"I will when I'm alone," she said pointedly. Yet she was unable to suppress a grin at Bianca's eagerness to watch her call Dare.

"Fine." Bianca raised her hands in defeat. "Don't let me live vicariously through you. I'll just have to find my romance in a good book or something."

She let out an exaggerated sigh and Liza rolled her eyes. "This from the woman who has a date almost every weekend?"

Bianca grinned, then rose and let herself out.

Alone at last, Liza placed her hand on the phone, knowing she should call Dare yet feeling awkward anyway.

Before she could gather her courage, another knock sounded at the door. "Come in," she called out again.

This time her visitor wasn't as welcome. "Brian."

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I didn't even know I hit you until Mom and Dad called me the next day. I can't believe someone would rat me out to them."

Liza set her jaw, which didn't help the pounding in her head. "Is any of that supposed to make me feel better?"

He ran a shaking hand through his hair. "I'll stop drinking, I promise."

Moisture filled her eyes but she held back tears. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Bri. But if you want to do something for me-"

"Anything," he said, sounding sincere. His hazel eyes bore into hers.

"Get help."

"Except that."

Pain exploded inside her head. "For heaven's sake, why not? You can't stop drinking without support and therapy!"

"No damned outsider can begin to understand!" he said, the pain and distress on his face all too real.

"Maybe not, but there are other people just like you who can. I have the name of group counselors. Treatment centers. Any way you want to do this, I'm here for you," she pleaded, already reaching into her desk drawer where she kept the ever-growing stack of information for her brother.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she prayed he'd listen.

"I don't need help," he said through gritted teeth. "I can do this alone."

His words both disappointed and angered her. "Because you've done such a bang-up job so far?" she shouted at him, immediately wincing from the pain.

Brian ducked his head, not meeting her gaze. "I haven't really tried yet. Just give me another chance, Liza Lou."

Liza didn't answer and Brian walked out, his shoulders slumped in defeat. She released her hands that she'd clenched into tight fists and slumped back in her seat.

What a mess his life had become and somehow he was dragging her down with him. Knowing she'd just exhausted whatever reserves she'd had, Liza headed home to take a painkiller and crawl into bed. Hopefully she'd be better in time to join Faith and her husband for dinner.

"Stop pacing. Liza said she's coming. She'll be here. In the meantime you're making me dizzy," Ethan muttered.

Dare paused in his lap around his brother's family room. "Her assistant said she left work early. She didn't even make it till lunch." Which concerned him.

"And that's why inviting her for dinner was a good idea. So she doesn't have to worry about making it herself," Faith said. "Ethan's right. You need to relax."

"Otherwise you'll scare her off by moving in permanently to take care of her," Ethan said wryly.

Dare gave him the finger.

But when Liza was twenty minutes late and didn't answer her cell or home phone, neither Ethan or Faith argued when Dare drove over to her house to check on her.

Her car was in the driveway and his gut told him she was home, but when he rang the doorbell, nobody answered. He called her from his cell and when she still didn't pick up, he began banging on the door.

Finally, Liza answered. "Dare!" She looked surprised but not unhappy to see him and stepped back, motioning for him to enter.

"Are you okay?"

"I am. Really."

He scanned his gaze over her from head to toe, and though she looked like she'd just woken up, she seemed okay.

"Did Faith send you because I was late for dinner?"

He wasn't about to admit he'd been pacing for the last forty minutes. "She was worried."

Liza nodded. "Well, I was just about to call her. I came home from work and took half a pain pill and fell asleep. I set the alarm, but I swear I must've hit snooze and I don't remember." She blushed. "I'm never late and I feel awful that they waited for me."

He waved away her concern. "Don't worry about it. Faith's the most understanding person I know. It's Tess and her stomach you have to worry about," he said, only partially joking.

"I just need a few minutes to pull myself together."

She was wearing her clothes from work, which were now wrinkled. Obviously she'd come home and crawled right back into bed. Too much too soon, something he'd already figured out.

"Look, I'll just be a few minutes and I'll meet you back over at Faith's, okay?"

He shook his head, knowing he wasn't about to walk away. "I don't mind waiting and driving you over. No sense getting behind the wheel if your head is still bothering you and you've taken pain meds."

She paused, obviously unsure, whether it was of him, of them, he couldn't be sure. Dare only knew that despite whatever reservations she had or barriers she wanted to erect, he intended to get past them.

Whatever it took.

"I'll bring you home whenever you're ready," he promised. "Even if it's in the middle of a killer dessert." He raised his eyebrows and waited for her to reply.

Her sudden smile took him by surprise and lit up her face. "Well, if you put it like that, then you must really not mind."

Did she really trust him so little? "I wouldn't have offered if I did."

While waiting in her family room, he made a quick call to Faith to let her know they'd be there soon. A few minutes later, Liza walked back into the room, wearing a pair of jeans and a loose T-shirt. She'd washed her face, which was now makeup free, and had pulled her hair into a loose ponytail. The casual look worked for her. In fact, he'd never seen any woman so effortlessly sexy in his entire life.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Just let me grab a bottle of wine. I can't drink, but at least I won't walk in empty-handed."

He smiled at her thoughtfulness, knowing Faith and Ethan expected nothing more than her company, but she didn't understand that yet.

They drove to the house on the hill in comfortable silence. He'd just pulled into the driveway when Liza turned to him. "Before we go in, I meant to thank you earlier."

"Didn't we go over this before I left last night? No thanks are necessary. I wanted to be there for you." He'd wanted to spend the weekend with her.

He shut off the engine and turned to find confusion in her expression.

"I meant thank you for the flowers."

"I didn't send flowers." Though now he wished he had.

"Oh!" Her eyes opened wide, a flush staining her cheeks. "I just thought..."

"You received flowers today?"

She nodded.

"Was there a card?"

"No and I just assumed..." She glanced down and stared at her hands. "No wonder they say when you assume you make an ass out of you and me," she muttered.

Dare fought back the tide of jealousy rising inside him. "I honestly wish I'd thought of it, but they weren't from me. You have no idea who sent them?"

She spread her hands in front of her. "Not a clue. I guess I could call Millie's tomorrow," she said of the floral shop in town.

"Good idea. Could it have been your brother?" he asked, hoping for family and not competition.

"Not a chance." She raised her head, her eyes dull as she answered. "We had it out today, and believe me, flowers for me are the last thing on his mind."

"I'm sorry." Reaching over, he placed his hand over hers. No wonder she'd left work early and needed something heavy for the pain. He had no desire to force her to revisit her argument with her brother. "How about we go inside?" he suggested.

"Sounds good." She opened her door before he could get around to help her. "I didn't realize you'd be here tonight," she said as they walked up the path leading to the front door. She paused before they headed up the steps, turning to face him. "But I'm glad you are."

His reservations eased and he rang the bell. "Prepare yourself," he said, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"What do you mean?"

The front door swung open and his half sister stood on the other side. Arms crossed over her chest, foot tapping in annoyance, Tess stared from Dare to Liza and back again. "It's about time. I'm hungry, and because we're having real company, nobody let me eat first."

Liza raised an eyebrow at the hellion he called his sister. "You must be Tess. I'm Liza. I've heard a lot about you," she said.

"Yeah? What'd you hear?" Tess asked. "Anything good?"

"How about it's nice to meet you too?" Dare asked. He placed a hand behind Liza's back and led her inside.

"It is nice to meet her," Tess muttered. "It's hard to be polite when my stomach's growling."

Liza laughed. A real laugh, the sound actually light and carefree. "I know that feeling. I wasn't feeling well and fell asleep. I missed lunch and almost slept through dinner, so I'm probably as hungry as you."

Dare frowned at her admission. The woman was probably more hungry. Tess was a bottomless pit, but she was constantly snacking. "You need to eat if you're going to keep up your strength."

"Dare? Liza?" Faith walked into the hallway and straight over to Liza, pulling her into a hug. "I've been so worried about you!"

At the other woman's sincerity and warmth, Liza nearly broke into tears. "Thank you. I'm okay, really." She drew a deep breath, pulling herself together. "I've had a really good caretaker."

"If you're talking about my brother, that's pretty hard to believe," an unfamiliar male voice said.

Liza stepped back and looked up at the man who had to be Faith's husband, the oldest Barron brother. Like Dare, Ethan had brown eyes and even darker hair. She vaguely remembered him from when they were younger as a bad boy on a motorcycle.

"You must be Ethan." Liza stepped forward. "Thanks for having me to dinner," she said with a smile.

"Any friend of Faith and Dare's..." he said, extending his welcome.

"Ahem. Can we eat now?" Tess asked, her annoyance clear.

"We're still working on her manners," Dare explained.

Faith nodded. "No matter how hard we try, she insists on acting like the Neanderthal of the family. Let's go into the dining room." Prodding the girl in the back, Faith edged her forward.

Rosalita, who Faith reminded Liza had been around since Faith was a little girl, served a delicious chicken dinner. Liza was starving and truly appreciated the good food.

"Thank you so much for having me," Liza said to Faith. "You're right. I wouldn't have been up to making anything for myself."

"I had a concussion last year, so I completely get it." Faith offered her an understanding smile.

"Really? What happened?" Liza asked.

Tess cleared her throat loudly. "So, you're Dare's new girlfriend?"

Liza nearly choked on her water.

Beside her, Dare let out a groan. "I am so going to kill you," he muttered to his sister.

"Tess! Cut that out," Ethan scolded the teen.

"Sorry. That's Tess's way of changing the subject," Faith explained. "She doesn't want to talk about how I got my concussion," Faith explained.

Tess met Liza's surprised gaze and grinned shamelessly. With her blue eyes and lighter brown hair, she resembled Nash more than her other brothers. But her impish grin was pure Dare.

"So you're not his girlfriend?" the teenager asked.

"I'll answer that if you tell me how Faith ended up with a concussion." Liza raised her eyebrows, determined to hold her own with the teen.

"Touche," Dare said, and beneath the table he reached over and squeezed her leg in silent support. Of course his grip on her thigh had the effect of sending a pure bolt of desire sizzling throughout her body and she found herself reaching for her water glass once more.

Tess, meanwhile, looked at Liza with something like admiration in her baby blues, but she still had a determined expression on her face that made Liza wary.

"Okay, no girlfriend talk. So...I heard your brother has a mean throwing arm," the teenager said next.