Praise for novels of USA TODAY bestselling author

VICTORIA

DAHL

‘Dahl smartly wraps up a winning tale full of endearing oddballs, light mystery and plenty of innuendo and passion.’

—Publishers Weekly on Talk Me Down

‘Sassy and smokingly sexy, Talk Me Down is one delicious joyride of a book.’

—New York Times bestselling author Connie Brockway

‘Sparkling, special and oh so sexy—Victoria Dahl is a special treat!’

—New York Times bestselling author Carly Phillips on Talk Me Down

‘Lead Me On will have you begging for a re-read even as the story ends.’

—Romance Junkies

‘[A] hands-down winner, a sensual story filled with memorable characters.’

—Booklist on Start Me Up

‘Dahl has spun a scorching tale about what can happen in the blink of an eye and what we can do to change our lives.’

—RT Book Reviews, 4 stars, on Start Me Up

Also available from Victoria Dahl

CRAZY FOR LOVE

LEAD ME ON

START ME UP

TALK ME DOWN

And watch for more titles coming soon!

BAD BOYS DO

REAL MEN WILL

Good Girls Don’t
Victoria Dahl

www.mirabooks.co.uk

This book is for Anne and RaeAnne,

because I couldn’t have written it without them.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are a great number of people who contribute to the well-being of this author during the course of a book. My family, of course, who makes sacrifices for the sake of romance every day. Thanks for loving me no matter what. My agent, Amy, who’s always on my side. And my editor, Tara, who performs gracefully under huge amounts of pressure, along with the whole team at MIRA. Thank you.

As always, Jennifer Echols was there for me as a true friend, a cheerleader and a stern taskmaster. She is a constant in my life and I couldn’t do this without her.

I also want to thank the wonderful women of the Peeners, who provide advice, support and filthy jokes, as needed.

RaeAnne Thayne and Nicole Jordan are the greatest brainstorming partners in the world and, without them, this series would still be ten lines scribbled in a notebook. Thank you.

Of course, the whole basis of this book is balanced upon the wonderful inspiration of micro-breweries everywhere. You taught me how to like beer and I love you.

Most importantly, thank you to my readers. You are my inspiration and you make it all worthwhile.

And one last special thank you to all my wonderful new friends on Twitter. You kept me company while I wrote this book, although you failed spectacularly at keeping me on track.

CHAPTER ONE

TESSA DONOVAN STARED across the parking lot of Donovan Brothers Brewery, mesmerized by the flashes and swirls of blue and red across the gray brick of the building. She couldn’t help but stare. The police lights were so at odds with the birdsong and pale sunlight of the early-morning hour.

Her brother Jamie stood between the two cop cars parked at haphazard angles near the back door. He wore a dazed expression, probably because he’d never met an early morning willingly.

She stalked across the parking lot and grabbed her brother by the collar of his rumpled T-shirt.

“Hey!” he protested.

Tessa pulled him closer, tugging him down until they were nose to nose. “James Francis Donovan,” she whispered, “what have you done?”

“What are you talking about?” Jamie asked, sounding just outraged enough that Tessa almost believed him for a second. But only for a second.

She twisted his collar tighter. “Spill it.”

“Come on, Tessa.” He yanked away from her grip and waved an angry hand at the police cars. “You’re not accusing me of having something to do with the robbery, I hope? I set the alarm, I locked the doors. This is not my fault.”

Tessa ran a suspicious eye down her brother’s body. He looked like he always did. Tall and handsome and laid-back. His jeans were worn out by a thousand washings, his T-shirt faded to cloudy gray. His light brown hair was sleep-tousled, but that was nothing new. Unfortunately, neither was the guilty shift of his eyes when she looked into them.

“Damn it, Jamie.”

“Tessa—”

“I know the robbery wasn’t your fault, but you said you were the one who found the door open. So what the hell were you doing here at seven in the morning? And why’d you call me instead of Eric?”

Eric was their older sibling, and though they all owned equal shares of the brewery, Eric had always taken the lead. He was the logical person to call to report that the brewery had been robbed. But Jamie had called her instead. Not good. Not good at all.

Jamie ran a hand through his hair and stared up at the pale blue sky. “It’s bad, Tessa.”

Her heart fell to somewhere below street level. “What’s bad? What?”

“Monica Kendall came by last night.”

“No. Oh, no, no, no.” Monica Kendall was the vice president of High West Air and the key to the distribution deal that Eric had been working on for months. “Jamie, please tell me you didn’t. Even you wouldn’t be that stupid.”

“Even I wouldn’t? Nice thing to say to your brother.”

“Jamie!” she screeched. God, she wished the cops would turn the lights off on the patrol cars. The colors were digging into her eye sockets.

Jamie finally gave up his outraged stance. His shoulders slumped. His head fell. “I don’t know what happened,” he murmured. “She said she wanted a tour of the brewery. Of course, she sampled a few of the beers and then …”

“And then?”

“She needed a ride home.”

Tessa’s sunken heart flopped weakly. She knew exactly what he meant. Women loved Jamie, and at twenty-nine, he was in the prime of loving women right back. “No,” she muttered again. “This isn’t happening.”

“I took her home,” he said. “I had to.”

“You could’ve called a cab!”

“Tessa … Christ, I just thought I’d get her home and take a cab back and … I didn’t mean to—”

“You didn’t mean to? Good God, you are such a dog! Try thinking with your brain sometime, Jamie. Just on special occasions if that’s all you can handle.”

His eyes flashed green hurt, and Tessa immediately felt terrible. He’d been lobbying for more responsibility at the brewery lately, trying to step up to the plate, but Eric had resisted. If he found out about this …

“Okay,” Tessa said, taking a deep breath to calm herself. “Okay, as long as her dad doesn’t find out. Monica won’t say anything, right? Why would she?”

The blank regret on his face told a different story, but before she could get it out of him, the back door of the brewery opened and one of the officers came out. “A detective is on his way over. He’ll want to walk through with you when he arrives, Mr. Donovan.”

“Thanks,” Jamie muttered.

Tessa craned her neck to try to see through the cracked door. “You’re sure the tanks are okay?”

Jamie nodded. “Everything looks fine except for a couple of missing computers and one keg.”

The break-in should have been the most upsetting event of the day. On any other day, she’d be crying and wringing her hands over the violation. But if Eric found out what Jamie had done with Monica Kendall, it would ruin her brothers’ relationship, and her brothers … they were all she had. She had to fix this, somehow.

“Please, Jamie,” she said as the officer paced toward his car. “Tell me there’s no more bad news.”

He sighed as if he’d been holding his breath. “It was stupid. You’re right. Really fucking stupid. But it seemed like it would be no big deal this morning. It was fine. Only I didn’t realize … When we pulled up to her place last night, I thought it was just a house up in the foothills. But it wasn’t. She lives in the guesthouse. Her dad’s guesthouse.”

For a moment, the world actually turned around Tessa’s head. The sky and the clouds and the dark green pine trees—they rotated in a slow, sick spin. Tessa closed her eyes and prayed.

“When she was pulling out of her garage, her dad jogged right past. He saw me.”

“Oh, God.” This was the perfect storm of bad news. Their brother had been working Roland Kendall for months, trying to convince him that Donovan Brothers beer would be the perfect microbrew to serve on the fleet of the brand-new High West Airline. Eric had worked stubbornly toward this moment, intent on getting the brand into new hands, new customers. A few weeks before, he’d finally arranged a private meeting with Roland and his daughter, Monica. They’d made their final pricing offer. The deal had almost been done, the contracts sent over.

And now … disaster in the form of Jamie Donovan. “I’m going to kill you,” she said flatly. “This one woman. Just this one woman you had to avoid touching.”

“That’s not fair,” he snapped. “You two always talk like I’m with a new woman every night. I haven’t dated in months!”

Tessa crossed her arms and paced away from him, trying to think. “Are you sure he saw you?”

“He saw me. Though I suppose it’s possible he didn’t recognize me.”

“Okay. We can handle this,” Tessa said, thinking fast. “First of all, don’t say anything to Eric.”

Jamie shook his head. “I need to tell him.”

“Are you insane?” she snapped. “Eric is going to be furious. With both of us! I took your side on this, damn it. I told him to let you help with the negotiations. You are not telling Eric.”

“He’s going to find out. And I’m not interested in hiding from him like a kid avoiding punishment. This is my company, too. If I screwed up, I’ll face it.”

“This isn’t just about you, Jamie. We’re a family, and I don’t want this to be the wedge that finally drives us apart. So keep your mouth shut until I find out what Roland Kendall is going to do.”

He threw his hands up in frustration, but Tessa ignored him. Sometimes the best defense was a good offense, and Tessa was on the attack today.

“Here’s what you’re going to do,” she said in a rush. “I’m going to leave. You call Eric as if he’s the first one you called. If he asks, you went home with a woman and she dropped you off this morning, but do not mention Monica Kendall. I’ll come back in twenty minutes or so and act like I’ve never been here.”

“God, you’ve gotten devious,” he muttered.

He had no idea.

“I’ll call Roland Kendall later and see if I can read him. You keep your mouth shut.”

“Tessa,” he started, but she stalked away from him, heading down the street toward her house.

She knew she should be worried about the robbery, but that seemed far and away the least of her problems. Even losing the deal with High West wouldn’t exactly be a family tragedy … except that it would be.

Eric was becoming more and more withdrawn into his role as head of the family. Tessa could understand that. He’d filled the shoes of their father since their parents had died in a car accident. Eric had only been twenty-four when he’d become responsible for two kids and a business. So Tessa could understand why, thirteen years later, he might have trouble stepping back from that. But he had to.

If Eric needed to relax a little, Jamie needed to add some stress to his world. He couldn’t keep living like a carefree bartender for the rest of his life. Hell, he didn’t even want to. He wanted to step up and act like a full-fledged partner. Minus, apparently, any restraint when it came to women. But plenty of successful men had that problem. There was no reason Jamie shouldn’t join their ranks.

Tessa spotted another patrol car approaching, followed by a suspiciously nondescript sedan. She ducked her head, trying to escape the crime scene undetected. Her house, the house they’d all grown up in, was only three blocks away. She’d change from her yoga pants to jeans and brush her hair as if she’d been up for an hour before receiving Jamie’s call. Speaking of …

She hit redial on her cell phone. “Did you call Eric yet?”

“He’s on his way,” Jamie muttered, then reminded her, “I don’t like this.”

“I know. But we have to make this right.”

“He’s our brother, Tessa, not our dad. I don’t answer to him.”

“No, but you owe him. We both do.”

While Jamie’s sigh was still echoing through the phone, Tessa hung up on him and rushed up her front walk. She’d done all she could for now. She couldn’t call Roland Kendall for several hours at least. If he hadn’t placed Jamie’s face yet, her phone call might trigger the connection. She’d have to be patient, and plan this deception with ruthless care.

It shouldn’t be that hard. She’d been managing her brothers’ relationship since the day her parents had died. She played referee, defused fights and forced them to spend time together over Sunday dinners and holiday feasts. They were the only family she had left and she wasn’t going to lose that, certainly not over a business deal.

“I can handle this,” she insisted to herself as she turned onto her street and rushed toward home. “It’ll be okay.”

So why did she feel so sick inside?

DETECTIVE LUKE ASHER whipped the latex gloves off and tossed them into the alley Dumpster before turning to shake hands with Eric Donovan. “Eric, it’s good to see you again, though not under these circumstances.”

“Well, Jamie was just telling me that not much was taken. In fact, I was surprised to see you here.”

“I’m sure you won’t be out more than your insurance deductible on the computer equipment. But we’re more concerned with the information on the computers. Social Security numbers, credit card information. There’s been a rash of these types of break-ins at local businesses. Patrol called me when they realized the alarm had been circumvented somehow. That makes it less likely to be a casual robbery.”

Eric’s eyes slid toward his brother. “Are you sure the alarm was circumvented? Maybe it was never set.”

Luke was sure he’d never seen someone snap from relaxed to furious as quickly as Jamie pulled it off. “I told you I set the damn alarm, Eric.”

“I know you think you did,” Eric said.

Jamie’s mouth twisted and his hands balled to fists. “Screw you.”

Hoping to restore peace, Luke raised his hands. “There’s no doubt about this. Jamie definitely set the alarm. The alarm company shows it was armed at 9:30 p.m. and turned off at 1:00 a.m.”

Jamie shot a look of pure fire at his brother, but he didn’t seem satisfied with the vindication. His tension held tight when he paced over to a patrol car, his arms crossed as if he wanted to keep his hands still. Strange. Luke had known Jamie for ten years, and his demeanor had always registered on a scale that started with sleepy and topped out at laid-back.

Luke cleared his throat. “Do you know what payroll information was kept on the computers?”

Jamie glanced over his shoulder. “Tessa will know more. She takes care of all that stuff. She should be here any—”

“We outsource payroll,” Eric interrupted. “So the information is limited. And I don’t think there’s any credit card information on the PCs these days. Hopefully the damage will be minimal.”

“Good,” Luke said. “We’re almost finished in there. We’re just dusting for a few prints and then we’ll get out of your way. I hope this’ll be nothing more than an inconvenience for you. They hit a temp agency a couple of weeks ago. That place had thousands of Social Security numbers on file.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah. If you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to take a look around out here.” Luke walked to the back of the building, hoping to note anything out of place, but the exterior seemed fine. Wooden pallets were stacked in neat columns. A ten-foot-long carbon dioxide tank sat next to the building on clean concrete, untouched by weeds or debris. The same applied to the big stainless-steel grain silo.

He knew from the layout inside that the padlocked corrugated door rolled up to reveal the bottling area and a small loading dock. If he’d been thinking of the brewery as a bar, he would’ve changed his mind back here. Not one bar in the world had a back lot this clean.

When he didn’t find even a hint of something suspicious, Luke circled the front of the building. Sunlight deteriorated beer, Jamie had explained earlier, so the few windows in the place were high up and always locked.

Luke was just rejoining Jamie and Eric when he noticed a woman approaching across the parking lot. Her blond ponytail bounced as she rushed closer. Luke found his eyes dipping down, taking note of the tight jeans and gorgeous thighs. Aside from a killer body, she looked perfectly innocent, pink-cheeked and bright-eyed.

“Hey, guys,” she said breathlessly. “What’s going on? Do you know anything more?”

Eric reached for the woman to give her a hug, so Luke used his detective skills to determine that this was the sister. They didn’t pay him the big bucks for nothing. Also, she looked a lot like Jamie Donovan, though smaller and way prettier.

She shot Jamie a tense look. Jamie’s gaze fell to the ground, his mouth tightening. Whatever passed between them seemed set aside when she looked at Luke and smiled. “Hi,” she said, offering a hand. “I’m Tessa Donovan.”

“Detective Asher,” he said. When he took her hand, he felt the fine bones of her fingers and smelled a faint flowery scent that made him clear his throat in defense. His life was way too complicated to leave room for noticing how a pretty woman smelled.

Luckily, she followed Eric Donovan through the door to see the damage. Luke was left alone with Jamie. “So how’ve you been, man?” he asked. They’d been a year apart at the University of Colorado, but they’d attended a lot of the same parties. Emphasis on a lot. “Jamie?” Luke prompted.

“What? Oh, sorry. Yeah, everything’s good, aside from this. How are you doing? I hear—” Jamie seemed to catch himself at the last moment, clueing Luke into the fact that Boulder might have a population of one hundred thousand souls, but it was still a small town. The rumors about Luke hadn’t stayed confined to the police department.

“Everything’s good,” Luke said, answering the unfinished question.

“Oh, great!” Jamie slapped him on the shoulder, but when Luke’s partner emerged from the brewery, tucking a notebook into the pocket of her jacket, Jamie’s eyes went right to her belly. It was getting hard to miss.

“Did you meet Detective Parker?” Luke asked as if things hadn’t turned awkward. “Jamie this is Simone Parker. Simone, this is Jamie Donovan. We went to the U together.”

“Pleased to meet you,” she said, her voice sweet and soft as ever. People were always surprised by her femininity, despite that her flawless brown skin and dark, wide-set eyes left men a bit starry-eyed. They thought female police detectives had to be tough and hard-nosed. But Simone was simply the sharpest cop he’d ever met, and she’d made the rank of detective by outsmarting everyone around her.

Simone excused herself while Luke handed Jamie a business card. “All right. Call me if you think of anything else. I’ll be in touch.”

“Great. Hey, she’s beautiful, man.”

Luke paused in the act of turning away and winced at the implication. He wanted to clarify that Simone was his partner and not his girlfriend, but that would lead to questions he didn’t want to answer. Couldn’t answer. So he forced himself to finish the step he’d been about to take, and he headed for the car he shared with Simone.

Up until a few months ago, it had been an easy place to occupy. Now her pregnant belly took up all the space in the damn car and pushed out the breathable air. Despite his years as a detective, Luke couldn’t figure out what the hell had gone wrong. And Simone wasn’t talking to anyone.

CHAPTER TWO

TESSA KEPT HER EYE on the clock as she prepped the barroom for the evening rush. It was four forty-five and Roland Kendall hadn’t returned her call.

She hadn’t meant to leave him a message at all. After carefully calculating the absolutely perfect time to contact him: after lunch when the morning was far from his mind, but before five, just in case he was heading out for drinks before hitting his box at the Rockies game. She didn’t have his cell phone number and she couldn’t think of a good reason to ask Eric for it.

So she’d called Kendall’s office at two-thirty, and when his secretary had said he wasn’t available, Tessa had hung up. But when she’d called again at three, the secretary had pointedly asked, “May I take a message, Ms. Donovan?” Damn caller ID.

Now Tessa was stuck waiting for a return phone call. She hated waiting. Thank goodness she was working the bar this afternoon. Her office had become a suffocating box and her new computer wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow. But the bar work was soothing, especially at this quiet hour. They didn’t serve lunch, so their only customers were the regulars who wandered in from the sandwich shops across the street. Though there were often brewery tours during the week, none were scheduled today, so Tessa was free to sweep and wipe down tables and chairs, and even give a nice spring cleaning to the laminated beer menus. All without once taking her mind off the clock. Five o’clock loomed on the horizon and there was still no word from Roland Kendall.

Jamie wasn’t there to bitch at, so Tessa called up the Twitter application on her phone and began typing. She was the only one interested in social media as a marketing tool, so she was in charge of their Twitter account, but Jamie … Jamie was the face of the company. And the voice.

She smiled as she finished up her message from Jamie Donovan.

My sister won an argument & made me admit I was an idiot. Drop in tonight & tell me you lost an argument too & get half off your 1st pint.

There. She felt a little better, but as if warning against relief, Eric’s voice drifted in from the back room as he placed another furious call to their alarm company. Actually, if his voice was any indication, they were now the brewery’s former alarm company. Any lightness she’d felt was immediately swept away.

She was straining so hard to listen to Eric’s conversation that she jumped like a startled cat when the front door opened. Before she could summon up a smile of invitation, she recognized Jamie’s sun-rimmed silhouette.

“Jamie!” She rushed forward so she could whisper her question. “Did you call Monica?”

“No.” He looked even more miserable than Tessa felt.

“Why not? I left you a message. I can’t get ahold of her father and—”

“Because it was a meaningless night, Tessa. For both of us. If I call her today, she might think I’m interested in something serious and that is not going to help the situation.”

Tessa reconsidered. “Oh. You may be right. If she decides she wants to see you again, that’d be disastrous.”

“Exactly. As it stands, we left on neutral terms.”

“Wow, you’ve got a whole language for this.”

“Shut up,” he snapped. “I’m not some kind of man-slut.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. That was below the belt. So to speak.” When he only scowled harder, Tessa stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Don’t be mad.”

“Whatever. Did you talk to Roland Kendall?”

Tessa shook her head as Jamie took the rag from her hand and began polishing the bar. It looked just fine, but it was never quite shiny enough for Jamie, as far as she could tell. “I left him a message, but I haven’t heard back.”

“He knows it was me, Tessa. We’ve got to tell Eric before he hears it from Kendall.”

“Not yet. If there’s even the slightest chance Kendall didn’t recognize you, then we are not telling Eric. Do you know what he’d do to you?”

“He’d never trust me with anything but the bar and act like I was born with half a brain? Yeah, I’m familiar with his opinion of me.”

Tessa kept her mouth shut as she stacked glasses. Strangely enough, even though the place was called Donovan Brothers, Tessa seemed the only one at ease with her role at the brewery. Eric held on to the brewery with both hands, loath to let his siblings take on new responsibilities, and Jamie struggled against his brother’s iron grip. Tessa was trying to help Jamie without upsetting Eric, but good Lord, Jamie seemed to trip over his own feet every time.

Tessa headed for the back to slice lemons for the hefeweizen, but when she walked through the double doors, she was nearly trampled by their brewmaster, Wallace Hood.

He didn’t glance in her direction as he stalked past, rushing from the office area back to his glassed-in paradise of beer tanks and tubing. Eric stepped out of his office.

“What’s wrong with Wallace?” Tessa asked.

“He’s convinced his tanks were violated. I’ve told him that nothing in there was touched.”

Tessa watched as Wallace ran a gentle hand over one of the steel behemoths, his brow furrowed in furious worry. She understood that. If circumstances were different, she’d want to clutch her computers in her arms, too. But they were long gone, and she had bigger worries to hug to her chest.

One of those worries shook his head and sighed. “The alarm company should be out in an hour to check the wiring and box, but our contract is up next month. I’m not renewing.”

Just as she’d suspected. Eric was not the forgiving sort. The reminder made her avoid his eyes as she turned and headed for the kitchen area. The brewery didn’t serve food beyond peanuts and pretzels, but they did host occasional catered events, so the kitchen was fully outfitted. Still, it had none of the homey friendliness of the front room, so Tessa never lingered. Plus, she really had to get out of here. The sight of Eric only reinforced her sense of urgency. She cut the lemons into wedges with the ease of someone who’d done it thousands of times. Prepping the bar had been her first job when she’d turned twenty-one.

Wallace’s voice was muted by the floor-to-ceiling glass, but every time she looked up, his jaw was moving in furious conversation with his equipment. His lips were probably moving, too, but she couldn’t see them past his full, dark beard. She had no idea how old he was. Somewhere between thirty-one and forty-nine was her best guess. He was six-five, he had the body of a professional linebacker and he wore mountain-man-style plaid shirts every day. Despite the fact that he’d worked at the brewery for ten years, the only other thing she knew about Wallace Hood was that his alternative lifestyle did not match his appearance in the least. In fact, his personal life was so complex that she’d never quite figured it out. He was neither gay nor straight, but refused to classify himself as bisexual. He was both intensely private and mysteriously social. Men and women moved through his life as if he’d installed a revolving door in his bedroom.

Usually, watching him in his giant glassed-in room was like watching an interesting movie, but today his silent diatribe only increased her tension. The whole damn building was bubbling with stress, so she piled her two dozen sliced lemons into a plastic container and hurried toward the front room.

Jamie took the bowl from her and popped the top to be sure the lemons were good. He was strangely perfectionist about some things, so she’d learned not to take offense and merely washed her hands and tipped her head toward the empty seating area. “It’s been slow. The warm weather has kept everyone outside, but I expect you’ll get a lot of thirsty people in soon. I’m running a special for half off the first pint tonight, so if anyone mentions Twitter, that’s the offer.”

“Got it.”

“The signage for the new golden wheat is almost ready. Eric tapped it this morning.”

Tessa was drawing him a sample of the new brew when the front door opened. At first, all she saw past the sunlight was a jacket and a tie. Then she recognized the man wearing them. Detective Asher, he’d said. “Hi, Detective!” she called.

“Good afternoon, Miss Donovan,” he said with a smile that disappeared as quickly as it flashed over his face.

“Just Tessa,” she replied, feeling her smile widen. He was cute. Really cute, in a jaded, hard-jawed way. Like he’d stepped out of some noir detective novel, muttering about having seen too much life already.

“Then call me Luke.”

“Luke Asher …” She frowned and cocked her head, taking in his brown eyes and nearly black hair. She looked him up and down suspiciously. His eyebrows rose. “You’ve been to my house,” she said.

“Pardon me?”

“You were friends with Jamie in college.”

“Oh, right.” His brown eyes crinkled. “I stopped by with him a couple of times. I’m sorry. I don’t remember meeting you.”

Jamie snorted. “I doubt I introduced you to my teenage sister.”

“Ah,” he said, and Tessa thought she saw his eyes flicker down.

She let her gaze wander, too. Yeah, she remembered him now. He’d been a slim guy who’d waited quietly for Jamie the couple of times that her brother had stopped home to grab something from his room on his way out for fun. Tessa had watched him from the dining room table as she’d done homework. He’d been cute then, but now …

Luke Asher seemed to have grown into his lanky frame. He was still about six-two, but now his body looked powerfully lean. His skin was tan, and creases around his eyes made it look like he often squinted thoughtfully into the distance while puzzling out an investigation.

He was talking to Jamie about an old classmate when he glanced over and saw her staring. One eyebrow quirked in question.

“Oh, um … Do you have any news about the investigation?”

“Nothing yet. We’ve only found one print we can’t identify, but there are still a few employees we haven’t printed yet. I’m sure it belongs to one of your people. None of the robberies have turned up any useful prints.”

“You’re sure it’s connected?” Jamie asked.

“I’m not ruling anything out yet, but that’s what my gut says.”

Oooh, gut instincts and fingerprints. And she could just make out the edge of his shoulder holster when he put his hands in his pockets.

Despite all her worries, Tessa felt a sudden and startling jolt of attraction.

Jamie interrupted her ogling. “Did you get anything from the security cameras?”

“Nothing,” Luke said. “Your cameras are focused on the parking lot and loading dock. I’d recommend two more cameras pointing at the doors.”

“Yeah. Got it. I’ll let Eric know.”

Luke Asher’s eyes slid to her, and the hair on her arms stood on end. “Did you speak to your payroll company yet?”

“I did. It’s all good news. The program on the PC is encrypted, and data protection is part of our plan. They’ve already started contacting the employees, even the old ones. They’ve also alerted the credit agencies. So far it looks good. As for the credit card information, that’s uploaded live with every transaction. Nothing stored in the computers.”

“Great,” Luke said. “They might not bother trying to crack the encryption. It’ll probably be easier to just break into another place. And even if they crack the program, the credit alerts should help. Keep your fingers crossed.”

“Oh, I will,” she said, sneaking another peek at his gun.

Jamie cleared his throat, and Tessa shot him a look of wide-eyed innocence. It had never failed her before. “I’ll go update Eric,” she said cheerfully, leaving the flirting for later when her brothers weren’t around and things weren’t so chaotic.

Hopefully this would all blow over soon, and then she’d give Detective Luke Asher a friendly citizen’s call.

“WHAT THE HELL do you think you’re doing?”

Luke blinked in surprise at the anger in Jamie’s voice. “Excuse me?”

“I know you, man, and I saw the look you were giving my sister.”

“I wasn’t looking at your sister at all.” He didn’t flush at the utter falsehood, because he knew he wasn’t going to date Tessa Donovan. It had only been a bit of harmless admiration. Her T-shirt had been tight in all the right places.

“I know how you are with women,” Jamie growled.

“I’m not any way with women, Jamie. Whatever I got up to in college, I left in college.”

Jamie set down his rag and crossed his arms. His eyes narrowed. “I’m not just talking about college.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Luke snapped, earning a glare from Jamie.

“I’ve got no problem with you, Luke, but I heard about your divorce. You’re not the kind of guy I want dating my younger sister.”

Luke’s shoulders snapped so quickly into solid tension that pain shot down his spine. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“I may never have met your ex-wife, but she has lots of friends still in Boulder. People come to a bar to talk, and I’ve heard enough to warn you to steer clear of Tessa.”

They glared at each other for a long moment. “Plus,” Jamie added, “there’s the little issue of your—” Voices from the back room alerted them that the other Donovans were about to join them.

Luke cracked his neck. “She’s not my type. Let’s just leave it at that, all right?”

“Good enough,” Jamie muttered.

Luke wanted to defend himself. Hell, he wanted to go on the offensive and punch his old friend in the face, but he was too busy reeling, so he just turned and left.

He’d been aware that people must have talked about his divorce, but he and his wife had been living in L.A. at the time. He’d hoped the worst parts of it had been lost in translation. But clearly some of the details had crossed state lines.

Not that it mattered. Tessa Donovan’s smile was wide and pretty, but the girl was as fresh and new as a wildflower. And Luke … Luke felt bruised and broken already at thirty-one. No, Jamie didn’t have to worry about his sister. Luke wasn’t going anywhere near her.

CHAPTER THREE

TESSA HAD PLANNED to sneak into Eric’s office and search for Roland Kendall’s mobile number, but Eric kept hanging around. The only number she’d been able to nab was Detective Asher’s. Taking that as a sign, she slipped his card into her pocket just as Eric came back in.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

“I’m fine!” she answered too loudly. “Why wouldn’t I be fine?”

Eric gave his head a puzzled shake as he collapsed into his chair. “It’s not every day that we’re robbed.”

“Right. Yes. The robbery. I’m just glad it wasn’t worse, I guess.”

Eric ran both hands over his face. “Well, I’m exhausted, even though I haven’t gotten a damn thing done today.” He squinted at her past his fingers. “You look like crap yourself. Why don’t you head home?”

Leave it to a brother to boost a girl’s spirit. She had a brief fear that Luke Asher had only checked her out because he’d been worried about her health. But surely her breasts looked okay despite the pale worry on her skin.

“Go,” Eric said.

“What about you?”

“I’m going to stay to help Jamie close down tonight.”

“Eric, it wasn’t his fault.”

“I didn’t say it was.” The flat tone of his voice belied the words.

She felt Jamie’s presence at her back before he spoke. “You didn’t have to say it,” he growled. “We all know exactly what you’re thinking.”

Eric sat back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“I know you think I’m an eternal screwup, Eric, but there’s no question I set the alarm. Even you can’t argue with that.”

“No, but somebody turned it off.”

“And?”

“And you’re the one who hires the extra bartenders around here. We both know their qualifications rarely extend beyond ‘guys you once partied with.’”

“Fuck you, Eric. That’s not true. I hire guys who are good with the customers.”

“And not so good with showing up on time or coming in when they’re supposed to work.”

Tessa held up her hands to try to stop the violent tension spinning through the room. “Guys, just—”

“You’re a real asshole,” Jamie snapped. “Besides us, the only people who have the alarm code are Wallace and the guys who’ve closed down the front room, and they’ve all worked here for at least three years. Some of the temp help I’ve brought in might not have been ideal, but they only ever work fill-in.”

Eric shrugged, his mouth still tight with disdain.

“I’d like to see you try to run the front,” Jamie said. “It requires personality. Ever heard of it?”

“Stop!” Tessa ordered. “Just stop. Everybody’s tense. So—” Before she could finish, Jamie walked out. Tessa almost stopped him. Her instinct was to calm things down. Make them both apologize. But she didn’t have the energy, not with all that hung over their heads. So instead of picking up the threads of her family and trying to weave them back together as she always did, Tessa let them hang there and walked away.

She was tired, as Eric had so kindly pointed out. Tired of playing the peacekeeper. Tired of trying to fix things. But it didn’t matter if she was tired. She couldn’t imagine how exhausted Eric must have been those first few years, when he’d taken on two teenagers and the brewery. He’d done his part to keep the family together; Tessa could do her part, too.

But she was starting to worry that she didn’t know how to fix this mess. Jamie might not have screwed up the alarm, but he’d done something far worse. The chances that the High West deal would go through … she knew they were low. Really low. But she couldn’t give up hope. Not yet.

She waved a listless goodbye to Jamie just as the first group of office workers walked into the bar, relief hanging around them like a cloud. Their workday was over. It was almost over for Tessa, too. Almost.

She pulled the ponytail holder from her hair and shook out as much tension as she could. The drive to the High West office would take nearly an hour with the traffic. Roland Kendall almost certainly wouldn’t be there, but she had to try.

And in the meantime … Tessa fluffed her hair and cranked up the stereo.

She meant to think of nothing. Driving soothed her. Something about the road and the music and the hum of the engine. It was the only place she could just be and not think. But today it didn’t work. Today the music made her think of Luke Asher.

He’d been a quiet kid, but now he looked mysterious. Almost dangerous. Dark and strong. As if she could lean on him and he’d banish her problems with one cold look.

Maybe it was just the hint of forbidden fruit. Her older brothers had rarely brought friends around when she was a kid. When they had, as Jamie had said, there’d been no introductions made. It was an unwritten rule that male friends were not allowed to simply hang around the house as if they lived there. But that hadn’t stopped Tessa from watching their brief visits with close attention.

Yeah. Forbidden fruit. And big strong shoulders. The kind of man who’d take care of all her problems, or at least make her forget them.

But at that moment, the fantasy was so far-fetched that Tessa switched off the music and set aside thoughts of Detective Asher. He might be able to solve the mystery of the robbery, but there was nothing he could do about the tangled mess Jamie had created. If anyone was going to do the rescuing today, it’d be her.

So she squared her shoulders and rode off into the sunset, clutching the steering wheel as if it were a weapon. Tessa to the rescue, one more time.

LUKE SUSPECTED ONE of the university students was behind the robberies. Not because he hated college kids—he only marginally disliked them—but because a college kid would fit the profile. Smart, tech-savvy, daring and in need of quick money. That also described the kids who’d dropped out of school and never managed to quite leave town. And there were a lot of those. Then, of course, there were the educated meth heads. Plenty of those around, too. In other words, without fingerprints or a hot lead, this case would be solved by running down every tiny detail, even the ones that seemed inconsequential.

Luke ran the surveillance video one more time, just for the hell of it. It offered little detail. At around 1:15 a.m., a shadow crossed the video of the loading dock. A few minutes later, it crossed again. This repeated a few more times, and that was it. No body, no height, no description. Just an approximate time of the robbery, and he’d already had that.

He backed up the digital feed a little farther, then farther still, looking for movement, just in case someone had cased the back door earlier in the evening.

But the only person who appeared was a woman with a blond ponytail and a happy smile. Tessa Donovan.

Luke very purposefully didn’t pause the video and look at her. Instead, he shut it down entirely just to avoid the temptation. She was cute, and that was that. There were thousands of cute women in this city. Granted, most of them were way too young for him, but then so was Tessa. Oh, she was past college age, but her eyes were still clear and bright and happy. She made Luke feel ancient.

“I’m heading home,” Simone said, gathering up her purse and briefcase. She wasn’t quite waddling yet, but she was definitely moving with more care. Luke shut his computer down and grabbed his own stack of work. “Here,” he said, reaching across his desk to grab for her heavy case. “Let me get that.” But she was still quick enough to jerk the briefcase out of his reach before he could touch it.

“I’ve got it,” she muttered, irritated by his offer of help. Lately, she always was, and that pissed Luke off. They were partners, damn it. They were friends, or they once had been.

“It’s seven,” he said as he followed her toward the front door. He watched her back as she shrugged. “You’ve been here since eight. You shouldn’t be working these kinds of hours.”

She slammed the door open with both hands, the briefcase banging against the glass. “You’re working them.”

“Simone. Don’t be stupid.”

Her shoulders snapped straight and she stopped so quickly that he had to grab her arm to keep from knocking her over.

“What,” she ground out, “is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to guess from your reaction that you feel stupid about something.”

“Luke—” She cut herself off at that one word, but he could read fury and sadness and resentment, all tied up in that one syllable.

She walked on, heading straight for her car, but he followed, waiting until she opened her door and ditched her bags. Before she could slip into the driver’s seat and escape, he put a hand across the door. “Please talk to me.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I know that, damn it. It’s pretty obvious. Why?”

“It’s none of your business.”

He felt a sharp stab of pain and a sudden anger. He tried his best to tamp it down, but some of it leaked past his hold. “It is my business, because the whole town thinks I knocked you up.”

“So tell them that you didn’t.”

“And then what? They’re going to want to know who did, and I can’t answer that question. What the hell are they going to think about you, then?”

“I don’t care.” Her face was as blank as any hardened criminal’s under interrogation. She’d always been good at that, but Luke used to be the one she’d actually talk to.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he growled.

She met his gaze with a cool stare, and when he tossed up his hands and backed away, Simone simply got in her car and shut him out. He felt the dull, hard thud of the door all the way through his body.

If he had knocked her up, he could understand this, but he and Simone had never had sex.

Luke retreated to his own car, then sat there with the windows down, trying to breathe his way to calmness. After a few minutes, he made his hands unclench from the steering wheel, and he laid his head back. The sun was setting and the breeze was cool enough to soothe his temper. He heard the subtle whir of a pack of bikes sliding past the parking lot. Then the click of dog claws against the cement. His gut still burned, but the rest of him was calm when his phone rang. By the time he raised it to his ear, Luke had convinced himself it was Simone calling to apologize.

“Asher,” he said neutrally.

“Hi, this is Tessa Donovan.”

His head snapped up so quickly that the world blurred around him.

“Am I bothering you?” she asked.

Tessa Donovan? “No, it’s fine,” he managed to say.

“You’re not in the middle of a big murder investigation or something?”

Luke smiled. “No, we don’t get a lot of those around here. Luckily there are enough lesser crimes to keep me busy.”

“Luckily!” She laughed, and the sound was richer than he’d expected, not the least bit like a giggle at all.

“So what can I help you with?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t seem to have a dinner companion. Could you help with that?”

“Um.” Not the smoothest answer, but Luke’s brain was having trouble making the transition. “Pardon me?”

“Dinner? I’m driving up from Denver right now, but I’m almost home. I could be changed and ready in forty-five minutes.”

“For dinner.”

“Yes. Unless it’s against the rules. I don’t want to get you put on desk duty because I’m a material witness.”

Luke found himself grinning at his dashboard. “You didn’t witness anything. And you watch too much TV.”

“Wow, you figured that out quick. You really are a detective.”

Shit. She was cute as hell. “I promised your brother I’d stay away from you.”

“Really? Well, that’s interesting. Which brother?”

“Jamie.”

“He told you to stay away from me?”

“He did.”

“Why?” she asked.

Luke wasn’t stupid enough to offer up his divorce at this point, not even the truthful version of it. Especially not the truthful version. “Why? Because I’m a man. And you’re his little sister.”

She chuckled again, and this time it was a soft, sensual sound. “Well, what my brother doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Yikes. Luke’s brain stuttered, preventing him from coming up with a witty response. Or any response at all. Dinner was tempting enough, but when she said something naughty like that …

Luke glanced over at the empty space where Simone’s car had been parked. He thought about going home to his empty condo and having yet another cold sandwich for dinner. He’d promised Jamie he’d stay away from Tessa, but this wasn’t medieval England. Tessa was right. What Jamie didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

“Should I pick you up?” he asked.

His question met silence, but he was sure he could actually hear her smiling.

“Absolutely,” she said before rattling off her address.

When Luke hung up, anticipation was streaking along his nerves like fireworks. Hadn’t he just been telling himself that she wasn’t his type? Then again, what was his type? Jaded and dumped like him? What a tragedy that would be.

Still, Tessa Donovan was a complication he didn’t need. Too sweet to be a quick hookup. Too innocent to date a guy who’d already been married and divorced. This was going nowhere. But he needed some kind of distraction for a few hours, and he was damn glad the distraction was going to be her.

CHAPTER FOUR

TESSA PUT HER HANDS on her hips and made a slow turn, watching herself in the bathroom mirror. The shirt was perfect. Vivid blue and draped just right so that it looked entirely modest even though the neckline scooped low. She leaned slightly down to be sure she was showing just the right amount of cleavage—a lot. Perfect. Luke Asher had only seen her in Levis and T-shirts. Hopefully he’d like skinny jeans and high heels even better. She knew her ponytail made her look like she went to the U, so Tessa had quickly blown out her hair and left it down. She added some red lipstick to top off the look, then gave her reflection a nod.

Jamie was working the bar tonight, and Eric was closing up with him, so she didn’t have to worry she’d run into one of them. And that was a good thing. She had enough to worry about.

As she’d expected, Roland Kendall hadn’t been at his office. She’d had no idea what she was going to say to him, anyway; she just needed to know which cover-up to enact. Was it a matter of swearing Jamie to secrecy and hoping that Monica Kendall never told a soul? Or was it DEFCON level 5, wherein she pulled off the miracle of calming down an angry father while simultaneously convincing him to go through with the deal and forget he ever saw a thing?

It would be difficult, but she was sure she could pull it off. Hadn’t she convinced the principal not to call Eric that time she’d been caught skipping class to go river rafting? Hadn’t she gotten Jamie off a yearlong academic probation without even a hint to Eric that anything was going on? If she could handle the public education system, surely she could handle one sixty-year-old businessman. His daughter was a grown woman, after all. Maybe Roland Kendall wasn’t even upset.

It was a foolish and stupid hope, and that’s exactly why she’d called Luke Asher. She couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. She’d go crazy. Five minutes into her drive home from Denver, she’d been close to hyperventilating. Luke had been the only thought strong enough to distract her.

And she hadn’t been able to shake the appeal of his quiet strength. He was a man who needed nothing from her. No emotional tiptoeing. No complicated negotiations. No pretense of sweet temper and sisterly innocence. Whatever Luke was interested in, it was something he might want from her, but not something he expected.

Ignoring the brief thought of how pissed her brothers would be if they knew about the men she’d dated, Tessa gave herself one last review before she switched off the light and walked out of her room. Her heels snapped against the old wood floors of the house. The floors needed refinishing, but every time she considered it, she decided it could wait another year. This was the house they’d all grown up in. It was the house where her parents had raised them. Every scar on the oak was a story, and she didn’t want to let those stories go.

She wanted everything to stay the same.

Entering the living room just in time to hear the hum of a car pulling up to the front curb, she bit back a smile, then waited for the knock on the door before walking toward it. She hadn’t listened to all of Eric’s advice about boys—in fact, she’d ignored most of it—but she had found him to be right about some things. Men liked the thrill of the chase … almost as much as women did. So Tessa tried to encourage a good give and take. She might ask a man out, but she wouldn’t rush breathless and smiling to the door. She might let him get to third base on the first date, but then she might not answer his calls for a week. It kept things interesting, and that was just the way she liked it.

Though when she opened the door it was damn hard not to grin in nervous excitement. Luke looked like he had stories to tell and things to teach her. His black hair had the slightest unruly wave to it. His brown eyes were dark as chocolate, but hard with sadness. His body was hard, too, and lean. He’d changed out of his work clothes, and now wore black slacks and a pale blue shirt. His eyes traveled down her body so quickly that Tessa would’ve missed the glance if she hadn’t been watching for it. He was good.

“You look great,” he said.

“Thank you.”

“Where would you like to eat?”

“Why don’t you surprise me?” she suggested as she locked the door behind her. “Take me to one of your favorites.”

She could feel him watching her, but when she turned around, she didn’t catch even a flicker of his eyes. Yeah, he was good. Some sort of cop skill, maybe.

And a gentleman. When she walked down the porch steps, Luke put his hand under her elbow, and he didn’t even accidentally brush her breast with his fingers. Still, a sizzle crept up her arm where his skin touched hers. The pads of his fingers were slightly rough and made him seem that much more intriguing.

He opened the car door and when she slipped in it smelled like leather and … perfume?

“Did you just finish another date?”

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as he got into the car. “Excuse me?”

“It smells like perfume in here.”

“That’s from my partner. Maybe her soap or something.”

“Oh, your partner is a woman? The pregnant woman?”

“Yes.”

“Is that weird? Having a female partner?”

He cleared his throat. “It’s not weird, no. She brings stuff to the table that I don’t have.”

Tessa smiled. “I’d hope so.”

“I meant, you know … perspective. Questions I wouldn’t think to ask. Plus, some witnesses or victims are more comfortable dealing with her. It works great.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

Frowning as if she’d insulted him, he pulled out onto the narrow street. “I’m not sweet.”

Boys. Tessa leaned toward him and lowered her voice to a whisper. “It’s okay, Luke. Despite what you’ve heard, men can be sweet and hot at the same time.”

“I see,” he said. “Good to know.”

She couldn’t quite tell if he was blushing, but he was staring hard out the windshield, very carefully not looking at her. Tessa waved at a neighbor who jogged past and felt very glad she’d called Luke. He had a bad-boy aura she found appealing, and yet he was a polite police detective who had no problem working with women. In other words, the guy was smoking hot. She might have to break her third-base rule for him. Though it’d always been more of a gentle suggestion than a hard-and-fast rule. A girl had to keep her options open.

Luke finally spoke. “I was surprised by your call.”

Not a question, but an opening. Tessa made a sound that was equally noncommittal.

“Jamie seemed clear that you wouldn’t be interested in a guy like me.”

“Oh, I think what he was making clear was that he wouldn’t want me to show interest in a guy like you. And why is that?”

“Why is what?”

“Why did he feel compelled to warn you off, aside from you being a man? Are you dangerous?” Oooh, just saying it aloud formed a hot weight low in her belly. Clearly he was dangerous enough to turn her on and make her forget her problems.

“No. He thought I was checking you out.”

“And were you?”

Luke pulled up to a stoplight, and this time he turned the full force of his dark gaze on her. His mouth quirked up into a half smile. “I think I’d better plead the fifth.”

“Isn’t that an admission of guilt, Detective?”

“Legally, it’s a neutral position.”

“Oh, but it’s morally damning, isn’t it?”

“Morally?” His deep brown eyes sparkled and the weight in Tessa’s belly melted all over her insides. “Oh, yeah,” he said softly. “Morally, it’s a big problem.”

Tessa made a point not to giggle like a schoolgirl, but it was a close call. No wonder Jamie didn’t want her dating Luke. They’d gone to college together, and her brother had likely seen girls drop their panties at the first hint of Luke’s smile. His features were a little harsh. His jaw a little too cruel looking, but the sparkle in his eyes transformed him into a charming rogue. Tessa was glad her tight jeans would keep her panties firmly in place … for a few hours.

She waited till she was sure her voice wouldn’t squeak before she spoke again. “So what will you do when she has the baby?”

Luke seemed to choke on his breath. “What?”

“Your partner? What will you do when she’s on maternity leave?”

“I’ll work by myself,” he said brusquely. “That’s all.”

“Is it a sensitive subject?”

“No.”

No. And that was it. Interesting. Maybe he was worried she wouldn’t come back. Or maybe he thought she shouldn’t. Either way, he changed the subject. “Any more news on your employee files?”

“Honestly, it looks pretty good. Thanks to the security systems at the human resources firm I pushed last year.”

“You sound triumphant.”

“Eric doesn’t like change,” Tessa said, glancing out the window as if lightning might strike at such an understatement.

“Interesting. That’s a classic oldest-sibling issue, I think.”

“Oh, he’s got issues,” she started, then she noticed that Luke was slowing to turn into the parking lot of one of Tessa’s favorite restaurants. The little Mexican café had a patio that was shaded by mature aspens and provided the perfect place to sip the best margaritas in town. “Good choice,” she said approvingly.

“Sounds like this was a test.”

“One of many,” she answered with a smile that was all challenge.

Luke raised an eyebrow and turned off the car. When he got out and circled around, Tessa waited. He opened her door, and when she stood, she was only inches from him.

He tipped his chin down so that their faces drew even closer. “I wasn’t sure I was your type,” he said softly, draping his arm over the open door. “I thought you’d made a mistake asking me out to dinner.”

“Oh? Have you changed your mind?”

This time, he didn’t bother to hide the way his eyes dipped down her body. “You look different tonight. Less like …”

“Your friend’s little sister?”

The sexy quirk of his mouth widened into that wicked smile. “Yeah.”

“Good. Because I already have two brothers, Luke. I don’t need another man around asking me to be a good girl.”

Luke’s eyes dilated, his lips parted, but he stepped back so quickly that her hair shifted forward in the breeze he created.

“I’m glad I don’t remember you as a kid,” he said.

“Yeah,” she said with a big smile. “Me, too.”

Oh, it was going to be fun playing this game with him. Lots of fun. And good Lord, if she didn’t need fun, who did?

APPARENTLY TESSA DONOVAN didn’t want to be a good girl. Not anymore. And not with him.

Luke couldn’t get the thought out of his head as they shared dinner and drinks and exchanged stories about their lives. Luke had been raised by a single mom in various apartments in Denver, and Tessa had grown up here in Boulder in the same big house she lived in now. He couldn’t quite imagine that kind of continuity. He’d never lived in an actual house his whole life. He and his wife had owned a condo a half mile from the beach in L.A., but he wasn’t about to bring that up.

Still, he seemed to remember that not everything had been wine and roses for the Donovan family. “Your parents passed away when you were young, right?” Another thing he couldn’t imagine.

“I was fourteen.”

“What happened?”

“They were driving in the mountains at night. There was a rock slide, and they drove head-on into a boulder. It was quick, at least.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It was a long time ago, and we had one another. That’s one reason my brothers are so protective. Eric, especially. He had to take over raising us.”

“That’s pretty amazing.” And so damn touching that it resurrected Luke’s guilt about going out with Tessa, adding another awful layer to it. She was an orphan. Great. Sure, she looked sexy as hell tonight in her heels and tight jeans and that damn shirt that flashed an intriguing amount of cleavage whenever she leaned forward. But that wasn’t the real Tessa. The real Tessa was a sweet orphan girl in a T-shirt and a ponytail who deserved to find a little stability in her life. She’d had it rough enough without a man like Luke around.

She leaned forward, and the mounds of her breasts made another brief appearance. Jesus, her skin looked soft and sweet.

“So,” she said, “you lived in Denver and then you came here for school and never left?”

Yikes. He really didn’t want to talk about his life in California. But avoiding the question would only draw more curiosity. “My first job as a police officer was in L.A.”

“Wow, was that scary?”

“Scary?” He was distracted by her mouth. It made a little O of surprise and she leaned farther forward. Her mouth … her cleavage … Luke found himself thinking some very dirty things about Tessa Donovan.

“Scary!” She gestured and her breasts pushed up. He swallowed. Hard. “Big-city scary.”

“I was shot, if that’s what you mean.”

“Shot?”

Uh-oh. He’d gone too far. Tessa jerked back in her chair and the view disappeared. And now he was just sitting there with a lap full of regretful lust. He never talked about being shot. Her cleavage was a damned menace.

“Oh, my God! Where were you shot?”

“In the shoulder. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“How did it happen?”

“A bullet came through a wall. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all.”

“Oooh, you’re so stoic and manly about it.”

Luke felt his scowl tip up into a smile. He reached for his margarita. “Oh, yeah? You like that?”

“I sure do. Come on. Don’t tell me that story hasn’t gotten you laid a few times.”

Lime juice burned like hell when it went down your windpipe, and that was knowledge Luke could’ve happily lived without. As he coughed, Tessa lifted her own margarita and winked. “You probably practice that sexy damaged-cop thing in the mirror.”

“Excuse me?” he choked out.

She waved her fingers toward his chest as she took a delicate sip. “I’ve got you all figured out, Detective Luke Asher.”

“Have I already suggested that you watch too many cop shows?”

She shrugged. “Maybe I do. I hope you’re not refusing to play along.”

At that moment, Luke was pretty sure he’d play whatever games she wanted. She thought he was sexy. And damaged. Maybe if he told her how screwed up his life was she’d get off on it. Then again, maybe this was a sign that she was naive and sheltered and he should really back off. After all, he’d seen enough screwed-up cops to know there was nothing appealing about them.

But the bill came, and Tessa asked, “Are you ready?” and Luke found himself saying yes. Yes, he was ready. But ready for what? Even as he stood and pulled out her chair and followed her out of the restaurant, his brain was telling him to end this here. She was too young, too sweet, too related to protective men. He did not need more complication in his life. Then she took his arm, and her hip bumped his. A breeze blew her hair toward him, sweeping it along his shoulder, and the scent of her shampoo drifted through him. She smelled … delicious. Like a treat that would be really, truly bad for you. Luke found himself thinking of kissing her neck and dragging his mouth down the neckline of that shirt. He thought of pulling it down farther and devouring her.

Christ, he wanted to strip her naked and have her for days.

He opened her car door, and Tessa winked as she got in, as if she knew what he was thinking. But surely not. She was flirting, not giving him the green light to jump her. She probably had no idea of the kinds of filthy things men fantasized about.

Luke shook his head to try to clear it. A girl like Tessa Donovan wasn’t looking to fall into bed after one date. Which was good news. Because he clearly had no willpower where she was involved.

By the time Luke settled into the driver’s seat and started the car, he’d talked himself down to a reasonable state. Her cleavage wasn’t in view. Her hip wasn’t touching his. Luke’s libido was under his control again. And then she touched his thigh. Just laid her hand on his thigh as if she had the right to do that. Holy shit, this girl had no idea what she was doing to him. There was an incredibly short distance between the nerves of his thigh and the nerves of his cock.

“That was fun,” she said, sliding her hand up an inch higher before she slid it right back to her side of the car. The air in the hot car felt cold against his thigh now that her hand had deserted him.

He inhaled very slowly. “Yeah, that was fun,” he said with a casual smile.

Her gaze dipped to his mouth, and she smiled, as well. “Would you like to—?” A high-pitched tune interrupted her words with cruel timing. Tessa cringed and reached for her purse.

Would you like to what? Scowling, Luke put the car in gear and pulled out as Tessa glanced down at the phone. She bit out something that soundly strangely like, “Oh, balls.”

“Did you just say ‘balls’?” Luke asked.

She turned a look on him that seemed to accuse him of complete insanity. Shaking her head, she put a finger to her mouth to shush him. Embarrassment fell over him in a scalding wash. He’d just said balls to this girl.

“Hey, Jamie,” she said into the phone, and Luke felt another rush of heat. He’d promised Jamie he’d stay away from Tessa; now Luke was holding his breath in the seat beside her.

“She called?” Tessa asked, turning her head to face the window. “Okay. Do you think I should call her back …? Well, someone has to talk to her. She didn’t say anything in the message?”

Luke unashamedly listened in, but he couldn’t hear Jamie’s side of the conversation. He’d gotten a weird vibe from these two at the robbery call, not to mention this afternoon. There was a tension between them that they were pretending didn’t exist.

Tessa made a couple of affirmative noises before telling her brother she’d call him later. She was quiet when she hung up, any hint of flirtation gone from her body language. Luke tried to let it go, but he was a cop at heart.

“Is everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah!” she said too brightly. “Just brewery stuff.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Are cops always so suspicious?”

Yeah, she was lying through her charming teeth. “You don’t have to tell me, Tessa, but it was obvious to me that you and Jamie were hiding something at the brewery this morning. Does it have anything to do with the robbery?”

“What?” she breathed, her voice weak with shock. “No, of course not.” Now there was honesty in her eyes.

“I didn’t really think so or I would have pushed it at the scene. So do you want to talk about it?”

She wasn’t flirting with him anymore, but somehow Luke found that he liked her even more now. Her eyes were soft with worry, and he could see pale gold flames streaking through her green irises. Her mouth was still pink and beautiful, and her teeth pressed into her lower lip as she considered his offer. Her teeth. Her lip. The tiny indentation she made with the pressure. The hint of moisture that glistened against the pink …

A car horn blasted the air, and Luke looked up in utter shock. He was stopped at a four-way stop sign, and there were two cars behind him. Real smooth, Asher.

But Tessa didn’t seem to notice, thank God. She was too busy frowning down at her hands. “It’s not my story to tell. Suffice to say that I know something I don’t want Eric to find out about. It’s family stuff.”

“I understand.” Oh, boy, did he.

“It’s no big deal,” she insisted. But clearly it was. She stayed quiet for the rest of the drive, staring out at the gingerbread houses of the street. It was strange to think of her living in one of these big old houses by herself. Yet somehow it fit her perfectly. He could picture her wearing one of those frilly aprons while she baked cookies and—

“Oh, shit!” she yelped, ruining the pretty picture he’d painted. “Eric is here.” Instead of caressing his thigh again, her hand slammed into his chest. “Stop!”

He followed her wide-eyed stare to the sight of her place three houses down. A pale gray SUV sat at the curb, glowing under the streetlight.

“I’m sorry. He comes by pretty often. He’s probably looking for dinner.”

“Oh, I—”

“Don’t drive up! Just let me out here.”

“Tessa … this is a little weird.”

“I know. I’m sorry! But I had a good time.” She reached for the handle before stopping abruptly and turning back to him. “A really good time.” The girl was quick as a damned thief, and before Luke knew what she was up to, her fingers touched his jaw, and then her lips touched his mouth. Without giving him even a second to respond, Tessa was out the door and waving as she hurried up the narrow sidewalk. But Luke was sure she’d transferred that tiny hint of moisture from her lip to his. He certainly convinced himself that he could taste her. And sure enough, the sweet taste stayed with him for hours.

CHAPTER FIVE

THE NEXT MORNING, Tessa smiled and waved at Eric as he walked past her office door. As soon as he disappeared from view, she leaned over her desk, nudged the door shut with an outstretched hand and picked up the phone. “Answer,” she ordered Jamie as the phone rang, but it went to voice mail after one ring. Granted, it was only 9:00 a.m. and she wouldn’t normally call him this early, but he hadn’t returned her call last night. She didn’t bother leaving a message. She’d already left three. Jamie was probably passed out in some girl’s bed while his phone beeped helplessly from the pocket of his jeans.

She cursed him for his ability to so easily forget his problems, even as she fondly considered how she’d tried to forget her problems last night. Damn Eric for interfering. Her brothers were seriously cutting into her private life. But at least Eric had suspected nothing more than a girls’ night out when she’d strolled in the night before.

Before she could pick up the receiver again, the phone rang and Tessa snatched it up. “Hello?” she said desperately.

“Hey, Tessa! It’s Wendy. I got your message about the break-in.”

She liked the temp waitress a lot, but Tessa still slumped in her chair at the sound of her voice. “Oh, good. I know you haven’t worked in a few months, but your information was still on the computer.”

“I already called the credit agencies to check in. Like you said, an alert has been placed on my name and Social, so I think it’s all good.”

At the sound of male voices, Tessa craned her neck to see through the glass window in her door. Eric was talking to Wallace in the hallway.

“You need anything else?” Wendy asked.

“Oh, are you still planning to fill in for us in the barroom this summer?”

“Absolutely. It’s just that this course load is killing me this semester.”

“No big deal. You’re welcome back anytime, Wendy.”

She hung up just as Wallace started gesturing in angry jerks. Not an unusual scenario. The man was a genius, and like most geniuses, he was temperamental. Deciding that Eric would be occupied for a few minutes, Tessa dug out Roland Kendall’s number and tried his office one more time.

“This is Tessa Donovan again. Is Mr. Kendall available?”

“I gave him your message yesterday, Ms. Donovan. I’m sure he’ll be in touch soon.”

Tessa stuck her tongue out at the receptionist’s voice, then nearly bit it off when the office door snapped open. Tessa threw the phone into its cradle before she realized it was Jamie.

“Oh, Jamie. Thank God. Why didn’t you call me back? If you want me to talk to Monica, then—”

“Did you go out with Luke Asher last night?” Jamie demanded.

“Um … What?”

“Eric said you were out with someone last night and you wouldn’t say who. Was it Luke?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“It was him, wasn’t it? I saw how you two were looking at each other.”

“Jamie, seriously. I’m twenty-seven. Cut it out.”

“No, I’m serious, Tessa. Stay away from Luke Asher. He’s bad news.”

Utterly confused, Tessa leaned to the side to look past Jamie to the hallway beyond. “Am I being Punk’d? I thought that show was canceled a long time ago.”

“Damn it!” he shouted. Tessa jumped an inch out of her chair when his fist thumped her desk.

“Sheesh. Calm down.”

“I won’t calm down. He’s not someone you should be hanging out with, much less dating.”

“Oh, really? Who is? A priest? Luke’s a friend of yours. If he’s good enough for you to hang around with, why not me?”

“Because I’m not a woman.”

Tessa rolled her eyes. Her brothers didn’t like her hanging out with any male over twelve and under eighty. “We just went out for dinner. We didn’t participate in a Roman orgy, I swear.”

Jamie’s face flamed red immediately. “Tessa!”

Sometimes she felt she was living in the middle of a Jane Austen novel. “I like him, all right? Just leave it alone.”

He crossed his arms. “I like him, too. He’s a great guy. How else would he have gotten so much action in college?”

“Oh, really? As much as you?”

He raised an eyebrow in silent acknowledgment.

Tessa cleared her throat. “That was in college.”

“Sure it was. And his current nickname is Magnet.”

“Magnet?”

“Yes,” he bit out. “As in Babe Magnet. I heard one of the other cops call him that when he wasn’t listening.”

Tessa tried not to smile. She could understand the reputation. The man had a lethal attraction.

“And,” Jamie continued, pointing his finger at her, “have you not noticed the fact that his partner is currently pregnant up to her damned ears?”

“So?”

“So, the kid is his, Tessa. Jesus. Pay attention.”

She felt all the air leave her body in a whoosh, and it took all of her little-sister outrage with it. “What?”

“He knocked up his partner, and now he’s letting her swing in the breeze.”

“How do you know that?”

Jamie spread his arms out in her small office. “I’m a bartender, Tessa. I hear things.”

“So …” Tessa’s mind flailed. That was why he’d been so awkward when he’d talked about his partner. “So maybe she’s the one who wants him to keep his distance.”

“I don’t give a damn what the reason is. His life is all fucked-up, and you don’t need any part of that.”

“Like my life is so un-fucked-up right now?”

“Watch your language,” he muttered.

Tessa closed her eyes and tried to call up the patience of a nineteenth-century noblewoman.

“And,” Jamie continued in a lower tone, “it’s my life that’s messed up, not yours. By the way, what the hell did you post on Twitter last night?”

“Nothing. It’s not important. Just …” She made a frantic gesture for him to close the door. Jamie shook his head, so she slapped his arm as hard as she could. He glared at her, but closed the door.

“Give me Monica’s number,” she hissed.

“No.”

“Are you going to call her back?”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on! I can’t get in touch with her dad and we need to find out if he knows!”

“He looked right at me, Tessa. He knows. We need to stop screwing around and tell Eric before he finds out from Kendall.”

“No! We can’t! Just let me … I’ll go down to Kendall’s office right now, okay?”

“No, I’m going to tell Eric. This is one disaster you can’t cover up. I don’t even want you to.”

As he turned toward the door, Tessa leaped up and grabbed his shirt.

“Hey!”

“Please don’t. Please!”

Jamie seemed alarmed to find her sprawled over her desk. Her pack of paper clips slipped to the floor with a crash. “Tessa, calm down.”

“Tell me you won’t tell him and I’ll calm down.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m not.” She felt tears spring to her eyes, and she hadn’t even summoned them to soften him up. Jamie’s shoulders fell, and when she knew he wasn’t going to dart for the door, she let go of his shirt and climbed off her desk. “He’s going to be so mad, Jamie.”

“I know that.”

“He’ll never let you take on more of the business.”

“Maybe I don’t deserve to take on more.”

She knew that wasn’t true. He didn’t have any responsibility, so he didn’t act responsibly. But Eric didn’t see the logic in that reasoning. He wanted Jamie to prove himself first, and every year the tension grew between the two men. Something had to give. And Tessa was afraid her family would be the thing to break.

“You said you’d give me a chance,” she pleaded.

“I didn’t say that. I just stopped arguing with you.”

“Please, Jamie.” His jaw tightened in stubbornness. She grabbed his hand and wrapped both of hers around it. “Pleeease?”

She knew the moment she had him. She always did. And not a second too soon. Her office door snapped open again, and Eric stuck his head in.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing!” she answered.

Jamie held her gaze, and for a moment, the serious line of his mouth worried her. She gave her head one tiny shake and squeezed his hand one last time before letting him go.

Eric clearly didn’t buy that they were just having a cozy brother/sister talk. “Guys,” he said flatly.

Jamie took a deep breath and Tessa closed her eyes. Please.

“The person Tessa was with last night? It was Luke.”

Oh, great. She opened her eyes and narrowed them at Jamie. Surely he could’ve thought of a save that didn’t throw her under the bus.

“Luke Asher?” Eric’s voice sang like a blade drawn from a scabbard. “I hope you’re kidding.”

Tessa was done with this. If Luke really had gotten his partner pregnant, then Tessa wasn’t going to see him again. And if he hadn’t … then it was still none of their business. “Forget it, both of you. It was one meal, and it’s over, okay?”

“Promise?” Jamie asked.

Tessa scowled at him. “I’m not a kid anymore.” But she crossed her fingers just in case that still counted. Both her brothers glared at her. They looked nothing alike, aside from their height. Eric was dark-haired and pale-eyed. Jamie looked like a golden-haired mess next to him. But they both wore identical expressions of stern disapproval, and she could picture the exact same frown on her father’s face. They loved her. They wanted what was best for her. Just as she wanted the best for them.

She snatched up her purse. “Okay, boys. I’ve got to go. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

Their expressions turned even darker. “Why?” Eric asked.

“Because I have a doctor’s appointment.”

“What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“Um, it’s a girlie thing. You know …” She leaned forward and cupped her hand over her mouth. “The gynecologist.”

“Oh.” Eric stepped back so quickly that his shoulder hit the doorjamb. His face turned red. “It’s just a checkup, though, right? You’re not, um, engaged in anything that …”

“No,” she answered with mock seriousness. “I’m not ‘engaged in anything.’”

Sometimes she wondered who had raised whom in this family.

Now that she had both her brothers backing out of her office in horror, Tessa was free to go. She bit back a self-satisfied smile as she kissed Eric on the cheek. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

But once she hit the door, she raced to her car. She was wearing jeans and a brewery T-shirt, and she didn’t want to see Roland Kendall that way, so she had to stop at home before she drove to Denver. No matter what it took, she was going to get an answer from that man today.

SHE’D DONE IT again.

Instead of telling Luke face-to-face, Simone had left a message on his voice mail that she had a doctor’s appointment. His office voice mail. She hadn’t called his cell phone, because she knew for a fact that Luke wanted to go with her. He wasn’t the father of her baby, but he was her best friend, or had been at one time.

So why didn’t she want him there? Was it possible that someone else was going to the appointments with her?

The message had said she’d be in at twelve, which probably meant her appointment was around eleven. He glanced at the clock. He could drive by in a half hour or so, see if her car was in the doctor’s parking lot. If only he knew who her doctor was …

Luke stretched and faked a yawn, taking the opportunity to glance around the office. Most of the detectives were on the phone. The rest were gathered near the coffee machine, gabbing about something. His sergeant was nowhere to be seen.

Rising to circle around to Simone’s desk, Luke told himself not to look guilty. There was nothing weird about him sorting through her stuff. They worked the same cases. They shared the same space. Still, he felt a flush climb up the back of his neck as he tugged open the top drawer and pushed some papers around. It didn’t take much. The corner of a business card appeared. He pulled it free of the pile and immediately spied a stylized logo of a woman holding a baby. Bingo.

Luke tucked the card into his pocket and circled back to his desk just as his cell phone rang. “Asher.”

“Hey, it’s Jamie Donovan. Do you have a minute to swing by the brewery?”

Perfect. Now he had an excuse to leave. “I’ll be there in a few.”

He slipped on his coat and grabbed his keys to head out. The doctor’s office was on the way to the brewery, so he drove by just in case. Simone’s car wasn’t there, but it was early yet. Luke had the sinking feeling that he was stepping over a line here, and he was still trying to shake off the guilt when he walked into the brewery. The front room was empty, but before he could head to the back, Jamie came through the swinging doors.

“Hey, Jamie. What’s up?”

“Stay the hell away from my sister, Luke.”

Amazingly, Luke had been so caught up in the drama with Simone that he’d forgotten about the problem of Tessa Donovan. He just stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“You promised to leave her alone.”

“She asked me to dinner.”

“So you should’ve said no.”

“I did. But …” He cleared his throat. “Then I said yes.”

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. She’s no longer interested. I told her about your partner.”

Any guilt Luke had been feeling snapped into cold fury. “What about my partner? You don’t know a damn thing about it.”

“I know she’s pregnant. And you’re the father. And I know you’re trying to date my sister. That’s all I need to know.”

“You’re wrong,” he managed to push past clenched teeth.

“About what?” Jamie snapped.

He refused to say more. It wasn’t right to talk about Simone this way. She never said a word about it to anyone. She’d always been a private person, and he couldn’t disrespect her that way.

Jamie shrugged. “Whether you’re the father or not, it’s hardly the only issue.”

“Oh, yeah? What else puts her out of my league?”

Jamie shifted, running a hand through his hair and looking everywhere but at Luke.

“What?” Luke snapped, expecting to hear more about the divorce.

Jamie finally met his gaze. “Tessa is a virgin.”

“Uh … What?”

“You heard me.”

Luke wondered if the stress of the past few years had finally broken him. “You’re not serious.”

Jamie’s frown turned to a scowl. “You’re damn right I’m serious.”

“But … that’s … How do you know?”

“She’s told me as much herself.”

“She told you?” Luke asked weakly. Something that felt suspiciously like horror was rolling through him in waves. Tessa was a virgin? Good God. She hadn’t said a word. Except that part about being a good girl. Had that been a hint? “Wow,” he breathed.

“So when I say you’re not good enough for her, I mean you’re not fucking good enough for her, all right?”

Luke rolled his shoulders. “Look. I don’t like to talk about Simone, but what you’ve heard isn’t true. I’m not that guy. And I’m not looking to jump your sister’s bones. It was just dinner. We had a good time.”

“Well, make it the last time, all right?”

“What if I don’t want to?”

Jamie crossed his arms and dropped his eyes to the floor. “This is my sister.”

“Fair enough. But—”

“There is nothing about you that’s good enough for her. You’re damaged. Your job is dangerous. Your partner is pregnant. And even aside from your reputation, there are the stone-cold facts of your divorce. You can’t argue those away.”

Luke’s heart paused.

“She had cancer, man. How could you have walked out like that?”

Luke’s vision went dark at the edges, and he considered warning Jamie that he shouldn’t say that sort of thing to a man with a gun strapped to his body. Because in that moment, Luke wanted to kill someone. He really, really did.

“We’re friends, Luke, but—”

Luke cut him off with a hard laugh. “That friendship was a long time ago, obviously.”

“I’m sorry. It’s none of my business, and I wouldn’t make it my business, but I don’t want you anywhere near Tessa, got it?”

“Fuck off,” Luke said. He slammed through the front door of the brewery, blood rushing so hard in his ears he almost walked right into a car that pulled up. Two business types got out of the car, each of them eyeing him warily. Luke just stalked around them and got into his own car. Even two states away, he couldn’t get away from it. Luke had been married and divorced in California, which was one of the reasons he’d moved back here. Yeah, word got around the department, but he hadn’t expected it to get back to everyone. He should have known better. Eve wasn’t from Boulder, but she’d gone to school here. People talked. They always did. Hell, the police wouldn’t solve any cases if people weren’t so inclined to spread rumors.

God, what a disaster.

His rage leveled off to frustration, a constant, scalding burn beneath his skin. Everything about his divorce was frustrating. Not that that shocked him. His marriage had been frustrating, too, but he’d loved her like crazy.

“Shit,” he spat out. At least the anger had smoked out his guilt about spying on Simone. He didn’t feel even a twinge as he started the car and headed back toward the doctor’s office. But he was still reeling under a healthy dose of Holy crap, Tessa Donovan is an untouched innocent as he wove his car through streets filled with packs of hunched-over bikers. Frankly, the various emotions careering through his body left him feeling vaguely ill.

When he arrived at the doctor’s office, there was Simone’s car, right up by the door in one of the spaces marked with a stork. Maybe she was alone, then. Luke rolled down his window and settled in to wait.

The cool spring sunshine did nothing to temper his mood. He stared unmoved at the pale green leaves of the aspen grove at the edge of the parking lot. A wall of gray clouds gathered at the horizon, and Luke chose to focus on those instead. By two o’clock, the town would be beset by thunder and lightning, a fairly common occurrence on spring days. What a relief that would be. The sun and chirping birds and flip-flops were just too much to take.

So he watched the clouds gather beyond the building and let his eyes slide to the entry each time the door opened. A half hour later, the door swung out to reveal Simone, alone. She juggled a stack of pamphlets while digging for keys in her purse.

Luke slid out of his car, and when his door shut, she looked up. For a moment, Simone only looked concerned. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing. I was just … worried about you.”

Her eyes jumped to his car, then back to him, and her face stiffened. “Are you following me?”

“No.”

“Really?” she snapped. “Because I don’t remember giving you the name and address of my doctor.”

“I didn’t follow you. I … detected my way here.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes. This is outrageous.”

He knew she was pissed. Hell, she was way past pissed if her flaring nostrils and reddening face were any indication. So Luke tried to tamp down his own feelings. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you going through this alone.”

She pushed past him and hit the unlock key, then threw everything into the passenger seat before rounding on him again. “How did you know I was alone? Or …” She gestured toward his car. “Was that the point of this? To find out who might be here with me?”

“No. No! It’s not about who the father is. I—”

“Really? Because you ask me every damn day. I’m sorry people think it’s you. I tell everyone who asks that it’s not. You’re the one who stopped denying it!”

“I’m trying to protect you.”

She threw her hands high. “I don’t need your protection!”

“Why not?” he yelled. Before the words had even left his mouth, he scrubbed his eyes with one hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell, I just … You’ve totally shut me out.”

Simone’s hand touched his arm, and when he looked down, he realized she hadn’t touched him in months. Not that she’d ever been overtly affectionate, but she’d never avoided him before.

“I’m sorry, Luke,” she said. “I’m sorry for what people are saying. And I’m sorry I can’t talk to you. I am.” Her fingers curled around his elbow, digging in. “I’m sorry about it all.”

Oh, Jesus. He started to reach for her, but she jerked away and dropped into the driver’s seat of her car.

“Just leave it alone, all right? I’m fine.” She slammed the door, nearly catching Luke’s elbow in the process, and he jumped back just as the engine roared to life. Simone roared out of there like a pregnant NASCAR driver, and she left Luke more frustrated than ever.

The door of the office opened behind him, and Luke looked back to be sure it wasn’t a big hulking bastard wearing a sign that said I Knocked Up Simone Parker. But it was just a petite blonde woman in pink scrubs. No such luck.

Thunder cracked in the distance, and Luke looked at his watch, hoping that he’d been standing there for hours and the day was almost done. But no, it wasn’t even noon. The whole day stretched before him, and most of it would be spent sitting next to his stubborn-ass partner. And now he didn’t even have the small hope that Tessa Donovan might call again.

Shit. The nausea in his stomach had focused itself into one spot, and Luke could already feel the ulcer starting. Yet another one to add to his collection.

CHAPTER SIX

BITCH, TESSA THOUGHT to herself, squeezing her fists tighter. Her knuckles shone white beneath the skin, and her nails bit into her palms, but she squeezed harder. She wanted to get up and pace, but she wouldn’t give Roland Kendall’s snotty receptionist the pleasure. The woman was already nasty enough, and she’d clearly relished the past four hours of watching Tessa squirm.

Two hours into it, she’d been forced to call in sick to work. She’d explained to Eric that her doctor wanted to run routine blood tests but she needed to go to a lab in Denver. To temper the lie, she said she’d take a vacation day and do some shopping, too.

He’d seemed distracted, and when she’d asked why, Eric said he was having trouble getting in touch with Roland Kendall. Tessa had felt as if she’d been flashed into another dimension at that moment. A world made of ice and anxiety.

But she’d talked herself down. Eric always had trouble getting in touch with Kendall because Kendall made a point of being hard to reach.

Nothing had changed except that now he was keeping two Donovans waiting.

Tessa glared at the receptionist’s bent head, focusing hard in the hopes that frustration would act as a magnifying glass and burn a hole into the woman’s scalp. But she didn’t even twitch. Not until Kendall’s office door opened and the man himself came into view.

Tessa sprang to her feet as Kendall walked out with his arm thrown around the shoulders of a man Tessa recognized from the newspaper. The Denver mayor, maybe? No, someone more important. A congressman.

Though she was standing three feet away, Kendall ignored her entirely as he walked his friend out.

For a moment, she considered following them out, then decided that kind of determination might get you arrested when a U.S. congressman was involved. So she held her ground, and a few minutes later, Kendall returned. He spared her a hard look.

“Mr. Kendall,” Tessa said brightly as she stepped into his path. “I’m Tessa Donovan.”

“I know who you are.”

Uh-oh. His voice dripped frost and disdain. He knew. There was no other explanation.

“I hoped we might be able to speak in private for a few minutes.”

“Is there really any point to that?”

Oh, God. This was bad. “I hope so, yes.”

“I’ll save you the time. I—”

“Please?” she asked softly. “Just one minute?” The man finally relented, whatever good that would do her.

He stalked into his office with Tessa on his heels. She closed the door behind her.

“Sit,” he said gruffly, waving toward a chair. She sat, but when he only stood above her, looming and stern, she stood again.

“My brother—” she started.

“Yes,” he spat, “your brother.”

Tessa cleared her throat and tried to think of some tack that might work. Unfortunately, the path to “please forgive my brother for doing your daughter” was narrow if nonexistent. “His behavior was … unwise.”

“Unwise!” Kendall said. “This is a multimillion-dollar business and he couldn’t keep his pants on for the time it takes to strike a deal.”

“Ah …” Tessa’s mouth wanted to say something about Kendall’s daughter not being able to keep her pants on, either, but she took a deep breath instead of slapping him in the face with that. “As a young businessperson myself, I’ve seen how work and social lives can so often intersect—”

“Unwise,” he repeated as if Tessa hadn’t spoken. “What kind of idiot risks a business deal over sex?”

Your daughter? her mind screamed. But she smothered her anger with a solemn nod. “Mr. Kendall, I’m sorry. It’s—”

“Your brother should be the one apologizing.”

“Oh, of course. He wants to. That’s why I’ve been calling. Absolutely. To schedule a meeting between you two.”

He seemed to buy that hook, line and sinker, probably because he assumed Tessa took care of phone duties around the office. The man was archaic.

“Screw it,” he growled. “It doesn’t matter. The deal is off.”

“No,” Tessa breathed. “No. This is business, Mr. Kendall, just like you said. Jamie and Monica are adults who let things get out of hand while they were discussing business—”

“He put his hands on my daughter!” Kendall shouted. “Do you really think I’m going to do business with the man now?”

“You won’t have to! Eric and I will take care of everything. If you never want to see Jamie again, I understand. I’ll keep him away from your daughter, too. I promise.” Okay, she had no idea how she’d keep that promise, but panic bubbled through her like she was a shaken soda can. Every single criticism Eric had ever thrown in Jamie’s face was about to turn into solid stone. A giant boulder of scorn and anger and frustration between the two of them. And where would that leave her? Her brothers were all she had.

Kendall paced away from her to stare out the window that overlooked the whole front range from Pike’s Peak to Long’s Peak. He glared at the mountains as if he could crumble them with his eyes.

Tessa crossed her fingers until she lost all sensation in her hands. Please, please, please.

“No,” he finally said.

“Mr. Kendall, don’t make a final decision now. You’re angry. Of course you are. So just give it a couple of days. We’re a family business like the Kendall Group is. It gives us our strength, but it makes things complicated, too, doesn’t it?”

His eye twitched. Just his left eye, and she took that as a good sign.

“My father started Donovan Brothers twenty-five years ago, and he named it in honor of the brother he lost in Vietnam. Both our parents died when Eric was only twenty-four. Just a kid. He could’ve sold the brewery. Anyone else would have. But he took over and built it up to what it is today. It’s a strong company, but it’s strong because of family, just like your companies are. Please. Take a few days. Look at the numbers Eric gave you. This deal would be good for both our families, I promise.”

He looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. “The answer is still going to be no. But I’m going to New York for a few days, so I’ll sit on it until I get back. A week. That’s the best I can do.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Kendall. That’s all I ask. Just a few days.” She rushed forward and grabbed his hand. “Thank you,” she said again, shaking his hand too hard.

He finally extricated himself and waved her toward the door, and Tessa walked out surrounded by a bubble of hope. She didn’t even sneer at the receptionist as she passed. A few days. A few days of not panicking, and she just might pull off the impossible. If only she could get all the men in her life to cooperate at the exact same time….

LUKE LOOKED OVER the pile of files to see Simone grab her jacket and walk out of the station without a backward glance. Sure, it was quitting time, but she could’ve at least waved on her way out. Or given him the finger. She was clearly still pissed about him following her. Well, that was fine. He was still pissed about everything else, so his self-righteousness was safe.

Closing the manila folder in front of him, he transferred it to the short stack of files, and grabbed another from the tall stack. He and Simone were going through every commercial break-in from the past two years to see if they could link any of them to the newer robberies. Five hours later, and they hadn’t found a damn thing.

He was thankful for the quiet of the glassed-in conference room, but the stark fluorescents were giving him a headache on top of the headache he’d had when he came in. Luke closed his eyes and laid his head against the seat back. The tight muscles of his neck stretched. His spine popped. But his mind still twitched like a dying fish. He’d come back to Boulder to simplify his life. Yet another failure to chalk up on his list.

When his cell rang, he ignored the first few chirps before he stretched and looked down at it. He couldn’t have been more surprised by the name on the screen than if it had been Santa Claus.

“What the hell?” he muttered. He hit the call button and put the phone tentatively to his ear.

“Luke?” a sweet voice said.

“Yes.”

“It’s Tessa. How are you?”

“I’m … Yeah, I’ve been better. I wasn’t expecting you to call.”

“Oh. Did Jamie talk to you?”

“Yes,” he said, his muscles tightening anew. “He did.”

Silence drew between them for a moment, and then he heard Tessa inhale on the other end of the line. “Is it true? About your partner?”

He closed his eyes. “No.”

“Does everyone think it’s true?”

“Yes.”

She sighed and Luke waited for the next question. “Why?” she finally asked.

And Luke found himself telling the truth about it for the first time. “Everyone thinks it’s me because Simone and I are close. We were best friends. But we were never lovers.”

“So who’s the father?”

It was Luke’s turn to sigh. “I don’t know. It’s a long story.”

“You sound sad.”

Sad. Yeah. That actually made him smile. “I guess that’s one word for it.”

“Pissed?”

He smiled wider. “Maybe.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Luke frowned at the pen he was pushing around the table. “I don’t think that’s—”

“Come on. Just come over. Bring me dinner.”

“I …” Okay, this was awkward. Given any other circumstances, he would put up his hands and back slowly away from a hot virgin with two protective older brothers. Why the heck did she have to be the only person who managed to make him smile these days? Damn it, he said silently, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

“All right,” she said, her voice pulling down in disappointment. “I understand. I guess I’m the definition of complicated.”

Her? Good God. “Don’t be stupid, Tessa. I’ll be there in half an hour. Burgers okay?”

“I assume you mean burgers from the Sink?”

He grinned at the table. “I do.”

“Cheeseburger with guac,” she said quickly. “No onions. And park behind the house.” With that reminder of how idiotic they were both being, Tessa hung up the phone, probably afraid he’d call it off. Because any sane man would.

Yeah. That sounded about right. Any sane man.

At least he could claim one small comfort. There was no possible way he was sleeping with Tessa Donovan tonight, so she was probably the safest woman he could have dinner with.

“Even I’m not that stupid,” he muttered as he packed up his files and grabbed his keys. “No way.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

HE WASN’T A MISOGYNISTIC asshole with a pregnant girlfriend. He was just a hot single cop who was bringing her a cheeseburger.

Tessa smiled as she fired up the stereo, damn happy with the way this day was turning out. It might even call for a little Van Morrison. Yeah, it definitely called for Van Morrison. Tessa turned on “Brown Eyed Girl” and danced into the kitchen to finish tidying up.

She’d saved the day—probably—and now she was going to get the man—maybe. What more could a girl ask for? Feeling a lovely bond with all the other women in the world, Tessa typed up tonight’s Twitter message and sent it out.

Feeling my Celtic roots tonight, ladies. You know what that means. Come on by & and say sláinte.

Jamie had been wearing his kilt tonight, and their Twitter feed was already buzzing with it.

She was still grinning when a car door shut in the alley behind her house, and Tessa rushed to the back door to open it. But her smile fell when she saw Luke. He looked exhausted. As if five days had passed since she’d seen him and he hadn’t slept a wink since.

“Luke! You look awful!”

His brow crumpled even as his mouth turned up at the corners. “That’s a terrible way to greet a man who comes bearing burgers.”

“I’m sorry! You just look tired.”

“Fair enough. I am.”

Tired, but still hot and strong. So she kissed his cheek as she took the bag from his hand and led him into her lair. “Red wine with burgers, do you think?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t want to think about beer tonight,” she explained.

“Red wine, it is.”

Half a bottle and two burgers later, they were sitting snug on her couch with the music turned down to a whisper so they could talk. “So tell me why you look so beat up today. Big murder case?”

“You’re determined to turn me into a TV show, aren’t you?”

“Well, for a minute there, you were headed into Jerry Springer territory. I’m trying to steer you back toward CSI.”

“Oh, right. That.” The tightness around his eyes told Tessa that this was what had been weighing on him.

She raised her eyebrows and waited.

“I don’t really talk about it.” He paused as if that would be enough, but Tessa didn’t let him off the hook. “My partner. It’s complicated.”

“Complicated as in … you’re in love with her and she has a boyfriend?”

“No!” He shook his head. “But you put it in perspective, I suppose. Complicated as in, she’s pregnant and she won’t talk to me about it.”

Tessa felt the exact moment when her heart began to melt. She could actually feel it go warm and squishy inside her. “I’m sorry, Luke.”

“She’s not married. There’s no boyfriend. She’s alone.”

“Maybe she’s okay with that.”

His frown turned angry for a moment. “That’s the thing. Simone would be okay with that. So why the hell isn’t she?”

“She won’t tell you anything?”

“Nothing. And I …” He raised a hand as if he were going to make a point, but his fingers hovered, half curled, before he dropped his hand to his knee. “I just want to fix it.”

Aw. Tessa took his hand and curled her feet beneath her to scoot a little closer. Men were such adorable creatures. He was going crazy because he couldn’t fix everything for his partner.

She stroked his fingers until they curled around hers. “How far along is she?”

“Seven months, I think.”

“And she wasn’t dating anyone last year?”

“No. Not that she told me.”

She wove her fingers between his and stroked his thumb with hers. “Is she … Is it possible she, um, went to a clinic and did it herself?”

Luke sighed, and his body relaxed back into the couch as if someone had cut his strings. “It’s possible. I’ve never asked her if … She doesn’t date much, so there was talk. Stereotypical bullshit, and it’s nobody’s business but Simone’s.”

Tessa squeezed his hand.

“But … I thought she’d tell me.”

She cocked her head and studied his face as he stared at some faraway spot. “You’re sure you’re not in love with her?”

He smiled and his eyes finally found her. “It’s not like that between us,” he said. “Promise.”

“I’m glad,” she whispered, and his eyelids dipped. He stared at her mouth. Tessa suffered a nearly irrepressible urge to lean forward. To taste him. To lick at his bottom lip until he devoured her. But she didn’t kiss him; she just stroked his thumb, over and over. Luke blinked slowly, and then he pulled her in.

Triumph roared in her blood, but it was premature. Luke’s mouth hovered over hers, but their lips didn’t touch. Her breath quickened. His hand curved around her neck. For a long moment, Luke rested his forehead against hers.

Just as it occurred to her that he might not kiss her at all, Luke whispered, “Damn,” and his lips touched hers.

Tessa’s heartbeat jumped to a frightening pace. He kissed her so softly, but she could taste him as his mouth parted, slowly opening her body to him. His tongue touched hers and she gasped into him.

Oh, God, he tasted good. So good. Tessa’s body went hot in a sudden rush of lust. She spread both her hands on his chest, but Luke didn’t deepen the kiss as she’d expected. His hand stayed light against the back of her neck. His tongue still teased her. He seemed content to taste and taste again. But Tessa wanted to drown.

Something about this man inspired a strange mix of urgency and vulnerability that turned her into a bundle of need. Clearly, Luke wasn’t laboring under the same burden. His tongue slid over hers with such slow sensuality that she found herself whimpering, hoping he only needed a hint.

But no. It was just his mouth on hers, his fingers against her neck. Then his other hand rose to spread over her shoulder, and shivers shot along her skin.

Screw it. She was all in. Tessa eased closer and straddled his legs.

“Mmph,” he said against her mouth. Ignoring his surprise, she pressed her belly to his and took advantage of her new leverage to kiss him deeper.

Luke groaned and his fingers finally tightened against the back of her neck. The roughness of his hands only made her hotter. She was wet already, aroused as all hell, and they’d only kissed. Tessa wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair so she could press her body more firmly to him. The hand that had been holding her shoulder slid down until his fingers framed her ribs.

Now, finally, his kisses grew rough. Gorgeously rough. His mouth tasted of heat and wine, and the scent of his skin clung so tightly to him that she had to press closer and closer to get enough of it. Her shifting proved that she wasn’t the only one aroused. But when she rolled her hips into him, Luke jerked his head back, breaking the kiss.

“Wait,” he gasped.

Tessa froze. What the heck?

“We can’t …”

“Can’t what?” she asked with a frown that felt decidedly grumpy.

“Can’t … do any of this.”

Tessa scooted back a little so she could meet his gaze. “Do you have a girlfriend? Not your partner, but someone else?”

“No. That’s not it. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Good.” She started to scoot forward again, but Luke’s hands gripped her hips and held her back. He shook his head, his eyes going wider as each second passed. He looked … scared?

“What’s wrong?” Tessa pressed.

“Nothing! I just … I should go. That’s all.”

“You’re kidding. You need to leave right now? In the middle of this?”

He didn’t answer, just watched her as if she might grow tentacles at any moment.

Tessa shrugged. “Just give me a few more minutes.” She leaned in and kissed him before he could say no. Her ploy worked for a moment. He moaned when their tongues met and immediately picked up the kiss where they’d left off.

She would’ve smiled if she could have, but Tessa didn’t want to frighten the man. She had him just where she wanted him: under her and falling fast.

And it felt good. It felt good and that was all she wanted right now.

NO, NO, NO, Luke’s brain was chanting, but the message broke up before it reached his body. Her mouth was so hot. Just pure wet heat. He wanted to get deeper. Deeper inside her fiery body. Good Christ, what would that feel like?

Stop! his brain bellowed. Luke’s body jerked at the command, and he managed to pull away. “Stop,” he groaned.

This woman was a virgin. He had no intention of taking her virginity, so there was no point going any further. His resistance was more effective this time. Tessa scrambled off his legs and stood in front of him.

“What is wrong with you?” she demanded.

So many things. But he wasn’t going to add “deflowerer of innocent women” to his list of dubious accomplishments, so he croaked out, “Nothing,” and pushed to his feet.

Tessa backed up and crossed her arms. “Well, you look like you were having a good time.” Her eyes dipped down to aim her gaze at his lap.

He fought the urge to shield himself from her sight. She probably understood what happened down there, anatomically speaking. Her brothers hadn’t mentioned anything about a convent education.

“I’m sorry, Tessa,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I shouldn’t have come over. I’m honored, but …” He backed away, heading for the door.

“Honored? What the heck are you talking about?”

“Look,” he finally said. “I know, okay? I know.”

“Know what?”

“About your …” He made a vague gesture toward her middle.

Tessa shot an impatient glance down her body. “This is getting really weird, Luke. Just go.”

She’d given him permission to escape, but now he couldn’t move. Tessa’s sweet face was creased in a frown of confusion. He’d rejected her, and she didn’t know why. If she’d really wanted to have sex … Surely that kind of rejection could scar a virgin for life. What if he permanently damaged her blossoming sexuality? His mind spun with horror.

“Go,” she said. “I won’t jump you when you turn your back on me. Shoo. You’re free!”

He should never have come over. This was too much pressure. Luke turned up his palms in a helpless plea. “Maybe we could just watch a movie or something. Get to know each other as friends.”

Tessa drew herself straight and gave him a tight smile. “You seem like a really nice guy, Luke. Honestly. But I’m starting to get a weird Madonna-whore-complex vibe from you. And I don’t feel like watching a movie. Or pretending to be a saint. So I’ll see you around, okay?”

“Madonna-whore complex?”

“It’s a psychological term for men who—”

“I know what it is and I don’t have it!”

“Oh, come on. You think I’m nice. You’re honored that I’m sexually interested in you? And then there’s the pregnant woman you want to save. The first step is admitting you have a problem.”

He’d been cursed. He was sure of it. Cursed to never have a simple, straightforward relationship with a woman. But he was a willing participant, wasn’t he? He’d come over here knowing damn well that he shouldn’t. Then he’d kissed her because … just because he’d wanted it so badly. And she was way off base about his interest in her. He thought she was nice and he wanted to fuck her all at the same time.

Tessa growled and squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh, just go already! You look so cute standing there. It’s not fair.”

He could not leave like this. There were too many rumors floating around about him as it was. He’d be damned if he’d add sexual deviant to the list. Luke took a steadying breath, and he said it. “You’re a virgin.”

Her jaw dropped and she took a step back. “What?”

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but … I can’t pretend I don’t know. I’m sorry. This is incredibly awkward.”

Tessa uncrossed her arms and held her hands up in a calming motion. He recognized it because he’d used it a thousand times in his career. “Okay, I’m not sure what kind of fantasy you’re creating here, but I don’t want any part of it.”

“Fantasy?”

“Yeah, it’s a little early in this relationship for role-playing.”

“Are you kidding me? I stopped you!”

Her eyes slid to one side and then the other, as if she were searching for answers in her living room. “I don’t understand. Why would you think I’m a virgin?”

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