With that, she winked and hurried behind the counter, pushing through the waist-high swinging door into the back. When I got to the counter, Hazel beamed when she saw me. “Good morning, Quinn. I always love seeing you.”

  “The feeling’s mutual,” I said lightly.

  As she prepped my coffee a moment later, she asked, “Do you want anything to eat?”

  Just then, the door opened with another gust of winter air blowing in. I reflexively glanced back to see Tessa Hensen walking in with Fiona and Blake Cannon. I smiled at them before replying, “I’ll take one of those orange cranberry muffins.”

  Tessa stopped beside me. “Hey there, Quinn. I’m assuming you’re like me. You’re here early because you’re going to work early.”

  “You know it,” I returned as I stepped to the side.

  “I always feel smarter when I see you,” she added.

  “Smarter?” I prompted

  She smiled. “Absolutely. You were the smartest girl in our class. Valedictorian and everything.”

  Fiona, who was newer to town, glanced over, her brows rising. “Wow.”

  I shifted my shoulders before shrugging. “Not really. I was a rule follower. Research shows that valedictorians actually don’t end up being the most successful in life. We’re just good at following rules and doing what we think others want.”

  Tessa’s eyes narrowed. “You’re smart as hell, and you should be proud of that.”

  Blake grinned over at me. “You should. You raise the bar for everyone. One of these days, you’ll rub off on Kenan.”

  Blake’s comment elicited a surge of protectiveness for Kenan. He was loyal, bright, and creative. Even though he never spoke of it, I sensed he often felt lost in the shuffle of his crowded family. “Kenan doesn’t need me to rub off on him. What would you guys do without him? Whenever you have some weird, complicated situation and need someone to straighten it out, he’s your guy.”

  Blake’s brows rose as he nodded. “True.”

  They were busy ordering when the door to the café opened again. This time, Adam and Kenan came walking in. Even though they were twins, they were fraternal, so they weren’t identical. Their features were similar, although Kenan had dark hair and blue eyes to Adam’s dark blond hair and slate gray eyes.

  The mere sight of Kenan sent a jolt of visceral electricity through me. Heat struck me in a wave, blasting me from head to toe. My pulse shot into the stratosphere, racing so fast my breath felt short instantly.

  “Quinn?” Tessa’s voice snapped my attention away from Kenan. I hadn’t even realized I’d been staring in his direction.

  “Yeah?” I brought my attention to her as we stepped to the side together.

  “I was just saying we should get together for dinner soon.”

  “How about tonight?” I asked quickly.

  I was desperate not to think about Kenan, and that would give me something to do other than obsess over him.

  Tessa nodded. “Sure. I’ll text Haven.”

  “Rosie, too,” I added.

  Because I worked a lot, I wasn’t the most social person, but I did get together with them on occasion. They were kind of a trio, or had been in high school. I’d gradually been getting more friendly with them since we’d all ended up back in town.

  “Let’s meet at the winery. I think it’s locals’ night. Right?” Tessa called over to Blake, who was just stepping to the side after paying for his order.

  “Right what?” he prompted as he and Fiona stopped beside us.

  “It’s locals’ night tonight, the weekly tasting,” Tessa prompted.

  “Sure is,” he replied.

  “Great. We’ll be there. Are you guys going?” Tessa called over to Adam and Kenan.

  I resisted the urge to groan. It would be really weird if I tried to say we shouldn’t go to locals’ night at the winery. I’d gone to the weekly tastings with Kenan countless times.

  His eyes landed on mine as Adam replied, “Of course.”

  I was beyond relieved when Hazel handed over my muffin and coffee. “I need to get going. I’ve got a few calls to make and some paperwork to take care of early.”

  “Meet you there tonight,” Tessa said as I hurried away.

  I practically ran out of the café, relieved for the cold air. I almost unzipped my coat. That’s how hot I was inside.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Quinn

  A few minutes later, I walked into my office at Fireweed Industries. My office was at the end of the hall upstairs, tucked into a quiet corner. I closed the door firmly. After I stripped out of my coat and tossed it on the back of my chair, I sat down at my desk. My hands shook with nerves. I leaned back in my chair and let out a shaky sigh.

  “What the hell am I going to do?” I whispered.

  I spun in my chair to look outside. All of the offices had windows facing downtown Fireweed Harbor. The sun rose higher in the sky, and the pink from the sunrise faded to a subtle wash with the orange softening to peach.

  I took a slow breath and lifted my coffee off my desk to take a healthy swallow.

  “Oh hell,” I whispered as I lowered the cup.

  I would have to tell Kenan this thing with us had to stop. Because it was crazy. I didn’t fancy myself falling for him, but I feared I could, and I really didn’t want to screw up our friendship.

  Just when I thought I had escaped my dosage of awkward for the day, I heard a light knock on my office door. Not many people showed up here this early, so my guess was it was Rhys.

  “Yes?” I called.

  I collected my composure, gathering the tattered ends and bracing myself for whoever walked in. When Kenan peered around the edge of the door, my stomach swooped. “Oh!”

  “Mind if I come in?” he asked as he opened the door wider.

  It wasn’t as if I hadn’t known Kenan was handsome before. I took the moment to study him as I nodded. He was tall with broad shoulders. His hair was still damp from what I presumed was a recent shower. His blue eyes were bright.

  He closed the door behind him. It wasn’t as if he never stopped by my office early in the morning. On occasion, he did because we were friends. Good friends. I tried to ignore the sneaky uncertainty unspooling inside me.

  He sat down across from my desk like he usually would. He took a swallow of his coffee while I tried to order my hormones to calm the fuck down. They were ignoring me. My pulse rioted, butterflies tickled the inside of my belly, my breath was short, and heat shimmered through me.

  “Good morning,” I said, my voice sounding bright and kind of weirdly cheerful to my ears.

  “Good morning.” His voice was a little low and raspy, and my belly flipped again and again.

  We sat in silence for a moment, and I tucked my hands under my thighs because they were shaking again.

  “We need to stop,” I blurted out.

  He leaned forward in his chair, his gaze intent. “Why?”

  “Kenan.” At first, all I could manage was his name. When he simply waited, I took a slow breath. “You know it’s not a good idea.”

  “I think we’ve already crossed the threshold of bad ideas,” he pointed out. “What if I want more?”

  “What?!” I sputtered.

  For the first time since he walked in my office, he looked uncertain. He also looked resolved. His usual light, casual, and teasing manner was gone. He studied me quietly before I took an audible breath, letting it out in a sharp sigh.

  “Maybe we’ve already screwed it up, but you’re one of my closest friends, and there’s something else there.” He paused again. I could barely breathe as my heart fluttered madly in my chest. “Let’s just see what happens.”

  “I don’t understand,” I finally said, genuinely confused.

  “I like you, and I’m pretty sure you like me. You say we’re friends and—”

  “We are friends!” My voice came out forceful, almost insistent.

  “Did it feel good?” His voice was low.

  Butterflies twirled in my belly, and my breath was short. “What do you mean?” I hedged, knowing perfectly well what he meant.

  “Kissing me.”

  My mouth almost dropped open. I crossed my legs, trying to ignore the arousal slick between my thighs.

  “You came, sweetheart,” Kenan said, his words slow and deliberate.

  I snapped my mouth shut, pressing my lips together as I narrowed my eyes. I wanted to lie, to play it off like it hadn’t been the best orgasm I’d ever had.

  “You know it felt good,” I ground out.

  His eyes flashed with something like satisfaction. “I won’t rush you. But think about what I said. Next weekend is the trip to Willow Brook. We’ll be spending the night on the ferry.”

  Just then, another knock sounded on my office door. Beyond flustered, I called out, “Come on in!”

  Adam came striding in. “Surprised to see you here,” he teased Kenan as he stopped beside his chair.

  Kenan stood. “I was just leaving. What’s up with you?”

  “Just touching base with Quinn on that tax issue we heard about from one of our producers.”

  “Well, I’ll leave you guys to that,” Kenan said.

  I didn’t even notice I hadn’t said goodbye to Kenan until he left the office and Adam prompted, “Everything okay with you two?”

  “Oh yeah. Just distracted this morning.”

  I took a swallow of my coffee, forcing my brain to focus.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kenan

  “Do you think you can handle that?” Adam asked.

  “Of course,” I replied.

  Blake drummed his fingertips on the table where we sat in one of the smaller brewing rooms in the winery and brewery production area. This was the flagship location for the corporation, back where it all began. This warehouse was attached to the restaurant. It was a town favorite and always busy. Despite its local popularity, it only brought in a small drop of the income for our family’s business.

  “I’ll take care of it when we go to Willow Brook next week,” I added. “Any updates from David on that end, or Archer?” I glanced at Blake.

  David managed the restaurant end of things here after recently stepping down from being our longtime chef. Fiona had taken over as chef and was doing a phenomenal job.

  We discussed the planned opening of another brewery, winery, and restaurant location in Willow Brook, where Fireweed Industries had recently opened a renewable energy business in collaboration with another business in Alaska. That was all being run by our cousin, Archer, and half-brother, Chase, in Willow Brook, while David helped with the organization side of things.

  “Smooth sailing,” Blake replied. “Except for this permit issue.”

  “Which isn’t related to that,” Adam chimed in.

  The issue in question was a minor land dispute related to a mine Fireweed Industries used to run but had since closed down. We wanted to return the land to a local tribe, and another business was disputing it. Not because they had any claim but because they wanted the land.

  “I’m sure Quinn has tidied up all of the legal loose ends,” I said with confidence.

  “Always. We just want to be present at the meeting to support the tribe,” Adam said as he shook his head. “It’s not a good look when companies try to take over things like that.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t think they really care about how it looks,” I offered.

  “Speaking of Quinn,” Adam commented, “is she doing okay?”

  I ignored the subtle twist of uncertainty in my chest. “Yeah, why do you ask?”

  My twin shrugged. “Not sure. She just seemed a little…” He cocked his head to the side, pressing his tongue into his cheek. “Off today, I guess, when I saw her.”

  “Oh,” I said, keeping my tone casual. “Maybe there’s something going on I don’t know about.”

  “Dude, you and Quinn are besties,” Blake interjected. “Don’t you know everything?”

  I felt a low rise of heat inside. For fuck’s sake, I couldn’t even think about Quinn without a visceral reminder of our recent encounters.

  “I don’t know everything. We’re good friends, but…” I shrugged. “That still doesn’t mean I know everything.” I looked toward Adam. “You’re my twin brother. I don’t assume I know everything about you.”

  “Pretty sure you do.” Adam chuckled.

  I rolled my eyes. “Fair enough. You pretty much know everything about me.”

  Blake grinned at us. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a twin even though I have two sets of twin brothers. I don’t know if I’d want to feel like somebody knew everything,” he pointed out.

  “It’s not quite like that,” Adam replied. “It’s not about the details. It’s a vibe thing.” He glanced at me. “You know what I mean?”

  “Definitely.”

  Blake opened his mouth to reply when one of the brewers appeared in the doorway. “Blake, you got a sec?”

  He stood quickly. “Sure do. Catch you guys later,” he tossed over his shoulder as he left the room.

  Adam was looking at me when I turned back. “What?” I asked.

  “Speaking of that vibe thing, my gut tells me something’s up with you and Quinn.”

  I wanted to deny it, but Adam would sense I was lying. Resting my elbows on the table, I let out a heartfelt sigh. “I kissed her. More than once.” I didn’t need to share all of the details.

  Adam looked genuinely surprised, his brows hitching up. “Well, damn. Wasn’t expecting you to say that. I told you a few years ago that I thought you two would make a great couple. You said no way, no how, never, that there was zero chemistry,” he pointed out as he shook his head slowly. “What changed?”

  I ran a hand through my hair. “I was being honest when I said there was no chemistry then. That seems to have changed, and now I don’t know what the fuck to do.”

  “I think you need to tread carefully if you don’t want to blow up your friendship.”

  “I know,” I muttered as I leaned back in my chair.

  “What do you want?”

  “You not to say a fucking thing to anyone about this,” I offered dryly.

  “You know you don’t have to worry about that,” he replied, his gaze serious.

  “I know.” I trusted Adam completely. He had my back, and I had his. Always.

  “What do you want?” he repeated, his tone more pointed this time.

  “I like her, but I don’t think she trusts the situation.”

  “Of course you like her. That’s why you’re such good friends.”

  “Thanks, Captain Obvious,” I replied dryly.

  Adam chuckled, but he didn’t take the bait. After a beat, he added, “It is obvious. I don’t think you want to break her heart. I’ve never known Quinn to really date anyone, at least not locally,” he pointed out.

  “She doesn’t. She doesn’t believe in love either. We have that in common.”

  “Well, I guess you’re perfect for each other then. Just let me know when to be ready for the wedding,” he quipped.

  I let out a ragged sigh. “What should I do?”

  Adam studied me for a long moment. Aside from the fact that I trusted him completely, Adam believed in love. He had a girlfriend in college who he loved. She died. He hadn’t dated anyone since.

  Adam and I were different in many ways but shared the same values. Loyalty meant everything. Maybe I didn’t believe in love for me, but I believed in it for him.

  “If it’s just a few kisses, you can pull back from the brink. But if you actually let it go further, it might get complicated, and then you’ll have to deal with that. I can’t tell you what to do. I’ve always thought if you were going to be with anyone, it would be Quinn.”

  “Seriously?” I pressed.

  He nodded, his gaze holding mine so earnestly that my chest tightened.

  Quinn laughed at something Rosie said. She lifted her beer bottle, and my eyes watched as her lips closed around the opening, and she tilted her head back.

  I’d been bound up and tight with need ever since I arrived here tonight and saw her. Her hair was down, falling in loose waves around her shoulders. She wore a pair of fitted jeans tucked into knee-high leather boots with a ribbed cotton camisole that stretched across her breasts and an open button-down flannel shirt over that. All I could think about was how to get her alone to kiss her again.

  McKenna appeared at my side. “I don’t know if you talked to Tish, but we’re sending you and Quinn a day ahead on the ferry.”

  “If we need to go early, we can fly,” I pointed out.

  McKenna wrinkled her nose. “Tish already made the reservations, so I just told her to change your date. I hope that’s okay.” Her gaze landed on Quinn. “Quinn!” she called.

  Quinn had just lowered her bottle of beer. I knew this because I’d pretty much been watching her the whole time. She stepped away from Rosie and approached McKenna and me. “What’s up?”

  “I was just letting Kenan know you two are going together a day early. You have a meeting with, uh—” McKenna circled her hand in the air.

  “On that land issue,” Quinn supplied helpfully. “That’s fine. Kenan and I will make it fun.”

  McKenna smiled, letting out a happy little sigh. “Good. So you leave in two days.”

  McKenna was drawn away into a conversation with Fiona and Haven, leaving Quinn standing with me. We were surrounded by people. I glanced around, my gaze landing on the corner of the bar where Quinn had been sitting when that bolt of lightning struck from the sky, shifting our platonic friendship.

  When I glanced back to Quinn, her cheeks were pink.

  “That gives you one more day,” I said.

  “One more day for what?”

  “To decide what you want.”

  I couldn’t be logical about her, not anymore.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Quinn

  Resting my elbows on the railing, I looked out over the ocean. A light breeze ruffled the water, and the sun was high in the clear blue sky. It was a beautiful day and freezing cold. There was winter in Alaska—or technically pending winter as we hadn’t yet reached winter solstice—and then there was winter when you were out on the ocean. It was bracingly cold, and I shivered as I straightened and tucked my hands into the pocket of my down jacket.