Max's eyes were half-closed as he scanned the dark yard around the fire pit. The guy had been drinking since three, and now he was full-on shit-faced.

Gavin and I weren't as bad off as he was, just warmed enough to take the edge off the fact that it was only forty-some degrees outside.

"This is the first time we've seen real autumn leaves in at least a year." Gavin took a sip of his whiskey. "I feel like doing one of those rubbings with a crayon and paper. Like a kid." He picked a leaf up off the ground, twirling it around by the stem.

Max shoved him with his elbow. "Only rubbing you need is over your cock by the sexy-looking twin sisters we just saw walking by." On cue, two ladies, both dressed in skintight jeans, crossed our path. Max was damn near drooling as he watched them wave and giggle, while Gavin just nodded his appreciation, smiling over the top of his cup. My two brothers couldn't have been more different.

Part of me was excited to be out with my guys tonight. Chloe was with my parents, and I was free from dad duties for the first time in months. Fresh air, good drinks, good friends, and one hell of a good time. The only thing that would make this better was if Addie were here with me-Addie who'd been ignoring my calls all night.

"Shots! Let's do 'em. Time to celebrate. Get drunk." Max's gaze followed the twin ladies as they moved our way. "Fuck the shots. I've got something much better to do."

Max was off. Thinking Gavin wasn't far behind, I turned to him, taking a sip of my Bud. "Not interested?"

He stared down at the fire, face blank. "Nah. Not in the mood." He cleared this throat and kicked some loose brush into the fire. It sparked up, flicking pieces of ash into the sky. "Your parents are back in town for the weekend, then? How are they?"

I nodded, sitting down in a nearby lawn chair. "They're good. Came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us a week early. Mom's making dinner for us all tomorrow."

Gavin grunted. Guy was about as big on conversation as I was.

"How's work?" I asked.

"It's work." He took a longer drink, draining his cup. "How's Addison? Saw her at the game today." He stared down at me, accusation heavy in his eyes.

I flinched. Was that what his issue was? "She's great, Gav." I sucked in a deep breath, ready to stake a claim I wasn't even sure I had a right to.

After what had happened between us in the bathroom the day before, too many things had been left unsaid, mainly because Chloe had woken up and distracted us both. I could tell Addison wanted to talk about things, but I wasn't ready-at least not then. Just hoped she could be patient with me.

"Told you she's a catch," he grumbled, slouching down next to me.

Hell yeah she was. "Been thinking about things with her. Pursuing something-"

"Gotta piss." Throwing his cup in the fire, Gavin stood.

"The hell?" I whispered as I watched him go. Pissed he'd run off, I followed him. "Gavin!"

He didn't look back at me, just kept going, too chickenshit to face me for some reason.

I jumped in front of him. "You got a problem?"

He froze, hands at his sides and elbows locked. Still didn't say squat though, just glared at me like I'd sprouted a horn.

"Gonna tell me what that was all about?" I pushed.

His shoulders tensed, along with his jaw, but his gaze was locked on something behind me.

Just when I didn't think I'd gotten through to him, he finally opened his mouth. "She's good. Sweet as hell, kind, doesn't need to be treated like trash. If all you want is a good fuck, then I suggest you find someone else to do it with."

Anger radiated through my body, making my hands shake. The hell was he trying to say here? What gave him the right to be Addie's new guardian? He wasn't her brother, wasn't her father either. Just a guy who'd decided she wasn't the bad distraction he'd once assumed her to be.

But I couldn't tell him what I thought of his sudden need to protect this girl from me, of all people, because Gav wasn't who he used to be. He'd grown edgier, angrier. I knew I had to tread carefully with my words-tiptoe like I did whenever Chloe took naps.

"You think that's what I'm going to do with her?"

"Come on, Colly. You're still mourning Chloe's mother." His eyes flashed as they met mine again. "Who's to say you can handle getting involved with another woman?"

"I don't know what the hell I'm doing." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "But, man, Gav, for the first time in almost ten months, I wanna go with my gut. Wanna feel shit again that won't have me sinking into a hole I can't unbury myself from." I let my hands fall to my sides. "But if you have some sort of problem with her and me together, then I need you to tell me now so we can figure shit out before I get in any deeper than I already am."

He jerked his head back. "Are you in deep already?"

Not even thinking twice about my answer, I whispered the only truth I knew. "Can't help it. She just...got under my skin."

"Yeah." He cleared his throat. "She does that." He sighed, looking toward the fire, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Now, answer my question, because I gotta know. You got a thing for her?"

Quick to answer, he whispered, "No. I kind of thought I did at first, but it's more that she reminds me of someone I once cared about."

Gavin had secrets, bigger than Max's and mine combined. Unlike Max though, he'd never offered them up. Just locked them all away tight. One day I feared he'd break, but it wasn't my place to be his therapist. If he wanted help, all he had to do was ask us for it. I just hoped he would.

"Truth is, I'm more worried about you than anything else." He looked at me again and stuck his hands into his jean pockets. "You ready for this? Especially with a girl like her?"

"What do you mean a girl like her?"

"Oh, come on, man." He rolled his eyes. "She's an all-or-nothing woman who loves your kid and is probably halfway in love with you already."

I took a step back, face pinched. "It isn't like that." And love? Where the hell did that come from?

"Then what is it? What do you want with her?"

I glared at him. "What do you care what I want?"

"Don't play that card, Colly. I was there the night you found out about Amy. I saw what losing her did to you too. And according to everything you've ever told us, you didn't really even love the girl. Addison, on the other hand, is the type of girl you bring home to your mom. The type of girl you fall in love with. What're you going to do if she decides she wants more than what you can give her?"

"Go to hell." I took a step forward and shoved him. Fucking did love Amy. How could I not love the mother of my baby?

Gavin didn't budge, just laughed and jabbed a finger in my face. "I've already gone there. Don't need an invitation back."

My head hurt. All this stress over worrying about Addie all night, seeing my parents and listening to them nag on me about Chloe needing this and that, and now dealing with Gavin and his preachy sermons about shit he had no right to talk about...

What I needed was more beer.

Ready to forget, I went straight for the keg.

"Who's running now?"

I flipped Gavin the finger from over my shoulder, too tired to listen to his knowing ass.

Yeah. I liked Addison. A lot. But what my best friend said rang truer than anything else: Addison was a forever girl. I could tell already. She was real. Funny and sweet. Perfectly imperfect. And exactly the type of woman who scared me and intrigued me at the same time.

Chapter 25.

Addison I felt like the whore my mother had called me after finding my first thong in my bedroom drawer at seventeen. Only this time, Lia assured me my clothing was acceptable, since I was dressing to impress-whatever that meant.

The thing of it was, normally I didn't dress to impress anyone but myself. But there was no denying that I was eager to see Collin's reaction when he saw me all done up. Just the thought of his blue eyes raking over my body was motivation enough not to throw away the outfit I had on.

Still, the second I stepped out of Lia's car and the cold air blew against my naked thighs, I realized how much of a mistake I was making.

"This is a mistake." I froze by the closed car door, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. The thin shirt I wore barely covered my skin, leaving little to no warmth-and even less to the imagination when it came to my gigantic boobs.

The stars were out in abundance, and the moon lit the way. But the bonfire lighting up the backyard of the monster-sized farmhouse was what really drew me in.

"There is no way I'm going to let you leave after all the work I put into your ensemble."

"But this isn't me." I motioned down to my naked legs and the minuscule, barely there leather skirt that sat less than a half inch below the curve of my butt cheeks. Around my waist was a black belt that attached to the hunter-green, button-down shirt I wore. But the worst part of all was that the buttons kept popping open, and my boobs were damn near falling out of the top. To top it off, I had on a pair of heels, which made walking on the grass nearly impossible.

But I guess if I was going to look like an unsophisticated slut bag, then I was going to be the badass version.

"Who cares? You look hot, and my brother is going to lose it once he gets a look at how good your boobs look."

I eyed her punk-rock outfit from the feet up. She wore pointy-heeled, leather boots, a leather skirt like me, and a red leather corset that said goth girl meets punk princess. How is she not freezing? Unlike me though, she was completely at ease in her clothing, while I took uncomfortable to a whole other level.

She winked, as if knowing what I was thinking, then turned around and pulled me with her by my wrist. "Let's go find our boys."

"And possibly a hole to crawl into," I mumbled.

"This is a public party, Addie. You're off-duty and looking to have a good time. No crime in that."

Groaning, I followed her through the fence, wondering who owned this house. It was gorgeous, like something out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The giant porch on the second floor ran the entire back width of the house. Below it was a patio filled with gorgeous wicker furniture. Kegs and partygoers littered the area, the guests laughing loudly and obnoxiously. Even a few kids were running around, tossing a rugby ball back and forth.

Leaves crunched under my heels and my ankles wobbled, making the art of staying upright near impossible. To my left sat a field of wheat, the stalks blowing in the night air. I shivered just as Lia linked her arm through mine, saving me from humiliating myself by face-planting into the dirt.

"Haven't been to a house party in ages. Not since my freshman year of college." Her voice was wistful, but there was also an edge to it. On the outside, with all her tats and piercings and funky hair, the lady exhibited confidence, but beyond that, I could almost bet she hid as much garbage from her past as I did from mine. Maybe that's why I was so drawn to her. She didn't ask me things, and I, in turn, kept my questions about her to myself.

At the edge of the patio, she froze, taking in a pair of twin sisters who looked fresh out of college. "Dumbass."

I scrunched my nose up, trying to see who warranted the name. When I finally found her victim, I realized she wasn't looking at the girls. Instead she was shooting daggers from her eyes at the man holding the sisters in his lap.

"Is that-"

"Max? Surrrrre is."

My eyes flicked back and forth between her and him, confusion pulling my brows together. "Uh, are you two together?"

"No," she scoffed, answering too quickly to be convincing. "Look!" She pointed toward the fire, her voice an octave higher than what I considered calm. "There's my brother. Let's go."

"I don't see..."

Once upon a time, I could contain my emotions like a normal woman who was faced with unbelievable hotness. But that girl no longer existed. Not when all my fantasies were coming to life in the form dressed in all black. Holy cow. I mean, holy. Cow. It was like my sex dreams were real, brought to me by the man I'd forever think of as broody Number Six.

"Come on." Lia pulled my hand and I stumbled again, not sure if my heels or the sight of Collin, dressed in a thermal black shirt and sporting a well-loved Chicago Cubs hat, was making me so loopy. Either way, my body was most definitely unstable. "You must have magic, honey, because my brother is looking at you like a spell has been cast over him."

My face grew hot, like always. And if I'd had to bet money on it, I'd have said the world shifted a bit when Collin's eyes met mine-or, again, it could've been my heels.

"I'm gonna go chat with some old friends." Lia nudged my side and left me-no, no, abandoned me. Only it didn't last long, because before I could whisper his name, Collin stood in front of me, eyes like liquid fire piercing straight into me.

He grabbed my hand, pulling it to his mouth. "You've been avoiding me." He kissed my thumb.

I licked my lips. "Nice weather we're having, no?"

"Don't change the subject. Tell me why you were avoiding me tonight."

Not exactly the greeting I was looking for, but... "I wasn't avoiding you. I was taken hostage by your sister after the game this afternoon."

Hunger and appreciation filled his dark-blue eyes as they trailed up and down my body.

Okay, so maybe this outfit was going to serve its purpose after all.

"Tried to call you." He moved in closer, lifting his other hand to trace a line over my collarbone. My breath caught and my belly warmed, betraying the rest of my cold skin.

"I didn't have my phone." Actually, my phone broke, and I couldn't afford to buy a new one.

He moved his hands down my arms and laced his fingers with mine. His palms were heated, a comforting sensation I didn't know I needed. I shivered, regardless, willing him to come closer to me, to wrap his arms around my waist and kiss me until I grew dizzy with need. Crazy couldn't even begin to describe how this man made me feel.

To me, Collin was like a sample of chocolate, the most decadent kind-something almost forbidden. Combine that with his abilities recently displayed on the bathroom counter, and I was pretty much a lust-filled lost cause.

"Come with me." He motioned his chin toward the side of the house, pulling me along with one of his hands.

Side by side, we made our way to the edge of the small lake sitting due south of the home. Not once did he let me go, his fingers too busy tickling my palm the entire way. Awe filled my chest and I held my breath, focusing on the silver moon. It lit up the dark sky and reflected off the water like tiny crystals.

"Used to come fishing out here with my dad when I was a kid. Caught catfish to eat and bluegills for fun." Collin squeezed my fingers.

"Sounds nice." Especially since growing up with my parents consisted of the occasional pedicure with my mom when she wasn't off playing mah-jongg with her friends, while my father spent his time in front of the TV, drinking beer and watching golf-when he wasn't working at the store, of course. "Maybe someday you can do the same with Chloe."

"Plan on it." He held my gaze, a silent vow in his eyes.

"She's really lucky to have you, Collin."

He searched my face in a way that would normally make my skin itchy. Only lately I'd found myself liking his lingering stares. The sincerity in them made me feel almost cherished, something I'd never felt before.

"Tell me what goes on behind those pretty eyes. Tell me about you." He lifted his free hand and gently touched my temple.