He led me to an empty storage room off of the office, and my mind couldn't help but think that this would be the very same storage space Ava was talking about. Unfortunately no amount of brain bleach could cleanse me of those images.

Turning to face me, Trey raised a hand slowly to my chin and tilted my head to the side. "What exactly is that?"

Now it was my turn to be confused.

"Uh, my face?"

"I don't need the sarcasm right now, Harper. What happened to your face?"

Oh.

Served me right for skimping on the makeup this time. It must have rubbed off while playing with Bixby. But the real question was, why did he care so much? He just met me.

"Probably smudged it when I ducked for cover. Don't worry about it." I tried to tilt my head out of his grasp, but he kept a firm hold.

"You know, my brother is a good guy. I'll never admit it to his face, of course, but he is. And since yesterday he has talked about nothing but you. Apparently you made an impression. I happen to take family seriously. I'd die for my brothers. Long story short; tell me what really happened to your face or I'll call Thane and you'll have both of us to deal with."

Was it wrong to find his commanding attitude seriously hot? Asking for a friend.

I tried to ignore the damp panties and met his unwavering gaze.

He just met me. Dampness or not, he could just take that threat and dry dock it right up in the poop chute.

So I remained silent.

I could tell the very second he realized what I was doing, which was about a second after I decided it. This man missed nothing. Which was very irritating sometimes.

Before I could blink the phone was to his ear, already ringing. That bastard had already been dialing and I'd been too distracted to notice.

Please don't answer, please don't answer.

"Hey bro."

Flipping flubber bubbles.

Don't get judgy… mother had a thing with swearing, I had to get creative.

I tried to give him the famous Ava puppy eyes, but he refused to look my way.

I was beginning to really dislike this man.

"So you'll never guess who walked into Pete's." Silence. "Nope." Silence. "Not even close. The famous Harper. And since I know you're a tad obsessed, I talked her into staying while we fix her friend's car so you can come say hello." Silence. "Yes, I did say all this in front of her." Silence. "I look forward to the beating. Get your ass over here."

And he hung up.

The irritating traitor met my glare, not looking the least bit regretful. "Now, you have two choices; you stay here until he arrives and we have a chat, or you leave and break my brother's heart. I'll let you decide."

His index finger caressed gently down my cheek before he walked out without a word. And I was left in the storage closet with a gaping mouth and a need for a change of panties.

I really, really was so confused.

One thing I wasn't and would never be, was someone able to leave before Thane got here. It wasn't really his fault that his brother had a face full of perceptive, judgy eyes. Really gorgeous judgy eyes.

Fuchia flavored fudge nuggets.

I was in trouble.

Ava was waiting for me as I made my way to the office. She still looked like I just buried her nonexistent labradoodle in my backyard.

I took a seat on one of the uncomfortable white plastic chairs next to her.

"Still mad?"

Ava sighed. "I'm sexually frustrated. I came here to get my pipe cleaned. My pipe is still chalk full of cobwebs."

"I could've done without ever hearing you say that."

"And I could've done with a quickie in the closet. We all don't get what we want, Harper." She gave me a smile, though, so she wasn't really mad at me. She had nothing to be mad about, but I definitely wasn't poking that bear again.

I wasted time scrolling through social media until I heard the office door open, and in walked Thane. Very casual today in a pair of faded jeans that rode low on his narrow hips and a light blue clingy t-shirt that hid nothing and made his eyes pop.

He was on his way over to me when Trey intercepted him and whispered in his ear. Which caused Thane's sharp gaze to scan my face, stopping on my cheek.

Oh look, he got the same angry face as Trey. Lucky me.

Trey tilted his head toward the storage closet, his eyes on me as I shrugged at Ava's questioning glance and followed the brothers inside.

Thane was the first to speak. Right to me. With his serious face on. "What happened? Was it that prick at the coffee shop?"

"What prick at the coffee shop?"

I really thought I would enjoy their collective attention more than I was.

"Guys. Seriously. I've known you both for no more than twenty-four hours. Dial it down."

Oh, that was the wrong thing to say.

Thane gave me an incredulous look. "Why does it matter how long I've known you? If I were walking down the street and saw that," he points to my cheek, "on someone's face I'd be doing the exact same thing. No one should be putting a mark on you."

Trey placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Let us help you, Harper. We're not stupid. Four brothers growing up together? We know what a bruise looks like."

"Then just try to trust me when I say I'm handling it."

Thane looked like he was about to say something but Trey spoke up first. "You're not handling it or you wouldn't have a bruise in the first place. But I can see we are not going to get an answer. So I hope you enjoy our company, because you'll be seeing a lot of us. We may not be able to figure it out, but we can make damn sure it doesn't happen again."

At those parting words, Trey gave Thane a look I couldn't read before walking out the door. Leaving just the two of us. And Thane looked hurt.

I took a tentative step toward him. "I'm sorry." Not sure what I was apologizing for, but I'd apologize for whatever he wanted to get that look off of his face.

Turns out talking wasn't necessary. He closed the distance between us and wrapped me up in his strong arms. Making sure to be gentle enough that I could back away if I chose.

I didn't.