Chapter 1

Liam

Lying on my back under Hope’s kitchen sink, the top half of my body was cramped as hell. From here, I had a good view of half-rusty pipes, and Hope’s legs in her tiny denim shorts.

Why did she have to wear those shorts today? She always wore shorts in the summer, but these denim shorts were frayed as though she’d cut them from a pair of jeans. She’d cut them way too small, showing the soft curves of her upper thighs, making her legs look longer and sexier than I wanted to think about.

To make matters worse, she wore a clingy white tank top. Thankfully, she wore a bra, but I could see through the sweaty parts of her tank. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and cheeks. Her apartment was hot as hell today, and the air conditioner was broken.

“You okay, Lee?” Hope asked, bending down.

“Fine.” My skin heated to a thousand degrees from her use of my pet name, and her bending like this made some cleavage spill from her tank. I handed her the wrench. Sliding myself out from beneath her sink, I got on my knees, then stood. “Let’s test this out.”

Hope moved closer, and the scent of her hair and skin rose around me. Her favorite shampoo was coconut, and she used a peach body wash. The two mixed scents smelled like heaven.

I turned on the faucet slowly, and water came out.

“Let me know if it’s leaking,” I said.

Hope got on her knees and put her top half under the sink, showing off her nicely rounded ass. I averted my eyes, then looked back at the water as it ran down the sink drain.

“Not a drop,” she said.

“Good.”

I stood back and looked at the shiny new faucet.

“Your landlord owes you money for that new faucet. He’d better pay you back.”

“I’ll let him know and leave the total off my rent when I pay next week.”

“It shouldn’t come to that,” I said. “He should get maintenance here to fix this shit right after you call.” I put my tools back in my box and closed it. When I turned to face Hope, she launched herself at me.

“Rescued again by my bestie.” She squeezed me so hard, her breasts squished against my chest. “Thank you.”

Pure torture.

The torture continued when she stood on her toes to press a sweet kiss on my cheek. My heart thudded, and warmth crept down my neck.

“I’m so lucky you became a plumber. Now I just need to get this damn air conditioner fixed.” She went to the fridge and brought out a pitcher of lemonade, topping off our glasses. “It’s so humid.”

Picking up the lemonade, I gulped it down. I’d do anything for Hope, but she needed to get out of this apartment. She was saving up to buy a house, and by staying in a cheaper apartment, she was saving for a good down payment.

“Hope—”

“I know what you’re going to say.” She put up her hand. “I’m working on it.”

“Not fast enough,” I muttered.

Hope’s apartment building was alright, but it had been sold to a new owner who wasn’t as good about taking care of maintenance issues.

“Let’s go to Cooper’s for beer and burgers,” she said. “Tonight’s on me.”

“Sounds good.” I eyed her outfit. “Uh, do you want to change first?”

“For Cooper’s?” She threw her head back and laughed. A lock of light brown hair escaped her messy bun. “Good one. Look at you. Your t-shirt is damp from sweat.”

“Like every other guy in there,” I said, thinking of the bar’s clientele of blue-collar workers. “I could use some of Cooper’s air conditioning and cold beers.”

Hope glanced down at her tank and frowned.

“You know, maybe I’ll throw on a different shirt. I probably need to fix my hair, too. I’ll just be a minute.”

“Okay.”

I exhaled in relief. Placing my toolbox on the floor, I sat at the small kitchen table. I was hoping she’d put on longer shorts. She’d fit right in at Cooper’s, but I hated the way the other guys ogled her when she walked in.

Most of the time, she went with me. Hope and Liam, Liam and Hope. The guys knew we were close friends, and most of them were afraid to ask Hope out.

Hope acted like she didn’t know she was pretty. She wore nice clothes for her IT manager’s job, but outside of work, she liked to be casual. She enjoyed watching baseball and hockey on TV and wasn’t above yelling at the screen in Cooper’s when a player struck out or missed a goal.

A few minutes later, she came out of her room.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

I exhaled as she walked toward me in a clingy Red Sox shirt. It was less revealing than the tank but perfectly outlined her breasts. She’d left on the denim shorts, of course. She’d pulled her shoulder-length hair out of her ponytail and brushed it.

“Let’s go,” I said, grabbing my toolbox and opening her door. I walked quickly down the hall, and Hope jogged to catch up with me.

“Hold on, you’re walking too fast!”

“Not my fault you have short legs, Squirt,” I joked.

I opened the door and waited for her to catch up. We walked into a blast of steamy air in the parking lot. When we reached my truck, I opened the back and tossed my toolbox in. My truck cab was roasting hot. I started it, but there was no sense turning on the air conditioning. It didn’t work great, and we’d get to the bar soon. I’d left the windows open while I was in Hope’s apartment, but there was no breeze to cool it down.

“Let’s get some food and drink into you,” she said. “I know what a grumpy ass you can be when you’re hungry.”

“Not nearly as grumpy as you are when you’re tired.” Hope was like a wilted flower past ten o’clock, and if she didn’t get to bed early, I got to see her grumpy side.

“Hey, I work early, and I need my beauty rest.”

“Yeah, yeah. My three-year-old niece can stay up later than you.”

I drove through the parking lot and headed for the street.

“Frankie doesn’t have to be wide awake and at work before eight in the morning.”

“No, but she gets up at five some days just to torture my sister.”

“Five o’clock? I don’t even get up that early. What does she think she’s missing at five o’clock in the morning?”

“No idea,” I said.

“She’s such a cutie pie. Is she getting excited about her birthday?”

“Oh, yeah. She keeps asking, ‘Is my party today?’ Maybe that’s why she’s waking up at five.”

We settled into an easy conversation while I drove. My stomach growled loudly as we got closer to the bar, and I pictured Cooper’s big, juicy burgers.

“Heard that,” Hope said. “You’re making me hungry.”

“You can eat more than I can sometimes.”

“Not true! I could never match how much you eat.”

I patted my stomach, which was still flat, considering how much food I could put down in one sitting. My mother and sister warned me that my metabolism would slow down someday, but at twenty-eight, I could still eat pretty much whatever I wanted.

“Hey, I’m a growing boy, and I work hard.”

Eager to make more money, I took courses last fall to become a plumber. I’d quit my maintenance job a few months ago to work as an apprentice. The pay wasn’t great to start, but soon it would increase. I liked the work a lot more than the maintenance job I had at an apartment building across town. That job was okay, but I was sick of apartment living and wanted to get a house someday, like my buddy Evan.

“Wonder if Evan will come out tonight,” I said.

“Oh, I hope so. He’s so much fun to beat in darts.”

“He lets you win at darts.”

“No, he doesn’t! I’ve gotten pretty good,” she insisted.

I grinned, letting her think that. Evan was in the Bullseye Club—a dart club with me and the guys at Cooper’s—and we played games and tournaments all the time. Evan used to be my roommate until he bought a house with his fiancée, Brooke. Hope and Brooke got along great, and when the four of us were together, it almost seemed as if Hope and I were a couple.

Almost.

That could never happen because Hope and I had a good thing going.

No, a great thing.

Hope had seen me through some tough-as-hell times, and I’d helped her over the years, too. We had a great bond, and adding sex to the mix would fuck things up for sure. Besides, she was my older brother’s ex-girlfriend, which added another layer of awkwardness.

Still, there were days like today when I couldn’t get my mind off her hot-as-sin body, pretty, heart-shaped face, or brilliant blue eyes.

Times like now, when Hope shifted and the scent of her body wash hit me, making me picture her in the shower. I bit my bottom lip, grateful to pull into a parking spot down the street from Cooper’s.

“Looks like it’s pretty crowded tonight,” I said. We climbed out of my truck and headed to the bar. It was dusk now, but I checked out the other cars and trucks parked along the sidewalk. “Evan’s here. I’m going to kick his ass at darts tonight.”

“Yeah, right,” she said. “Not if I beat you to it.”

She marched ahead of me, grabbed the door handle, and yanked it open. Cheers and hellos rang out as we walked across the creaky wooden floor and headed toward Evan, who waved to us.

“Here they are,” someone said. “The twins.”

I ignored that, realizing Hope and I had been in here a lot lately.

“Hey, Liam!”

“Hi, Hope!”

We waved and nodded at our friends, then sat at Evan’s table.

“How’s it hanging?” I asked Evan, and Hope’s nose crinkled.

“Why do men always say that?” she asked.

“It’s a guy thing,” I said.

“I just ordered,” Evan said. “Let me grab Jessa next time she comes by so you two can order.”

“No worries, I’ll give our order to Tom,” Hope said. She walked over to the bartender, who pulled out an ordering pad. She leaned on the bar, pushing out her ass and showing more skin than I thought was necessary in those shorts.

I turned away from her and caught Evan’s eye. He gave me a pitying look and shook his head.

“When are you gonna tell her, man?” he asked.