“How’s the game going?” she asked.

Matt shrugged, all his attention on her. “Who cares?”

He would have kissed her again, but she ducked away, slipping up the room toward the pool cues. “I care. I figure if you’re losing, I can convince the guys to let me play instead of you.”

Daniel laughed, holding forward his cue stick. “You want to take over for someone, you can play for me. I’d be happy to take a breather and see how Beth is doing.”

“Hey. That means she’s not on my team,” Matt complained.

Travis scooted forward to take Hope’s hand in his and lift it to his lips. “You and I will kick their asses.”

He winked saucily before kissing her knuckles. Matt growled in the background and Hope laughed out loud. Travis was so obviously pulling Matt’s strings, she returned the flirt’s smile. “Ass kicking, beginning now.”

The game was lighthearted and fun. Hope enjoyed the banter among the brothers, Blake and Travis and Matt all giving each other hell as they played. By the time they’d nearly finished three games, she wasn’t sure if her stomach could take much more laughing. “You’re supposed to be concentrating on the game. Give me a break.”

Matt dropped the final ball for him and Blake, and won the deciding matchup. “Diversion works wonders. Now if you’d been ignoring us and snickering a little less, you might have won.”

She stepped back against him and snuggled in as he draped an arm over her shoulders. “Winning isn’t everything.”

Travis tapped her on the nose. “What kind of dream world you living in? Winning is everything.”

Matt batted his brother’s hand away good-naturedly. Hope sighed with contentment. It was so nice to enjoy an evening out with people who didn’t have an agenda.

Travis straightened up from his relaxed slouch and excused himself, heading for the front doors of the bar like his ass was on fire. She followed his gaze, but didn’t see anything that should have made him move that quickly.

Then Matt distracted her by turning her back to the wall and leaning in close, lifting her chin and working his way over her lips as if he was determined to make her legs collapse. The heat of his torso pressed against her, and she relaxed back, luxuriating in his touch.

“Damn it.” Blake’s growl pulled her back to earth. “Bad enough I have to put up with Jaxi talking about you lovebirds all the time. Do you have to do that here?”

Matt didn’t take his eyes off hers. “I think I need to do this just about everywhere. You got any objections, Hope?”

She shook her head. “Hell, no.”

“Guess my brother is out of luck. Sorry, Blake. The show continues.”

Hope laughed but slipped a hand between them to cover his mouth. “Except, I need to go to the washroom.”

Matt sighed and backed away. “I’ll be at the table. You want another Coke?”

Hope nodded then scooted down the back hall to where the bathrooms were. This was wonderful. Just a relaxing evening out. No deadlines hanging over her head. Plus, the lack of interference from her sister seemed to imply Helen was coming to grips with reality.

Life was pretty damn wonderful.

And now that they’d dealt with that stupid hesitation of Matt’s to being the kind of man he wanted to be in the bedroom—there was the potential for things to get even better. They’d shared a ton of good sex in the past few days—rocking-good sex where Matt made her more than glad she’d shared regarding her fantasy lover.

She exited the ladies room and paused. Out of the corner of her eye she’d caught movement. Pressed against the far wall beside the fire exit she spied a couple in pretty much the same position she and Matt had just enjoyed. A tall figure with a short crew cut leaned one hand on the wall, the other hand caught in his partner’s hair. Hope peered through the darkness and hesitated. She had no intention of interrupting—especially not when the top kisser rocked his hips slowly. A shot of something wild and sensual flashed through her. Hmm. She snuck deeper into the shadows, the need to allow them piracy forgotten as she watched and listened.

Then the couple twisted slightly sideways and a jolt went clear through to her toes. The man with the jet-black hair had complete control over the person smeared up against the wall. And from the square jawline with the five o’clock shadow, the kissee was definitely masculine.

It was two men locked together and Hope’s heart skipped a beat at the raw passion. The edgy, almost violent motion between them. A long, low masculine groan rang out as their hips ground together. The dim lighting didn’t allow her to see their faces clearly, which was probably a good thing. Hope forced herself to retreat, peeling her gaze away. Watching could become a bad habit if she let it. She made her way back to the table, tingles of excitement still simmering in her system.

Good thing she was headed toward Matt, who she knew could do something definitive about her sexual tension.


Matt slipped away from the gathering to start his truck so it would warm up before they headed to Hope’s. She had to open the shop early while he was off morning chores this weekend, and it made more sense to crash at the apartment.

He grinned to think that he got to consider such things. Where they would sleep, whose bed, which home. It was a neat stage to be at in their relationship—comfortable and exciting at the same time. He hit the john before turning toward the main room. A solid grasp on his arm jerked him to a stop, and he twisted to face his attacker.

Helen’s bright blue eyes shone in the faint hall light.

Matt jerked his sleeve from her fingers. “What?”

She snorted. “So much for the legendary Coleman politeness. Nice to see you again too.”

He stepped back a foot and looked her over quickly. Her outfit was far more revealing than it used to be when they dated, and the neckline seemed to be unevenly buttoned. “You want something?”

Because there wasn’t much he wanted to talk to her about.

“Just thought we could visit for a minute or two. It’s been a long time, and we didn’t get to discuss much the other night. I figured I’d find you around here. Colemans’ traditional Friday night meeting at Traders, and all that.”

Now she admitted she knew about the family traditions? He waited. The way she dropped her shoulders—her entire body language—was far from the confident, almost demanding woman he’d been with over a year ago.

She lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “I’ve missed you.”

A shot of pain stabbed him, not in his heart, but in his gut. If she’d come back a month after leaving—or even six months later and looked at him like this? Confessed that same thing? He would have given her a chance. Would have tried to find a way to forgive her for cheating on him.

But too much time had passed and it was no longer enough. He’d moved on, and all her confession did was make him sad.

“Sounds as if you had a lot of time to think.” Matt leaned on the wall, his arms crossed in front of him. Putting up a barrier between them that was far smaller than the ones she’d shoved into place.

Her gaze fixed on his mouth. “About a lot of things. About how good you and I were together. Matt, this past year, not having you in my life? God, it was tough.”

He didn’t want to listen anymore. “It was tough for a while for me too, but things change. It gets better. Give it time, you’ll figure it out.”

“Matt, I want to get back together with you.”

The burst of laughter couldn’t be stopped. “You’re fucking kidding me, right? Or are you drunk again like at New Year’s?”

He was trapped in the back hallway of a bar with the woman he’d loved for most of his adult life before she’d taught him to hate. And only recently, he’d learned to forget.

She stepped against him, slipped her hands around his waist and dropped her head on his chest. “Not drunk. I love you, Matt. I always did.”

This was not happening. Matt grabbed her upper arms and peeled her off. She had to let go unless she wanted to actually cling as he forced her away. “Oh, no. Don’t you dare. You’re not actually doing this…”

Helen tilted her head to the side, tears shining in her eyes. “But it’s true. It just took me a while to understand. I mean it. You always wanted me to say it. I can tell you now. I love you. I want to be with you.”

My God, this was some kind of nightmare. Matt backed down the hall, trying to escape as she swung from smiling and seductive into a weeping mess. “Damn it. What the hell do you think you’re doing? You’re the one who ripped us apart last year. You left, Helen. Not me. And even if by some strange chance we had called it off together, did you really think you could just waltz back in and we’d be a couple again? You’re crazy.”

He turned on his heel and walked away. There was nothing more he had to say. Nothing she could say that he wanted to hear.

“Because you’re with Hope? What did you do? Go looking for her as soon as I left town?”

Matt kept walking.

“She’s not going to make you happy. Acting as if she’s some princess of the country. She’s using you just to get back at me…”

Helen raised her voice to a near shout. Matt paused at the entrance to the main room. From his vantage point, his entire family was visible. The girls gathered in a tight group, laughing and smiling as they eyed the guys at the tables. His brothers shooting the breeze and kicking back after a full day of labour. The kind of country living Helen had refused to see as valuable. The love and family she’d turned her back on at every chance.