He just nodded.

“I always wondered what it would be like, having a sister.” She slid him a look. “I’ve got cousins—none of them are close except Kiara. That’s Neeci’s mama and we don’t have an easy relationship. What’s it like, having a big family like that? Were you ever lonely?”

“There are always times when somebody can feel alone,” he said softly. “But when you’ve got a family like mine—and it’s not the size of the family, really, but being close—all you have to do is pick up the phone. Knock on a door. I didn’t always knock when I should have, didn’t pick up the phone.”

She linked her hand with his and for a long moment, both of them were quiet.

It was an easy quiet—he liked it. He could see the two of them sitting just like that. And his mind started to spin up scenarios of maybe her sitting in the living room with him, just like this . . .

“I’m going to have to head out soon.”

Ressa’s low voice cut into the hazy fantasy winding into place in his head and he cleared his throat. He was messed up. He was here with a beautiful woman—one he’d already slept with, tasted, touched, a woman he wanted like mad—a woman who’d then brushed him off.

Complicated.

Yeah.

That pretty much summed it up.

Still, it would be worth it. Whatever her complications were, whatever hurdles they might have, he thought it would be worth it.

“I . . .”

“Look . . .”

They both spoke at once, and he grimaced, looked away.

“I want to see you again,” he said when she stayed silent. “Often. A lot. I’m going to be blunt and say it flat out—I want to see you in my bed. I want to take you out on a date, I want to press you up against the nearest hard surface and kiss you until we’re both senseless. I want to take you and Clay . . .” Then he paused, grinned. “Your cousin. Neeci? Her, too. We can go to the beach and they can run each other wild while we take it easy. I want all of that.”

She opened her mouth, her eyes going hazy.

Trey pressed his thumb to her mouth. “But I’ve already told you I wanted more with you. So . . . we’ve had coffee. Now you decide if we try for anything more or if you’d just rather everything stay in the past.” He paused and then added, “But if that’s what we’re doing, then you need to know . . . I’m not trying to be an ass, but I don’t want to pretend like we’re friends from here on out, either. I can’t be near you without wanting you and I’m not going to pretend otherwise.”

She caught his wrist, tugged it down.

“And if those complications I told you about turn out to be more complicated than you thought?” she asked softly, nerves dancing across her face.

Something inside him unknotted. Relaxed. He felt like he could breathe deeper, see clearer. “Unless you’ve got the Russian mafia out after you, then I’ll deal.”

“No . . .” She leaned in and dropped her head against his shoulder. She smoothed a hand down the shoulder of his polo, like there was some imaginary wrinkle. If there was, he was going to put in a dozen more to just have her touching him again. “No mob bosses running me down, Trey.”

“Then maybe you can go ahead and give me your phone number.” The way her mouth curved up ever so slightly was going to drive him nuts. “Maybe we can . . . I don’t know . . . grab coffee again. Or dinner.”

“I love both.”

*   *   *

“What’s up with you?” Farrah eyed her suspiciously as she came into the employee area.

“What? Nothing. Hey . . . why are you here?”

Immediately, she knew she’d been a little too jumpy with her answer, but she tried to skate by anyway, feigning a look of wide-eyed innocence, one that fooled nobody. Farrah made that clear by the way she crossed her arms over her chest and started to tap a tiny foot.

“Oh!” Ressa focused on the glittery, strappy silver sandal. “Where did you get those? They are so cute!”

“Zappos. Now let’s get back to the subject. You . . .” Farrah walked closer, circling around Ressa with narrowed eyes. Lips pursed, she raked a gaze over Ressa and then stopped in front of her, planting all five foot one inch of herself in the middle of Ressa’s path. “What is up with you?”

“Not a thing.” Ressa smoothed a hand back over her hair and then glanced down at her clothes. She’d spent the past thirty minutes or so wandering around, trying to clear her head because being with Trey muddled it. Muddled it enough that she’d lost track of time and had almost been late.

She’d ducked into the bathroom before she’d hurried in here, worried the wind or the heat or . . . something . . . would show on her face, but with a smile that seemed to be perpetually locked in place, she thought she looked fine.

Apparently she’d missed something. “I swung by the coffee shop and had a panini and iced coffee before I came in. I don’t have spinach between my teeth or anything, do I? What brings you out this way?”

It wasn’t completely a lie. She’d eaten the panini on her way in, and now she was worried she might have something trapped between her teeth.

“No.” Farrah raked her with a rueful look. “You look gorgeous as always. You look like you’ve been . . . son of a bitch. Did you hook up with somebody last night?”

“What? No.” Ressa edged around Farrah and shoved her purse into the locker she’d been assigned. “You do remember that I have a five-year-old child living with me, right?”

“Okay. This morning. Did you hook up with some beautiful piece of man flesh this morning after you dropped her off? Oh! Hey, how was my baby’s first day?”

Beautiful piece of man flesh—Ressa made the lightning adjustment as Farrah’s mind jumped from one track to the other. “I think she’ll do fine.” That’s good. Focus on Neeci. “The first day, she’s worried . . . wishes Kiara was here.”

Farrah rolled her eyes. “Sooner or later, she’ll realize how lucky she is that her mama isn’t here.” Then, with a lift of one slim brow and a sly grin, Farrah’s mind shifted track once more.

Back to the beautiful piece of man flesh, and yeah, that described Trey rather well, although he was so much more.

And they didn’t hook up. They’d done that already.

“No. I didn’t have a hook up this morning,” she said tartly, looking back at Farrah over her shoulder. “I dealt with Neeci, went and had coffee, some food. Came here. Fascinating morning.”

Farrah didn’t look like she entirely believed her. But she shrugged. “Okay, girl. If you say so. Anyway . . . I took half a day off. I have to go get fitted—”

“Shit!” Ressa squeezed her eyes shut. “That’s today.”

“Yep.” For a moment, Farrah’s face all but glowed. “Just a few more of these things and then . . .”

Farrah sighed happily. Ressa would have rolled her eyes at the almost rapturous look of bliss on her friend’s face, but in truth, she was more than a little jealous. “I want pictures,” she said.

“I know, I know. I just wanted to remind you that your fitting is in tomorrow. And I’ve been told to tell you—eat.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ressa didn’t need the pointed look to drive the comment home again. She’d lost a few pounds between the original fitting and when she’d gotten to try the dress on again after the hem had been brought up.

The cause for the change in her weight? A total lack of appetite. Brought on by lack of sleep, a terminal case of lust, and loneliness, all of which started in New Jersey. And now she was worried it might start all over again.

“Don’t worry,” Ressa said with a game smile. “I’ll fit in the da—the dress.”

Farrah studied her, and it was too hard to hold her friend’s eyes so Ressa busied herself putting on the lanyard that held her ID card and checking her hair.

After a few more seconds, Farrah just sighed. “Okay, honey. I’ll see you tomorrow night, right?”