It didn't matter that this wasn't the apartment that I shared with Declan. I knew if it wasn't spotless that I would get that judgmental look from Linda. The one where she pursed her lips and shook her head just seconds before those words fell from her mouth . . . "Oh sweet girl, bless your heart."

Instead of helping me as any friend should, Taylor had spiraled down into a mini meltdown over meeting Jentry-as she had all week after we'd found out that Jentry would for sure be joining us.

I'd heard about Jentry a lot over the course of my relationship with Dec. He was Declan's best friend and adopted brother, and had gone into the Marine Corps after high school. I didn't know all the details of the adoption; only that it had happened when the boys were younger.

Jentry had left for his last tour overseas right before I met Declan, and the last I'd heard was that he planned to get out soon, but I didn't know when that was supposed to happen. Declan had gone over to Camp Lejeune for Jentry's return from Iraq, but hadn't seen him since then and talked about him constantly. So I knew they were both excited about this weekend.

As I had been before I'd found out about our visitors tomorrow.

As Taylor had been before she'd decided that she suddenly had insecurities even though she was the most confident person I knew.

A satisfied smile spread across my face as I looked around the living room. Just try to find a speck of dust in here, Linda!

"I think I want to go back home," Taylor continued even though I'd never responded.

With a huff, I turned to look at her. "You're staying here, and you're going to get over yourself. You are the one who was so interested in Jentry whenever Declan mentioned him. And you are the one who suggested this weekend, so you can't back out now!"

"But now I realize how awkward it is. This is the worst idea I've ever had." She made a face when I just raised an eyebrow. "Okay, one of the worst ideas I've ever had. He just got back from Iraq not long ago; he isn't going to want some stranger intruding on his weekend!"

I groaned and rubbed at my eyes with the backs of my hands so I wouldn't transfer any lingering cleaner. "Taylor, have you forgotten I still haven't met- You know what? I don't have time for this."

"It would just help me if I knew what he looked like." Taylor and I had had this same conversation at least fifteen times by now. I didn't know why she kept going back to it.

"For the hundredth time-"

"Don't exaggerate."

"I don't even know what he looks like. You were right there with me when Declan said that Jentry doesn't mess with social media. I already tried talking to Linda to see if there were pictures of the boys, but I bet you can guess how well that went."

"Fabulously, I'm sure." Taylor sighed dramatically. "Why can't guys take pictures of themselves the way we do?"

I studied her for a second, then asked, "Do you really need me to answer that?"

She blinked quickly, then made a face like she'd just eaten something sour. "No. I'm just psyching myself out. In my mind, Jentry is this ripped, s.e.xy bada.s.s-but not in a good way. In one of those ways that you're afraid of what he would do to you if you let him get too close. And then in my dreams, he's a scrawny creep who smells. Both kind of make me want to run back home."

I groaned and scrambled to my feet. "I'm sure he'll be average in every way. I'm going to hop in the shower and get ready."

"I don't want him to be average, either!" she called out as I walked to the kitchen to put the cleaning supplies away.

"Well, he has to be something! And unless you want to meet him in that, I suggest you go get ready, too." I looked pointedly at her fuzzy socks and holey sweats, and reminded her, "It's summer."

"Don't knock the outfit because you're not as comfortable as I am."

"You don't look comfortable, you look hot."

Taylor lifted an eyebrow suggestively. "Why, thank you."

I couldn't stop the soft laugh that bubbled up from my chest. "You know that's not what I meant." Turning away from her, I walked toward the bedroom I was sharing with Declan. "Get ready, Taylor."

"I'm going home!"

"No, you aren't. He'll be great, I'm sure!" I hope. For the sake of this weekend, I really hope.

If I was about to spend the weekend with Declan's mom, then I didn't need Taylor blaming me if Jentry ended up being anything less than amazing.

Jentry

Declan rolled the pa.s.senger window down as he rolled to a stop where I stood on the sidewalk waiting for him, and called out in a high-pitched voice, "Hey, Marine, wanna go for a ride?"

My chest shook with silent laughter. "G.o.d, I don't know why I'm friends with you."

He held a hand dramatically to his chest and gave me an offended look as I slid into the pa.s.senger seat of his truck. "That hurts."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," I mumbled, and knocked his shoulder with my fist. "Thanks for coming to get me, man. I need this weekend."

"Of course. It's been too long, and it was too good an opportunity to pa.s.s up." He glanced at me with a mocking grin. "Really, though, how many girls pulled up and asked you that before I got here?"

My mouth curved up, because even though Declan had sounded ridiculous when he pulled up, he had sounded like one of the many overly confident girls who scoured the base, looking for any lonely guy. "Let's just say it was more than one."

He laughed, then grimaced. "Aren't you afraid you'll catch something . . . or meet their husbands?"

"Which is why I don't go near them," I said honestly. "Not worth it; I'd rather find someone who didn't want me for a uniform."

He sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Yeah, about that. Taylor-Rorie's friend that you're meeting tonight-she heard the word Marine and about died. So she's probably not your best option, either."

A huff shot from my chest. I hadn't even been in the truck for three minutes, and Declan was already mentioning his girlfriend. That might have been a new record for him.

"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll be sure to stay away." Not that I'd needed his warning to want to. It would be impossible to find another girl I wanted to give even half an hour of my time to. It had been impossible for over ten months now. I reached over and swatted at Declan's tie and said, "Maybe I'll just steal Rorie, since she prefers contractors in ties."

He shot me a weak glare and loosened the tie to slip it over his head. "Touch my girl, see how long it takes me to kill you."

A wicked smile crossed my face as I taunted him. "But it would be such a fun challenge."

"Okay." He shrugged and nodded. "I guess I'm killing you now."

A sharp laugh burst from my chest. "No, you know I'm happy for you. I don't want your girl. I want . . ." I trailed off and blew out a slow breath before mumbling softly, "I want something I can't have."

"What do you-wait, you met someone and didn't tell me about it? Who is she?"

She's a violet-eyed siren who probably isn't even real. Flashes from a night-or maybe a dream-all those months ago hit me hard, and I welcomed every one of them.

"Is she married?" Declan asked suddenly.

My head snapped to the left to look at his curious expression, and it took me a few seconds to remember what he'd been asking. "Married? No. She's just-I'm pretty sure she doesn't exist."

The curiosity on his face vanished. "Man, how many drugs are you on?"

"Yeah, none," I said with a laugh. "Forget I said anything."

When Dec's cell phone chimed he grabbed it from where it sat in the cup holder and glanced at the screen for a second before setting it back down. As he did, an uncomfortable tension suddenly filled the small s.p.a.ce. Before I could question it, he cleared his throat and said, "Hey . . . speaking of drugs, there's something I think you should know."

My brow furrowed as I waited for him to elaborate. "You already warned me about Taylor; you don't need to continue adding reasons for me to stay away." I tried to say it jokingly, but my voice came out strained.

There weren't many reasons Declan would bring up drugs around me, and even though I hoped I was wrong, I had a feeling I knew where this conversation was about to go. The simple thought of it-of her-set me on edge.

"Jessica found me," he finally said with a rush.

I hissed out a curse when his rapid confession confirmed my worries, then sighed through my nose as I tried to figure a way out of this conversation. But I still found myself gesturing to his phone and asking, "Was that her?"

"No. Dad."

I nodded, and after a moment, admitted, "Yeah, she found me, too. I don't know how. We've talked a few times since I got back."

Each time had been worse than the time before it, and much worse than the previous time she'd found me. My hands slowly clenched into fists as I thought about her words and her taunts and her desperate pleas.

Declan looked quickly between the road and me. "I didn't tell her how to find you, Jent, I swear. I haven't been responding to her."

"I know you wouldn't have," I responded numbly. "When have you ever? She just has her ways." After all, psychotic people are usually brilliant. "How long ago did she find you?"

"Just after you got back from this last tour; right before I graduated. She was in my room at the frat house one day when I got back from my cla.s.ses, and I know I'd locked my door before I'd left."

A sound between a laugh and a sneer left me. "And how did that reunion go? Did you need to tell Rorie about it?"

Declan knew what I was implying and referring to. It had been the only time Dec and I had fought. One of the only times I had ever truly scared myself . . .

He rubbed a hand over his face, and kept it over his mouth when he mumbled, "I didn't know, dude."

"I know."

"And there was nothing to tell Rorie. I made Jessica leave. . . . I had to give her money, but I made her leave." When I just nodded absentmindedly, Declan said, "So you've talked to her?"

I paused for a second before saying, "A few times, for as long as I can handle her."

"About-"

"I don't want to do this," I said roughly. "Not now. Maybe not ever if she can't figure her s.h.i.t out."

"Well, that's not a possibility."

My brows lifted in agreement though I knew he couldn't see. Clearing my throat, I attempted to put all thoughts of Jessica out of mind by switching the conversation to Declan's favorite topic these days. "So what else has been going on since graduation? I know you moved in with your girl. What is she doing now that you're back working for Dad?"

Dec gave me a look that said he wouldn't forget this conversation, but thankfully let it go for now. "She's been neurotically cleaning our apartment. Actually, she just heard back from an elementary school on a kindergarten position, so she's excited about that."

Declan dated pageant queens and girls that-well . . . that looked like wh.o.r.es. None of them had the teacher look or were obsessive cleaners. Knowing Dec had been continuously cheated on by one of those girls not long before he met Rorie, I was wondering if he went for the first girl he found who was the exact opposite, and now all I could picture was our third-grade teacher, Miss Haggerty.

She had been the very definition of a lonely cat woman and had smelled like she never showered or washed her clothes though she was constantly cleaning the cla.s.sroom. She also dressed like she was homeless.

Declan glanced at me and laughed at my expression. "What?"

"So she's a teacher and a neurotic cleaner." I blew out a slow breath and tilted my head to the side. "She sounds fun, Dec."

He was shaking his head before I'd finished talking. "No, it's not like that. The cleaning . . . Rorie just started it, and I'm positive it's only because she's trying to impress Mom. She's not usually like that. And what's wrong with being a teacher?"

"Nothing. I just know the kind of girls you've been with in the past, and suddenly you're with an OCD girl who wants to be an elementary school teacher. It's the complete opposite of what you usually go for, so I'm picturing a really boring girl who looks like Miss Haggerty."

"Again, what's wrong with that?" he asked innocently, and barked out a laugh when he saw the disgust that flashed across my face.

"I'm joking. Rorie . . . she's . . . G.o.d, I don't even know where to start with her, or how to explain her other than what I've told you. She's quiet at first, yeah, but give her a bit and she'll open up. There's just something about her that draws you in. I don't know what it is or how to explain it. You'll see when you meet her. But boring?" He grinned impishly and let that hang in the air for a few seconds. "f.u.c.k . . . the last thing you could say about that girl is that she's boring."

His tone hinted at everything he wasn't saying, and made his attraction to a girl I was still picturing as Miss Haggerty make sense. "Really?"

He raised a brow and looked over at me for a second before looking back at the road. "Best of my life."

"Come on, Dec. . . ."

"I'm not kidding. It's like someone unleashes her, she becomes a totally different person." He stopped talking abruptly, and I knew in the way he was clenching his jaw that he was done talking about that part of their relationship.

Before, we would share stories about every girl-but I understood his want to keep Rorie to himself. I had one of those, too.

"d.a.m.n you for finding the girl every guy wants," I mumbled, but couldn't stop the genuine smile that crossed my face. He deserved Rorie after his last relationship. "You better marry her before your dumb a.s.s messes up."

Aurora

An hour and a half later, I was showered and shaved, my hair was falling down to my waist in large, loose curls, and my makeup had never cooperated so well. If everything else failed this weekend, at least I would have tonight.

"Are you re- Whoa, Rorie!" Taylor skidded to a stop just inside the closet. Her eyes were wide when she found me. "Just which one of us is meeting someone new tonight?"

I rolled my eyes but didn't respond as I started dressing.

"Since when did you start wearing s.e.xy lingerie?"

"Since I started sleeping with a boyfriend who really likes finding out what I'm wearing underneath." I gave her a knowing look as I fought a grin.