“You doing okay?” Alex asked as we headed back toward Hailey and Sean’s. “You know, after all that shit earlier?”

  “Yeah. I’m okay,” I replied, turning my head to watch him as I remembered how he’d thrown that guy against the wall. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “Yes, I did,” he said. He reached up and scratched where a five-o’clock shadow darkened the side of his face. “I can’t stand that kind of stuff, and if no one does anything, then guys like that think they can keep doing it.”

  “He seemed pretty wasted,” I murmured.

  “Don’t do that,” Alex said softly. “Don’t make excuses. It doesn’t matter how drunk I am—I’d never touch some woman without making damn sure she wanted me to. No one else should do it, either.”

  “I agree,” I said simply. “There’s no excuse.”

  “Good.” Alex nodded. He reached out and flipped his hand palm up.

  The calluses on his fingers rasped against my skin as I put my hand in his.

  “See?” he said, shrugging as he gave my hand a squeeze. “Easy as that.”

  I smiled as I watched his fingers thread through mine until his swollen knuckles pressed against my unblemished ones. His thumb slid gently back and forth over the back of my hand, and all my rules about distractions and my excuses for staying single flew out the window. I was pretty sure there was no way I’d ever be able to say no to Alex Evans again.

  Chapter 3

  ALEX

  I liked having Sarai in my truck, especially with her fingers wrapped around mine. I’d never really been a hand-holder, but this felt good. Easy. The dark cab of the truck made it feel like we were in our own little world. I glanced over at her profile and contemplated taking the long route back to the house but decided against it. I didn’t want to freak her out after the kitchen incident earlier.

  When I’d seen that guy reach out and grab a handful of Sarai’s ass, I’d lost it. He’d been lucky that all he’d gotten was a couple of punches. I’d wanted to knock him unconscious and then stomp as hard as I could on his hand. I was grateful that Clover had stopped me, but a part of me resented it, too.

  I’d still been a little wired from the whole thing when I’d heard Sean being an asshole to Sarai, and he’d nearly felt the edges of my knuckles, too, if I was being honest. Sarai had held her own, though, even though it was clear she was rattled, and I hadn’t wanted to take away from that. I belonged to a family of strong women, and I knew from experience that sometimes a good man watched them fight their own battles. Since Sean had kept his hands to himself, so had I.

  “Where did everyone go?” Sarai asked in confusion as we pulled into the grass in front of Sean and Hailey’s house.

  The rows of cars that had been there when we left were mostly gone. I parked right out front, but when I got out, I didn’t grab the beer out of the back. It was too quiet.

  When we reached the front steps, I noticed Clover sitting in a lawn chair in the dark, smoking a cigar.

  “Figured I’d hang out until y’all got back,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. “But I’m pretty sure Ice Man in there is about to pass out.”

  Just as Clover finished speaking, we heard Sean start shouting inside the house. I lifted my arm and blocked Sarai from the front door.

  “Stay out here,” I ordered, reaching for the door handle.

  “Uh, no,” she argued. She scooted between me and the door and pushed her way inside.

  When we walked into the living room, Sean’s voice was even louder, but we couldn’t see him. It wasn’t until we turned the slight corner into the kitchen that he came into view.

  Hailey was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, and tears were rolling down her face while Sean yelled, pointing at her.

  “What the hell, Sean?” I asked, just as Sarai asked Hailey if she was okay.

  “Hey, man,” Sean said, dropping his hand as soon as he realized we were standing there. “Thought you left.”

  “Just to get more beer,” Clover replied from behind me. “I fucking told you that.”

  It was the wrong thing to say. Hailey seemed to shrink a little as Sean scoffed.

  “Soon as the beer ran out, everyone bailed,” he said, pulling out a chair and dropping into it as if this were the worst thing that had ever happened.

  “I didn’t order enough,” Hailey said quietly. She grabbed a piece of garbage off the table and held it awkwardly in her hand like she wasn’t sure what to do with it.

  “I thought Sean picked up the kegs,” Sarai said.

  “He did.” Hailey shrugged. “But I had to order them first.”

  “Told her to get four,” Sean said, rolling his eyes.

  “I told you they only had two left,” Hailey replied.

  “Because you waited until the last goddamn minute to order them.”

  “Don’t talk to her like that,” Sarai snapped at Sean.

  Sean’s scowl darkened as he looked at Sarai. He tilted his head a fraction, and his fingers tapped out a rhythm on the tabletop. I knew the instant he decided to take a verbal swipe at her, and I stepped forward, ready to stop him.

  “Why don’t you sleep it off, Sean,” Clover said, disgust clear in his voice. “You’re being a douche.”

  “That’s why you called him Ice Man,” Sarai said to herself. “Top Gun.”

  “What did you say to me?” Sean asked Clover, getting to his feet. “Come on over and say that to my face.”

  “I’m right in front of you, idiot,” Clover shot back, lifting his hands in the air in a come and get me gesture. “You’re being a douche.” He enunciated the words slowly and clearly.

  Sean charged forward, but I stopped him before he reached Clover. In a normal course of events, I’d let Clover beat the shit out of Sean for being a jerk to the ladies, but we were in a very confined space. There was too big of a chance that Sarai or Hailey would get hurt if the guys got into it here.

  “Come on, big guy,” I said, wrapping my arms around Sean in a bear hug. “Why don’t you sleep it off.”

  “Fucking Clovis,” Sean muttered, the fight going out of him.

  I half carried and half dragged Sean into the bedroom. All the beer he’d consumed had finally caught up to him, and he was practically passed out in my arms. Hailey followed us in, and as soon as I’d dropped Sean on the bed, she was there, lifting his feet to pull his shoes and socks off.

  I stared at Sean in disgust. I didn’t consider him a friend, but I’d always gotten along okay with him. Hell, I’d even helped the dumbass move. I sure as hell wasn’t doing him any favors after this debacle.

  “Leave him,” I told Hailey quietly as she started to take his jeans off. “He won’t even notice them.”

  She followed me silently out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. As soon as we reached Clover and Sarai, Hailey started apologizing.

  “I’m so sorry, you guys,” she said, wrapping her arms around her waist.

  “Why are you apologizing?” Sarai asked, shaking her head. “That wasn’t your fault.”

  “It kind of was,” Hailey argued.

  Sarai’s mouth opened like she was going to say something, but snapped shut again. Her nostrils flared as she took a deep breath.

  “You should come stay with me tonight,” Sarai said after a moment. “Come back after he’s sober.”

  Hailey shook her head. “He’ll sleep until morning,” she said. “Seriously, it’s fine.”

  I could tell that Sarai wanted to argue. The look on her face was a mixture of exasperation and anger, but instead of telling her friend what she thought, she just nodded.

  “Are you sure?” Sarai asked Hailey, reaching out to rub her hand up and down Hailey’s arm. “I have a super-comfortable couch.”

  “I’m sure,” Hailey replied. “I’ll probably just clean up and head to bed.”

  We left a few minutes later. Sarai wanted to help with the cleanup, but Hailey practically ushered us out the door.

  When we stepped into the cool night air, Sarai cursed quietly.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “That’s my car,” she said with a sigh.

  She gestured to a small sedan that was parked in the driveway, the bumper only a foot from the porch. The car was fine. The problem was the truck parked directly behind it. There was no way she’d be moving her car. We could call a tow truck, but that would be an epically shitty thing to do. Someone had probably drunk too much and gotten a ride home—they shouldn’t have to pay for that.

  “This night just keeps getting better and better,” Sarai said softly.

  I glanced at Clover, who was watching me with a grin on his face. He gestured to Sarai and raised his eyebrows.

  “I’ll give you a ride home,” I told Sarai, flipping Clover off as he gave me a thumbs-up.

  “I need my car,” she replied. She was still staring at it, probably trying to think of any way she could get it out of there.

  “I’ll bring you back in the morning to get it,” I assured her.

  “That’s such a hassle, though,” she said, grimacing. “Why would he park so fucking close behind me?”

  “What makes you think it’s a guy?” Clover asked, laughter in his voice.

  Sarai glanced at him and back at the truck. “With tires that big, the owner of that truck must be compensating for a small penis,” she said seriously.

  I snickered and followed Sarai as she walked toward my truck.

  “I would like that ride, if you’re sure,” she said, glancing up at me.

  “Absolutely,” I replied, trying to play it cool even though I was completely stoked that I’d get to spend more time with her.

  “It was nice to meet you, Sarai,” Clover called out as he took a couple of steps backward toward his lifted truck. “Evans, I’ll see you Monday.”

  “It was nice to meet you, too,” Sarai called back as I opened the door for her.

  “Where am I going?” I asked after I’d rounded the truck and climbed into my seat.

  I felt bad that she seemed so upset about leaving her car, but I couldn’t help but feel a little lucky at the turn of events. I hadn’t expected the chance to have her all to myself again, even for a few minutes.

  “Take a left,” she said, leaning her head tiredly against the headrest. “Then a right at the stop sign.”

  I pulled out onto the street and followed her directions.

  “Have you and Hailey been friends for long?” I asked, glancing at her. It was dark in the truck, but I could see her profile clearly as she stared out the windshield.

  “Two years,” she answered.

  I started to ask another question, trying to get her talking again, but she cut me off almost immediately.

  “I can’t believe you’re friends with Sean,” she said. “I can’t believe anyone is friends with him.”

  “Yeah,” I said carefully. I wasn’t sure how to explain why I’d ever hung out with Sean. He wasn’t my favorite person by any means. Most of the time, I thought he was kind of an asshole. But there was something about the relationship between fellow brothers-in-arms that civilians just didn’t understand. I might not like the guy, but I knew without a doubt that when push came to shove, he’d have my back like I’d have his. It wasn’t a friendship, exactly, but until tonight, he hadn’t given me a reason to actively dislike him.

  “I try to keep my mouth shut,” she said. “I don’t talk badly about him to her, even though I think moving in together was a terrible decision.”

  “Yeah,” I said again. I’d been surprised as hell when Sean had asked me to help him move. It seemed like a bad idea, but it wasn’t my business.

  “But tonight”—she shook her head—“he was such an asshole. Why would she put up with that?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “In my family, that shit is never okay. You treat your partner with respect no matter how pissed you are.”

  “I don’t like it,” Sarai said. “Get on the highway here.”

  “I don’t like it, either,” I told her as I turned where she directed me. “Tonight, I thought the best course of action was to put his ass in bed. I didn’t want to make anything worse, you know?”

  “Yep,” she said quietly. “I can imagine how Sean would act if you tried to correct him.”

  “Like a big toddler?” I half joked.

  “Like a bully,” Sarai replied seriously.

  “I’ll see if I can talk to him at work on Monday,” I said after a few moments of quiet. “He might feel like shit about it when he wakes up tomorrow.”

  “Somehow, I doubt it.”

  I didn’t reply, but I agreed with her. Sean was cocky and selfish on his best days. Alcohol only magnified his bad traits; it didn’t create them.

  “I have to ask,” I said after the truck had been silent for a few minutes. “Where are you from?”

  She looked at me and smiled. “Missouri,” she said easily, watching for my response.

  I laughed, because she was clearly messing with me. “That accent isn’t from Missouri,” I argued.

  “It’s true,” she replied. “I was born in Missouri.”

  “And then?”

  “And I moved to New York when I was fourteen,” she said. “That’s probably the accent you’re hearing.”

  “New York, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “Really? That’s all you’re going to give me?” I was worried that we were almost to her apartment and I still barely knew anything about her. This was my chance, and once again I was kind of blowing it.

  “I lived in New York with my aunt and uncle until I came back for college,” she said.

  “The Big Apple,” I said, making her laugh.

  “Both of my parents were New Yorkers,” she explained.

  “They were from New York and they chose to move to Missouri?” Wait, she said were?

  “The heart wants what it wants,” Sarai said, lifting her hands in a who knows gesture. “My father was an architect, and there was a firm here that offered him a good job.”

  “Was?” I asked carefully.

  “They died when I was fourteen,” she replied.

  “Which is why you moved in with your aunt and uncle,” I murmured in understanding. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Thanks,” she said softly. “My uncle and aunt never understood the lure of Missouri, either,” she said. “They’re still waiting on me to move back home.”

  “Is New York home, then?” I asked as she pointed to an apartment complex on the right.

  “Home is…illusive. I thought Missouri was home, and so I came back.”

  “It wasn’t what you expected?” I asked as I pulled into a parking space and put the truck in park.

  “It was everything I remembered,” she said, turning to look at me. “And nothing like home.”

  “Do you think you’ll move back to New York when you’re done with school?”

  “I don’t know. I’m keeping my options open,” she said with a sigh. “I miss my family, of course, but I also like the freedom I have when we don’t live in the same place.”

  “Freedom?”

  “My aunt is a little overbearing,” Sarai said, rolling her eyes. “And family is everywhere in my old neighborhood. I can’t walk a block without seeing someone I know or someone who knows my aunt and uncle or remembers my parents. It’s impossible to be anonymous. But if I moved back to the city and didn’t live in our neighborhood, my aunt would take that as a personal attack.”

  “It sounds kind of great to be surrounded by people who love you,” I replied. I’d been in the Army and moving around for so long I had a hard time remembering how that felt.

  “It is, and it isn’t.” She took off her seat belt and smiled. “And I have no idea how we got on this conversation.”

  “It’s my charm,” I said with mock seriousness. “People spill all their secrets around me.”

  “Did I tell you any secrets?” she asked, cocking her head to the side like she was trying to remember.

  “Not yet,” I said.

  Her hair was falling over her bare shoulder, sliding this way and that every time she shifted her head, and I was mesmerized. I wanted to touch it. Grab it. Run my fingers through it. I’d never seen anyone with hair that shiny before. Like silk.

  “Not ever,” she replied with a wrinkle of her nose. “But thank you very much for the ride home.”

  “No problem,” I said, snapping back to attention. “I’ll come get you in the morning to pick up your car.”

  “I can call an Uber,” she said as she opened her door.

  I quickly unbuckled my seat belt and followed her out of the truck.

  “Why bother?” I asked as I met her at the front of the truck. “I don’t mind coming to get you.”

  She paused and looked up at me. “You’re walking me to the door?”

  “Of course,” I said. “My dad’s rules, remember?”

  “What would your dad say if you insisted even though the woman didn’t want you to walk her?” she asked curiously.

  I stopped walking. “Is that what’s happening now?” I asked.

  Sarai smiled. “No. You can walk me.”

  I let out a small sigh of relief and caught up to her.

  “You know, I’m still hoping you’ll go to dinner with me,” I said as she started up the stairs.

  She paused and stared down at me for a moment, then laughed, her eyes lighting up.

  “You don’t give up, do you?”

  “Not usually,” I confessed as she started climbing again. “Especially when I feel strongly about something.”

  “You don’t even know me,” she scoffed good-naturedly.

  “I want to get to know you,” I replied. “I like what I’ve seen, and I want to know you better.”

  “Well, that’s honest,” she said as she stopped in front of her apartment door.

  “Honesty is always the best policy,” I said, grinning.