My back hits the wall. Her full lips form to my mouth.

“Hey. Hi. Your hair is wet, goof.” She filters her fingers through my hair and tugs on the ends. She kisses me slowly. Deeply. Pressing her small body against mine. Her tongue swipes across my lip and she moans. “Mm. My face is so warm right now. Feel.” Stepping back, she grabs my hand and presses it to her cheek.

I look at her, at that wild, devilish smile twisting across her mouth. The dimple sinking into her cheek and her brilliant eyes, round and eager.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispers, smiling so goddamn big. Her cheeks lifting and flushing pink.

My heart thunders in my chest.

Christ, I’m so in love with this girl.

A throat clears in the room. I look up and spot our audience, Billy and Joey, hovering a few feet away by the sofa. Both of them looking more than pleased at what they’re witnessing.

“Hey. How are ya?” I choke out, straightening off the wall.

“Evening.” Joey tips his glass, arching an eyebrow. “She’s been pacing around waiting for you. I almost had to sedate her.”

“Whatever. I was not,” Brooke snaps over her shoulder. She tugs on my hand. “Come on. Do you want a drink? We have beer.”

“And martinis,” Billy adds, nodding his greeting and then gesturing across the room. “Liquor cabinet is over there if you want something stiff.”

Brooke spins around. Her mouth slowly falling open and then spreading into a knowing smile. “Oh, my God. Do you get it? Something stiff?” She gets up on her toes, hand beside her mouth as she whispers, “like a cock.”

Tipsy Brooke doesn’t know how to whisper.

Her eyes pop wider when everyone enjoys a good laugh. Joey and Billy remark about only wanting stiff ones as they move about the condo.

I grin down at Brooke, scratching my jaw. “Yeah, sweetheart. I get it. I’m good with a beer, yeah?”

Her little nose twitches. “Yeah,” she chuckles, pushing on my chest. “Go sit. I’ll grab you one.”

I do a quick take of my surroundings as I pad toward the bar.

The condo is spacious and elegantly decorated. Expensive looking art covers the walls.

“Nice place,” I comment, sliding out a stool and stretching my arms out on the cool marble. “I’m still working on getting all of my stuff unpacked. It’s been a bit of a slow process. Other things have been occupying my time.”

Brooke smiles over her shoulder as she grabs me a beer.

“Oh, this is all Billy. I can’t decorate to save my life.” Joey comes to stand at the bar with his cocktail. “It’s strange how fabulous I am with my own fashion sense, yet when it comes to color schemes for a room I’m a hot mess about it.”

Billy steps up behind him and kisses his shoulder, laughing a bit. “It’s a good thing I love you for other reasons. Remember when you tried to wallpaper the bathroom?”

“Christ, don’t remind me,” Joey groans in embarrassment. “I have no idea why I thought that was a good idea.”

“Because you had just moved in and you wanted to surprise me with something. It was sweet.”

Brooke runs her hand across my back and places the beer in front of me. She kisses my cheek.

“I’ll be right back.”

I watch her disappear behind a door. I fight the urge to follow her in there when I decide on that being her bedroom.

Slow it down, mate. You damn well know what’ll happen if you go in there.

“So, camping . . .”

I turn my head and watch Joey’s eyes flicker with amusement over the top of his drink. He takes a slow sip.

I look between him and Billy. “Right. How was she when she got back here? Like this?” I hook a thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the bedroom.

“Hardly.” Billy drops his chin on Joey’s shoulder, his arms wrapping around his waist. “She was freaking out about the tick, which isn’t shocking. This is Brooke we’re talking about. She once stayed at her sister’s house for the weekend because she saw a spider in her bedroom. Wouldn’t come home until we promised her we killed it.”

“We never found the damn thing,” Joey adds with a cheeky grin. “We just missed her crazy ass and wanted her to come home.”

I rub at my mouth. “So, when did she start acting like this? She seems fine now, like nothing happened.”

“Do you not know the glorious effects of alcohol?” Joey’s eyebrow lifts. “Once we distracted her with drinks, she calmed down about it.” He looks at Billy, then back at me, smiling like he’s in on some secret. “That’s also when she started going on and on about you.”

“Another thing you need to know about Brooke,” Billy pauses, his eyes lifting to something over my shoulder. I hear a door shut and he quietly adds, “She doesn’t do that,” before turning his head and pulling Joey away from the bar.

My mind soaks in that obscure bit of information.

She doesn’t do what? Talk about blokes like she does me? Drink and forget about unfortunate run-ins with insects?

What the fuck? I need clarity on this.

Brooke moves back into the kitchen and waves at me. I watch her as she reaches for a tall cocktail on the counter, one resembling Joey’s. It’s a pale green color with a cherry floating at the bottom.

She spins around and closes a cabinet. I study her, resting my chin on my hand. Her long hair falls down her back, curling against her black tank top. Loose trackies hang low on her hips with the words Team Pink covering her arse.

She brings the drink to her mouth and takes a sip. Our eyes meet. I smile, and she cutely waves at me again.

A door slides open behind me and draws my attention.

Billy looks up, places his hand on Joey’s shoulder, and muscles him outside. He looks to be struggling with it.

“We’re . . . go, will you? Jesus! We’re going to go sit on the balcony. Give you two a little privacy for a while.” He jerks his chin and then steps out onto the terrace, pulling the door closed and drowning out Joey’s flippant protest.

“Goddamn it, Billy,” I faintly hear through the glass.

Brooke’s quiet giggle turns my head as she sits beside me, her bare feet swinging in the air. “This is my fourth apple martini.” She takes a small sip, licking her lips. “It’s apple.”

Laughing, I twist off the cap on my beer and take a swig. “How’s your leg?”

“Mm. Good! Look.” She sets her drink down and pulls up her pants. “It’s not even red anymore. Not that you can tell ‘cause of the Band-Aid, but still. I cleaned it like you said and put some Neosporin on it. Billy said it looks fine. He’s had tick bites before.”

I wrap my hand around her calf and examine her leg, slowly running my thumb along her smooth skin.

Images of Brooke on the rock, scared and trembling corrode my mind. Her broken voice fills my ears.

“You know how sorry I am for this, right?” I quietly ask, looking up into those big, curious eyes. I tug down her pants to her ankle and release her leg. “I’m so fucking sorry, Brooke. I should’ve never taken you there. I shouldn’t have made you do that.”

She gives me a lopsided smile. “I liked the swanky tent. Remember what we did in there?”