A smile stretched across Pete’s face that made her stomach flutter. The two men exchanged handshakes while she squeezed the heck out of Chris’ palm, letting him know they needed to leave pronto.

  “Nice to meet you, Chris. I’m glad you came today.”

  The little shit pulled his fingers out from her grasp and tucked them into his jeans pocket. “Me, too. Sorry I didn’t speak up. I wasn’t comfortable talking today.”

  “You didn’t need to. It helps to just hear other people’s stories.”

  Her stomach twisted. This was exactly what she worried about. Eve wrapped her fingers around her brother’s elbow and tugged. “We’re not coming back.”

  Pete stared straight at Chris. “Is that what you want?”

  Her brother shrugged. “I liked it here, but I don’t have a car, so it’s up to her.”

  “Here, let me give you my number.” Pete pulled out a card. “If you ever need a ride or want to talk, give me a call.”

  Chris smiled and tucked the paper in his pocket. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

  Eve opened her mouth to argue, and then shut it. She couldn’t think of a thing to say.

  “It’s probably better if you come alone anyway.”

  “What does that mean?” she snapped.

  Pete flashed an apologetic smile. “It’s hard sometimes for families to hear what goes on in there.”

  Chris grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Yeah, I think it was a bit much for her.”

  After stepping on his foot, Eve shoved her keys into her brother’s hands. “Why don’t you go to the car? I’ll be right there.”

  She waited for him to disappear before focusing on the problem in front of her.

  The problem crossed his arms and flashed another one of his bone melting smiles. “Let me guess. No dinner Friday night.”

  Smart man.

  “My life is crazy right now and I can’t...”

  His smile faltered, but didn’t disappear. “It is what it is, you don’t need to explain. But can I give you some advice about your brother?”

  She nodded.

  “Don’t talk him out of coming to these meetings. As much as you want to help, there are some things you can’t understand. Things we do. And if you want him to come out on the other side, he’s going to need us.”

  Her eyes burned with emotion. She blinked them away, nodded a second time and walked out the building.

  Chapter 4

  Eve sprinkled shredded fat free cheese on a tray of spinach lasagna while cradling a cell phone with her shoulder. “Thanks for covering my shift, Maddie. I owe you.”

  “No problem and no, you don’t owe me anything,” said the woman on the other end of the line. “You’ve done it a thousand times for me. I’m glad to finally return the favor. Just please tell me it’s because you’re getting some action tonight.”

  Eve rolled her eyes, slid the tray into the hot oven and shut the door. “I absolutely am. With one hot, lean vegetarian Italian.”

  “Oh God,” Maddie groaned. “I love you woman, but the healthy crap you make tastes like shit. You’re not cooking it for a man, are you?”

  She looked up to see a showered Christian walk out of the guest bedroom and smiled.

  Perfect timing.

  “Actually, I am. My baby brother’s hanging out with me tonight.”

  Stoic faced, he propped his elbows on the bar and watched as she said goodbye to Maddie and hung up.

  While she cleaned off the kitchen counters, his eyes tracked her every move. Finally, when she couldn’t take it anymore, she tossed a towel at his head and crossed her arms. “What?”

  “Just wanted you to know how it felt.”

  “How what felt?”

  “Being watched constantly.”

  She shrugged and headed for the living room sofa. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You were in the shower and I was in the kitchen making dinner, obviously not watching you.”

  “The bathroom’s the only place I can get away from you.”

  A tad uneasy about the direction their conversation was taking, she stretched out on the couch, grabbed the new Healthy Living magazine and flipped through until he snatched it away.

  “Tell me something, why’d you take tonight and tomorrow off from work?”

  When he tried to sit his big butt on her ankles, Eve let out an exasperated sigh and dropped her feet to the floor. “Is it so hard to accept that I wanted to hang out with you?”

  “So, it has nothing to do with the fact that you’re worried I’ll smoke up when you’re not looking?”

  Not comfortable with lying and even more uncomfortable admitting the truth, Eve picked imaginary dirt from her baggy sweats.

  He let out a breath. “That’s what I thought.”

  “After everything, I’m not sure you’re in a place right now where you can make good decisions.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Is that why your bedroom door is locked?

  Her face heated.

  Chris shoved off the sofa and stormed to his room. She rose to follow, but before she could, he reappeared with a metal hanger. He walked to her locked room, all the while straightening the hanger’s wire hook. Digging the sharp end into the hole in the center of the knob, he jiggled it until it popped, and threw open her door.

  He pointed the disfigured hanger into her room. “If I wanted your money, alcohol or prescription pills, did you really think this lock would keep me away?”

  She wanted to explain herself, to let him know she never thought he’d steal from her, but stopped when he threw the hanger across the room.

  “I’m not a thief. I’m not Preston, for fuck’s sake.”

  Eve sucked in a breath as his words slapped her. The room fell silent.

  His face bright red, he looked around and took a big gulp of air. “I need to get out of here.”

  Stunned and rooted to the floor, her eyes burned as he walked out. Soon tears streamed down her cheeks. When he slammed the front door, a picture frame crashed to the floor.

  It opened a second later. Chris stepped back in, staring at his feet. “I don’t want you to worry and think I’m going to do something stupid. Just need a break.” His voice came out hoarse, and his eyes glistened with tears of his own. “Trust me, okay? I fucked up, but I’m not a fuck–up.”

  She nodded and watched him leave. Eve sat on the couch, leaned her head back, and silently cried.

  It had never been her intention to make him feel like she didn’t trust him. Chris was a lot of things, the top of which included kind and good. There was no comparison between him and her lying ex–boyfriend, Preston.

  With her emotions under control, she began to think clearer. She had messed up on so many levels and didn’t know how to fix it. Her thoughts focused on the one person who could help. With a deep breath, she grabbed her cell and searched for Pete’s number.

  An hour later, Pete sat at Evie’s kitchen table, ignoring the fact the place smelled of burnt garlic.

  Lots of burnt garlic.

  He looked at the blackened substance in the glass tray then at the woman who stood across from him slashing into it. She wore a loose white tee shirt splattered with what looked like tomato sauce and sweat pants so baggy he didn’t how they stayed up. Her eyes and nose were pink and swollen from crying. She was a mess.

  He focused hard to fight off his urges, all of which involved doing things she wouldn’t appreciate at this moment. He wanted to pull off the tie holding her hair back and trash those ridiculous black glasses sitting on her face. Then he would pull her into his arms, kiss the hell out of her, and tell her it would all be okay. Since he didn’t have the right to do any of the above, he sat on his hands and tried to make small talk. “Looks like you’ve made something there.”

  “Vegetarian lasagna.” Evie plated a slice and went to grab another dish.

  He angled his head and stared at the pile of brown, green, and red in front of him.

 
; Growing up with Italian parents and pretty decent cook himself, he knew what lasagna looked like. He stared at the form in the glass pan with suspicion. “Where’s the pasta?”

  “I used sliced Zucchini instead. You know, low carb.”

  His mother would be rolling in her grave. “Of course.”

  “Can I get you a slice?”

  He shook his head. “I’m good. Some water would be great, though.”

  She poured him a glass then sat across from him. When she put a bite of food into her mouth, he found himself eyeing her lips, utterly jealous of the fork.

  He cleared his throat. “You okay?”

  “No.” She reached for the salt shaker and smothered the food with it. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”

  Something told him she wasn’t talking about the food, although she needed help in that department, too.

  She leaned back in her chair and hugged her waist, staring off into space. “Chris told me he didn’t need a babysitter and walked out the door.”

  He considered not telling her Chris had called him, but thought better of it. Honesty was always the best approach. “He filled me in.”

  Her puffy blue eyes searched his. “He did?”

  Again the unbearable urge to go over there and pull her close tugged at him, but after the way she acted last night at the NA meeting, he knew better. “Yeah, you should be proud of him for reaching out.”

  “So, then he told you how crazy I am.”

  He smiled. Brother and sister had a lot in common. “He said he went off on you and you didn’t deserve it.”

  “Not true. I deserved it.”

  She popped another forkful of her meal into that delicious mouth of hers. Pete shifted in his seat and tried to stay focused. After washing it down with some water, she slid the plate forward and propped her head in her hands. “I went nuts.”

  “He knows you just tried to help.”

  “It doesn’t make what I did okay. I need to fix this. Please tell me you know how.”

  Pete’s chest tightened at the sadness in her face. If someone had cared about him half as much as she obviously did for her brother, his life might have turned out different. “You can’t. For this to work, he has to take charge of the problem. It kinda sounds like that’s what he’s trying to do.”

  Evie stared across the table, straight at him. “So I’m supposed to sit back and...”

  “Be there for him. Tell him you believe in him. Hold him responsible when he messes up.”

  She didn’t respond. Instead, she got up, walked over to the large windows in the living room and focused on the street below.

  Pete followed her, but stopped a few feet away. “You okay?”

  “I didn’t do any of what you said.” Evie pressed her forehead against the glass. A stray tear streamed down her cheek. “I treated him like a thief.”

  He moved in close and wiped the wetness off the side of her face. “You’re still here and still trying. That’s more than most of us got.”

  She leaned her face into his hand while he rubbed his thumb along her cheek. “Maybe I should go out and look for him.”

  “Naw. He’s across the street at the burger shop.”

  “Asshole.” A sad smile tugged at her lips. “Probably running away from my cooking.” She closed her lids as her body shook and emotions drenched her face. “God, I hope it was my cooking and not me.”

  “Come here.” Pete tugged her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

  While she fisted the sides of his shirt and cried, he noticed how perfectly her face fit at the crux of his neck. With his cheek rested against her hair and his arms around her waist, he savored each breath he took filled with the sweet, clean scent of her.

  She was soft and warm, but revealed a strength even when she cried. He knew nothing about this woman; yet, he knew everything. One he probably didn’t have a chance in hell with, but he didn’t ever want to let go.

  She just felt... right.

  Like home.

  He didn’t know how long she cried, nor did he care that his shirt was soaked with her tears. He held on, willing her to see how well they fit together, hoping she would sense how much he wanted her, wanted this.

  At some point, her tremors stopped. He held his breath and waited for her to pull away, at the same time praying she wouldn’t. Instead, she pressed her mouth against his skin and planted a soft kiss on his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut, appreciating the touch of her lips and the warmth of her breath on him.

  His pulse quickened, heat coursed through him awakening a hunger deep in his core. He ached to tilt her chin and taste her, but fought the urge. Something told him she’d be worth waiting for.

  A shudder ripped through him when she planted her hands on his back, molding and massaging muscles as they moved toward his shoulders. His cock lengthened and his jeans tightened as her fingers traveled up his neck into his hair.

  She rested her cheek against his, her lips brushing against his ear. “Pete.”

  He moved in close until their chests touched and, with the back of his hand, traced her jaw. “Yeah?”

  “We can’t.”

  Pete rested his forehead on hers, searching her face. Her words said one thing, but the way her fingers ran through his hair, and her eyes hungered for his mouth, said another. “Why?”

  She closed her lids. A tear slipped down her cheek. “I wasted two years of my life with an addict. I can’t go through that again.”

  He wiped the wetness away from her soft skin. “You won’t.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  Her cheeks were flushed and lips parted. He smiled. “I have too many reasons to stay sober.”

  He brushed his lower lip against hers and whispered, “Trust me; I’m not stupid enough to mess this up.”

  Their eyes locked for an eternity and he held his breath, waiting for her to pull away. Instead, she shifted closer, pressed her mouth against his and kissed the hell out of him. Pete tried to stay in control even when she bit his lip, asking for entry. He kept his hands glued to her waist while her tongue tangoed with his.

  Seductive and skilled, the woman made things hard for him.

  Really hard.

  He tried not to tear off her clothes, slam her against the wall and sink deep inside her. But when her hips pressed into his erection, the friction had him groaning, and all gentlemanly intentions flew out the window.

  He cupped her ass through the baggy sweats, lifted her off the floor and pressed her securely against his groin. A few steps later, she was sandwiched between him and the glass while his hand found its way to the soft, warm skin under her shirt.

  As his fingers crept higher, keys from outside the hallway rattled. Both of them froze mid–kiss, their eyes wide, while the lock on the door slid open.

  Fuck.

  Chris was home.

  Chapter 5

  In a flash, Pete slid Eve off the glass and onto her feet. While she tried to catch her breath, he headed down the hall. “Where’s your restroom?”

  She noticed the huge tent in the front of his pants. “Last door on the left.” She pointed with one hand while smoothing out her hair with the other. As the front door opened, she turned to face the window. The last thing she needed was for Chris to see her like this. She rested her forehead against the cool glass of the window as she worked to slow her racing heart and chill her overheated body.

  The door slammed shut behind her. By the time the locks slid into place, she was calmer, but her throat tight with emotion. Not only because Chris was home safe, but also because of the overwhelming disappointment she felt in herself for what she almost did with Pete.

  “You’re back,” she croaked.

  “Yeah.”

  While her voice sounded choked, his sounded dejected. She peeked over her shoulder to see him lower himself on to the sofa and plant his head in his hands. “Sorry about how I left earlier.”

  Her heart went out to him. The poor
guy couldn’t even look her in the eye. Eve crossed the room and sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I deserved it. I screwed up.”

  “No, you didn’t. You tried to help. I was too pissed to care.”

  She pulled his arm around her shoulder and made him hug her. “Pissed at?”

  “Myself, for messing up my life,” he whispered, giving her a squeeze.

  Eve clasped his hand. “Nothing you did is life ending.”

  When he didn’t comment, she turned and searched his face. “Hey, are you listening?”

  He kept his eyes shut, but nodded.

  “You asked for help, that took guts and I am so freaking proud of you.”

  In response, he shook his head. “It shouldn’t have happened.”

  “We all do stupid things, Chris. Remember me? I’m the one who wasted two years of my life with an asshole.”

  He stiffened at the mention of her ex and finally looked at her. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You never told any of us why you finally kicked him out.”

  Her stomach twisted. It was her turn to look away, she never wanted to remember. “I’m not ready to talk about it.”

  “Can I tell you my theory?”

  “No.”

  He was silent for a while and she worried he wouldn’t let it go. Instead, he pulled her closer. “Okay. Just know if I ever see him, I’ll kill him.”

  Eve blinked away the tears. “And that, my pain in the ass little brother, is why I love you so much.”

  “I never liked him. You deserve better than that piece of shit.”

  “Took me a while to realize it, which brings me back to you. You’re going to mess up. There’s no way around it. But the one thing we’ve learned from our parents is what?”

  He rested the back of his head on the couch and groaned.

  She elbowed him. “Come on, say it.”

  “If something doesn’t work, pick yourself up and do something different.”

  Eve laughed at her brother’s imitation of their father.

  “I’m trying to do that, by the way. I applied at the diner across the street and the Italian restaurant a couple blocks down. Figured since I can’t go back until fall semester, might as well do something useful with my time.”