older brothers, each born one year or so apart and all six foot three or taller, who hovered over her like she was their only baby bird, it was a wonder Autumn Jane—he hadn’t thought of her as A. J. since that day—had ever been allowed to date at all.

They took protective to a whole new level.

He’d been there when she’d first told them she was moving out and attending grad school in the field of forensic science, instead of medicine like both her parents.

He didn’t think her father spoke to her for three months after that.

They were definitely an old-school family in a lot of ways. Especially where Autumn Jane was concerned.

Autumn Jane was definitely not an old-school kind of woman.

She was quiet, but she wasn’t a pushover.

He carried her precious box to the conference room, one of the smaller in the new annex. It was a cinder block building, nice and sturdy. With four-inch-thick inner walls.

No one was risking the destruction of years’ worth of evidence again.

“Seriously, Sean? If you need something, fill out the correct form. I’m currently six forms behind.”

“What are you doing guarding evidence anyway? Where’s the officer who’s supposed to be handling this?” They had an armed guard who was assigned to watch who entered and who left the evidence vault. A protection that was mandated by Texas State Police headquarters in Wichita Falls after the previous troubles.

“Adam called off this morning. I drew the short straw.”

Sean wasn’t happy with that, but it wasn’t his place to say something.

The idea that the only thing standing between evidence in some of the state’s worst crimes was Autumn Jane Evers didn’t sit well with him. At all.

Autumn Jane wasn’t even armed.

He scowled.

There should have at least been a damned armed guard here.

And there wasn’t.

“Sean? You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Staring and glaring. I know I piss you off by existing, but even here? I would think you’d put aside your feelings for me?—”

“What feelings?” The fact that her face slipped into his dreams at night and that still confused the hell out of him? That he wished she would come right out and tell him she didn’t think he was the jerk she’d always called him? His fault, and he knew it.

Now he was paying the consequences for his younger self’s actions.

She had never once looked at him as anything more than her brother’s partner and friend. Hell, as far as he could tell, she hadn’t even seen him as a man in the nine years since she’d graduated high school.

She had a habit of slamming his ego straight to the floor, time and time again.

Autumn Jane didn’t even realize it. So much for his skills with women.

Not that he’d ever even think about touching her in actuality.

She was his best buddy’s kid sister. There were rules against that. A guy just didn’t do that.

He waited while she went through the tedious evidence-check process for the box he’d carried.

He wasn’t in any hurry. His shift had ended at six, but he knew the truth—he was sneaking in a few minutes with Autumn Jane before he had two days off.

He needed to see her. He was being honest with himself—he wasn’t there just to get evidence. The cases they’d pulled recently were weighing on him. And he just needed to see her shooting snarky little glances at him, that perfect mouth snickering at him just right. The world always felt a bit brighter when he was with her.

It was getting worse. He was starting to stalk the forensics lab for any sight of her. He felt like a fifteen-year-old with his first crush.

On the science nerd who sat next to him or something.

People were going to figure it out eventually. It was just a matter of time.

And that would change everything between them.

The Everses were just about all the family he had.

He didn’t want to lose that by doing something stupid with the baby of the family.

No matter how he burned to touch her. To just hold her.

He’d been in love with the woman for years.