“I can,” Elle said and dropped her ten. “Kylie’s smiling with way too many teeth. Plus we all know Joe’s hot as hell. And those abs—”

“Hey,” Molly said. “My brother, remember? And anyway, it’s what’s on the inside that matters, not the outside.”

“Not in the beginning,” Elle said. “Be honest. It’s all about first visual impression and chemistry.”

Molly shook her head. “Not always.”

“Give me an example,” Elle said. “Even one example where in the first two seconds what’s on the inside is more important than the outside.”

“Uh . . .” Molly sighed and shook her head. “Dammit.”

“Refrigerator,” Sadie said as she came and sat down to join them.

Elle laughed. “Okay, I stand corrected.”

“You don’t get to talk,” Molly told her. “You’re with Archer, who looks at you like I look at fully loaded pizza. If a man looked at me like that, I wouldn’t worry about first impressions at all.”

While they went on to debate this, Willa turned to Kylie. “So are you?” she asked quietly. “Sleeping with him?”

“Technically? No.”

Willa grinned. “And untechnically?”

Kylie bit her lower lip and Willa laughed. “I knew it. How was it?”

Magic . . . “We’re not together like that,” she said. “We’re just friends.” Sort of. “It’s complicated.”

“Honey, why would you want to be just friends with a perfect male specimen like Joe?”

“He’s . . . not my type,” Kylie said. Lame.

“How is hot and sexy not your type?” Sadie wanted to know.

She turned around to find everyone listening. Great. “Well,” she said, brain whirling. “He’s pushy. And arrogant. And . . .” And smart. And sexy. And he liked to kiss everything, and she did mean everything. Which wasn’t exactly a fault . . .

Molly was watching her carefully and raised a brow.

Kylie swallowed hard and shook her head. “He’s bossy.” She tossed up her hands. “And okay, maybe just a little bit really hot and sexy.” She strained to think of more insults to cancel out the hot and sexy but realized that suddenly every one of her friends had gotten an identical funny look on their face. Crap. “He’s right behind me, isn’t he.”

“Yep,” Willa said cheerfully.

Kylie closed her eyes briefly before swiveling in her barstool.

Joe was indeed standing right there. “I wouldn’t say we’re just friends,” he told her.

“What would you say?” Willa wanted to know. “For the record.”

“For the record . . .” He wrapped his fingers around Kylie’s hand. “I’d say none of your business.”

Willa sighed as Joe tugged Kylie outside.

Chapter 20

#IllHaveWhatShesHaving

Joe pulled Kylie along with him through the courtyard, past the water fountain and right into the alley.

Old Man Eddie was sitting on a crate, feet up, head tilted back, watching the stars. At the sight of them, he sat up straight and waved.

“Need to borrow the alley for a moment,” Joe said and slid him a twenty.

Eddie grinned, pocketed it, and saluted him. “Take as many minutes as you need, Soldier.”

And then they were alone. Joe watched as Kylie went through her bag of tricks and pulled out the red wig.

“What’s that for?” he asked as she put it on.

“It’s my superhero cape,” she said. “I’m a little brave, but Red’s all the way brave. She can handle anything. If we’re going to talk about what just happened, I really need my superhero cape. I mean, I’d rather have an invisibility cloak, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

She was crazy. In the very best way, and he let out a low, rough laugh.

“Are you laughing at me?” she asked.

“With you,” he said. “Always with you.”

“But I’m not laughing.”

He did his best to dial the good humor back. “Kylie, given what I do for a living and my family life, how many times a day do you think I actually laugh?”

“I . . .” She sighed, dropped her ‘tude, and shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Approximately never,” he admitted. “Unless I’m with you.” And that was the real admission. “So I’m not going to apologize for enjoying the hell out of your company.”

“Even though I said you were pushy and arrogant? And don’t forget bossy.”

“Yes, but you also said I was hot and sexy.”

“I did, but if you must know, it’s really annoying,” she said.

He laughed because she didn’t look annoyed at all, and he stepped into her so that even a sheet of paper couldn’t have fit between them, palming the back of her head to protect her from the brick. He couldn’t stop himself from touching her. And now that he’d had her naked and writhing for him, he knew he wasn’t going to be able to get her out of his head either.

Deep down he knew he shouldn’t have done it, shouldn’t have slept with her. He’d known this, but he’d wanted her so badly she’d become way too big a distraction to ignore. Stupidly he’d assumed that would end immediately after.

Nothing had ever backfired on him quite so spectacularly, because now he wanted her more than ever before. Even just standing here with her in that wig flashed memories of her he couldn’t control. Her lips on his skin, her breath hot on his neck, her legs wrapped around him, her hardened nipples pressing tight against his chest as she arched up into him. And her gasp when he’d moved deep inside her . . . God. The low, sexy sounds she’d made as she’d come had been his complete undoing, and the memories combined with what she’d said about him in the pub had him turned on all over again.

“I thought we weren’t going to do this,” she murmured, her eyes her own twin pools of fathomless emotion. “Give in to any real feelings. Thought you couldn’t.”

He was an inch from saying screw that when someone spoke behind them.

“I know I was supposed to vanish,” Old Man Eddie said apologetically, “but I went around to the other alley behind Reclaimed Woods and there was an envelope leaning up against the back door with Kylie’s name on it. Thought she’d want it.”

Kylie stared at the envelope without moving, maybe without breathing, so Joe took it from Eddie. “Did you see who left it?” he asked.

“Nope, and it’s wet from the rain like maybe it’s been there a while. I didn’t want it to get ruined.” Eddie’s smile faded as he took in their expressions. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Joe said. “Thanks for thinking to bring it to her.”

Eddie, not taking his gaze off Kylie, nodded. “You got it.” He slid a look at Joe, brows up, silently asking if Joe was going to take care of their girl. Joe nodded and Eddie backed out of the alley.

“Open it,” Kylie said.

He did and revealed a pic of her penguin on a workbench, with someone holding a lit Bic at the penguin’s feet. On the back of the pic were a few scribbled words.

You’re running out of time.

“I am,” Kylie said. “Running out of time.”