I'm on the phone with Matthew, bullshitting about the Dolphins' training camp when he asks me what I'm doing tonight.

"Wanna go out? We can pick up Alexis and go out, check that new place in Wynwood."

"Nah, I'm seeing Juliette tonight."

He makes a scoffing sound. "Bring her along. She didn't seem so shocked at Queen of Hearts the other night. Not as shocked as I would've suspected. You underestimate her."

I open the fridge and for the tenth time today, look at what I'd bought at the store. "Maybe I do." I grin and shut the door, the memory of Juliette's recent lap dance and our night of scorching sex still fresh in my mind. "I'd say yeah but I'm making dinner. For her and Zoe."

"Shit, bro, you're serious about her, aren't you? Look at you, all domestic. Dinner, meeting the fam. What's next? An engagement ring? Jesus, bro."

I sigh. "Dude, it's crazy, isn't it? I'm fucking head over heels for this girl. I'm even nervous about tonight. With her and Zoe. I want them to get along. To like each other."

"Yeah, Zoe's kind of particular. And from what you said about her and Ashton, it's anyone's guess how she'll treat Juliette. Listen, man, I gotta run. Alexis is texting me. I'll call you if anything important comes up."

What he really means is, I'll call if something's fucked up with the latest drug shipment.

"Later."

I hang up and open the fridge again. I'm not a great cook but had to learn the basics when Zoe and I were left on our own. Pasta is my specialty, but since I'm on this protein diet, I don't eat it much. I'm almost as excited about pasta as I am to see Juliette, and my stomach rumbles.

I probably should have bought a pre-made meal at the chi-chi health food store here on the beach, but I want to impress Juliette by cooking. So I'd picked up some expensive fresh ravioli and was planning on my signature sauce, the kind that Zoe loves.

I flop down on the sofa, chucking to myself. Never did I dream I'd be worried about impressing a girl with pasta sauce. Where is she, anyway? Her class ended a half hour ago.

You close? I text. Miami traffic's crazy and I worry about her being on the road sometimes.

Fucking Miami. Ok. I thought I told you not to text and drive

Jesus. I worry about her in that crap car of hers.

Truth be told, I'd move mountains for this girl if she were stranded.

I know Zoe will be late, because she always is; I'd also arranged so Juliette would arrive earlier so she could get comfortable before my tornado of a sister blows in. Zoe can be a handful, especially to people who don't know her. And since Juliette had that encounter with her at the party, I want her to be as relaxed as possible tonight.

I zone out on the sofa for a while, watching TV, vaguely thinking about the offer from Paul in Amsterdam. He liked my shit so much that he wants to pay me to introduce him to the Chinese. Trouble is, he doesn't want to go to China - he wants me and the China supplier to go to him.

He's offering a cool five million for the introduction, and I'm skeptical about whether he wants something more for that kind of cash — like me selling his hash here in Miami.

But for five million, I'll make the introduction. It'll be a quick trip to Amsterdam. Tonight I might tell Juliette about the trip. We'll see. I've thought about bringing her along because I'm certain she'd love to see Europe, but that's exposing her to too much risk. Zoe also wants to go, and I don't feel great about that, either. Matthew's going, of course, but he's on a different flight, on a different day.

I'd even extended an invite to Vee, hoping she'd want a couple of weeks in Europe. She could travel with me and then strike out on her own. I know she has some friends somewhere near Amsterdam.

I need a woman to travel with me - it's less suspicious to the potentially prying eyes of federal authorities. But traveling with Vee opens up all sorts of problems.

Too many problems. Ones I don't want to deal with.

My phone vibrates and it's the concierge downstairs. "A young lady is here to see you," he says, and a warm feeling flows through my body. Even now that we've been together a month, I still get nervous right before I see Juliette.

"Send her up."

I click off the television and stand by the door with a sunflower. I haven't given her flowers since her birthday, and since I saw a sunflower at the grocery this afternoon, I'd picked it up.

The elevator door slides open and my eyebrows go up when I see who it is.

Victoria. And I'm standing there like a lovesick geek, holding a flower.

"Ooh, thank you, Griff." She struts in and snatches the flower out of my hand. "I prefer roses but whatever."

I pluck the flower out of her fingers and place it back on the kitchen counter. "I thought you were Juliette."

She stops and slides her sunglasses atop her head, smirking. "You need to tell me what's going on with you and that girl. You never gave me flowers."

"I never gave anyone flowers until her." I run my hand through my hair and flop down on the sofa. "I like her."

"Hey, I've got your cash." Vee hands me a wad of hundreds. She sold fifty molly tabs last weekend to a bunch of art dealers who came here on vacation.

That's Vee's talent — procuring a good time for the richest, craziest motherfuckers visiting the city, ones who want to wring the most out of their seventy-two hours here in the Sunshine State. Sometimes it means girls. Other nights, VIP passes. This group wanted to roll and cuddle to house beats at Babylon. Not my idea of fun, but I've made millions off people who want to live the neon-colored South Beach dream.

With practiced fingers, I undo the elastic and fan through the money quickly. "Sweet. Thanks. They like it? They have a good roll?"

She shrugs. "Dunno. Didn't hear from them after we did the exchange." Vee sits next to me, her knees pressed firmly together. She's wearing her usual uniform of designer black tank top and black short shorts, with high wedge heels.

"I'd say you more than like Juliette." She presses her lips together.

I stuff the cash in my front pocket and grin. It needs to go in my safe before Juliette gets here, because I don't want her thinking I walk around my house with a couple grand in my pocket, tenting my jeans like an erection.

"Yeah. I'd say you're right."

Ah, shit, Vee's got a serious look on her face now. She's nodding and staring out the window, her bottom lip trembling ever so slightly.

I lean toward her. "Come on, Vee. Don't tell me you're jealous." She's such a hard little thing, and her heart doesn't crack often. Tonight's the worst time for a Vee meltdown, something I've only seen a few times in my life.

Shit, what time is it? I inwardly groan. I do not want Juliette to find Vee here.

She snorts. "I'm not jealous of your conquests."

"Juliette isn't a conquest. I'm done with that shit. She's the real deal."

Her mouth quirks to the side and I know she's jealous.

I stretch my arms on the back of the sofa. "How long have we been friends?"

"Since were were seven." She rolls her eyes.

"How many times have I told you that we're only friends? Good friends?"

She flops back against the sofa cushion and her long hair tumbles over my arm. "Like a hundred times. Like the last time we screwed a couple of months ago on my mom's sofa. I know, Griffin, you don't need to remind me. We're friends. I get it."

I cringe, preferring not to recall that moment of weakness. I'd rather remember it as the day I was first put under Juliette's spell.

"That time we were together a couple of months ago?"

"Yeah?"

"That was me being a cocky, horny asshole. And I apologize."

"I know, you told me that day and all the times before that sometimes we just needed to scratch each other's itches. I was there to scratch. And be scratched." She cracks a grin.

"It was a dick move. I'm sorry." I hold my hand out, palm up. She takes it and threads her fingers in mine and we squeeze simultaneously.

"It's not like I don't have boyfriends."

"You have plenty of them. And what about that guy you met a couple of weeks ago? I thought you liked him? The lawyer?" I study her face, pausing on the smattering of freckles on her skin. She must've been in the sun today because her cheeks are pink and her freckles darker.

Her shoulders lift.

"Not rich enough for you?"

"He's plenty loaded. He's just a little old and out of touch, y'know?" She straightens her spine and studies her nails, which are a deep scarlet.

"Maybe settling down for a while isn't a bad thing, Vee."

"Speak for yourself." Her voice is as brittle as a sheet of blue rock meth.

I lean forward and into her so that our shoulders are touching. "I'm sorry, Vee. I'm serious about Juliette."

She nods slowly, probably knowing that I'm giving her a subtle hint that there will be no more no-strings-attached hookups.

"I always knew you wouldn't ultimately choose me. I'm not surprised. I'm like a sister to you."

I don't say anything, but I don't have to. She knows she's right.

"Girl, you know I love you. And trust you. And admire the hell out of you. I'd do anything for you."

"Anything but ..." she says softly, her voice trailing off.

We sigh in tandem. "Fuck, I'm sorry."

She sits up and gives me a sad, brave smile. "Nah. I knew the minute I saw you with her outside of Babylon. You looked at her like you'd just stepped into an orgy of supermodels with a bag of viagra in your hand."

I chuckle.

"And it was shitty of me to invite her to your party." Vee sounds surprisingly sincere.

"I guess we're each shitty in our own way."

"At least we both recognize our shittiness."

"We fully accept our shittiness." I'm laughing now, too.

She cackles and tosses her red mane around. That's the thing about Vee. I can be myself around her — reveal every ugly, greedy, scheming part of me. Those are sides I haven't shown Juliette, and am hoping I never will.

I know Vee can be petty, jealous and mean. She's also fiercely loyal and kind. Yeah, she can be kind. Too kind.

But only I know that. For instance, I know she gives her mother money from what she earns from me and her side hustles. Vee sticks by her mom, even though she has every reason not to.

"Try to get along with Juliette, okay?" I say in a soft voice.

"Okay. For you."

"I'm serious, Victoria."

She rolls her eyes. "I will. I'm not a monster. Does she know what you do?"

While staring up at the ceiling, I take a long inhale. "Yeah. She does."

"She ever take molly?"

"Hell no. She's never done anything harder than champagne that night at Babylon."

My gaze slides to Vee, who is chewing on her cheek.

"You sure you can trust her? That she won't go running to her brother the first time the two of you have a fight? Or worse, the DEA?"

I shake my head. Stupidly, the thought had never occurred to me. "Not gonna happen."

"What makes you so sure?" She's now checking her messages on her phone. It's my cue that she's bored with this conversation.

"I can feel it in my bones. She's on my side."

Vee shoves the phone back into her purse. "For your sake, I hope so. For our sake. Lots of guys have been brought down by stupid, jealous crazy chicks. Remember that dealer—"

I wave my hand dismissively. "The one whose porn star girlfriend got so violent that the cops were called, and then as a parting shot to the dude she told the cops about all the cocaine? Yeah. I know that story well. It's why I'm trying to keep Juliette out of everything. She doesn't know much, and I want to keep it that way."

She smirks. "Don't see how that'll be possible, but whatever. And I don't know how you're going to stand driving back and forth to Kendall."

"She's staying in a condo downtown. Near her school."

Vee's eyebrows rise toward her hairline. "Really? I didn't think she came from money. Not with those clothes, poor thing."

I fix a cool stare on Vee. "She's living in one of the condos I bought last month."

Vee's jaw drops, and a grin spreads on her face. "My dude. You are that far gone. I never knew you to fall under the spell of pussy but I guess all it took was one virgin from the suburbs. You're her fucking sugar daddy, Griffy. A dream come true."

Jesus, she's crass. I ignore her nastiness because I know it's coming from a place of concern. Concern and jealousy. "I adore Juliette. Yeah, she's young and a little naive. She could use some of your ..."

"My sassiness?" She beams. Now she's back to being her usual self: snarky and flirtatious. "My bitchiness?"

I laugh and tug her hair, like I used to when we were in elementary school.

Vee giggles and flicks my nose with her index finger, and right at that moment, the elevator door slides open and out walks my sister.

And Juliette.

____