4

“Cocky bastard. I’ve taught you well.”

“Nah.” I shook my head. “I just know how good we are, and I’m not afraid to say it.”

“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

He clasped my shoulder with one hand, holding a thumb drive with his other, which contained every bit of data we would need for this case. Declan didn’t trust the mail or a courier to handle confidential information, so that tiny drive that was tucked under his fingers was the whole reason we’d flown to Boston.

“And I know very little about tech,” I confessed.

But in preparation for this case, I’d been studying, reading up on the terms, the process of developing an app, and the roles within Hooked. I needed to understand what I was really looking at and what had happened within the inner layers of their company.

“I can’t say I know a lot more than you, but after this, we’re going to be experts,” he replied.

“I don’t know if it’s because we share an alma mater or because they’re from Boston or what, but I feel like I’ve got a personal investment in this one.” I glanced out the windshield as the driver turned onto the tarmac. “I want these Hooked guys to get the justice they deserve.”

“They will, but it’s going to take a hell of a lot of billable hours to get us there.”

I placed the strap of my briefcase over my arm. “We have a huge team. We can handle it.”

“Tomorrow morning, I’m going into Dominick’s office to tell him I want another paralegal and three more associates.”

Even though each of the brothers had equal roles, Dominick was the oldest, and with that came a bit of hierarchy.

But adding four team members? That surprised me.

“You really think we need that many more to help?” I asked.

He placed the thumb drive into his suit pocket and lifted his briefcase onto his lap. “I don’t expect you to know this—you’re too fresh—but we have two tech monopolies going to war. There’s been mishandled information, stolen designs, and the breach of an ironclad noncompete. This isn’t Pop’s coffee shop we’re talking about, Camden. This is the largest dating app in the world, suiting up against the largest social media site. Shit is going to get fucking ugly.”

“Was that supposed to make me shiver?”

His brow loosened from its furrow and rose. “It doesn’t?”

I rubbed my hands together. “I’m ready to fight.”

“Just the answer I wanted.” He took out the thumb drive and handed it to me. “Start poring through some of what’s on there during this cross-country flight. When I leave Dominick’s office in the morning, I’m coming straight to you for a recap.” He opened the door as the SUV came to a stop and walked up the steps of the jet.

I followed behind him, and once I took a seat, I opened my laptop and inserted the drive, transferring the data to my hard drive. As the information began to load, I took out my cell and clicked on Messages.

There were several unread texts.

Only one got my focus.

Oaklyn

Heeeeey, it’s time to talk. Can you believe it’s been a whole year? Come over tonight … if you can.

“For the long flight,” the flight attendant said, setting a vodka on the rocks beside me.

I thanked her and brought the glass up to my lips, swallowing the cold, burning liquor as I scanned Oaklyn’s message again.

I knew how much time had passed since she’d propositioned me. I didn’t have a countdown going on my Calendar app, but every month, a mental check mark would swish across my brain, letting me know I was one step closer to potentially tasting her.

A thought that was still so fucking wild.

Dangerous.

Something I still shouldn’t even consider.

But, hell, I knew the temptation was far out of my control.

I wanted her.

I wanted to be inside her.

I wanted to be the man she compared all others to. Even when her future husband was pounding her pussy, I wanted her to remember me.

And every time I saw her, I was reminded of that fact. Like when I’d first moved back to LA and my parents threw a graduation party. Then, there were the times I’d stopped by their shared place to see my sister and when Hannah had brought Oaklyn to the gathering I’d put together when I got my condo.

Every time, she was there.

Always taking me in, locking eyes, silent words passing between us.

But there were spoken ones too. Ones that she would subtly say in front of me, so I knew what was happening in her life. A way to keep me updated without reaching out to me directly.

A year.

Shit, I had been positive things were going to change for her during that time, but the dates she’d gone on were nothing more than a few dinners, a concert, and a trip to the movies—details I’d heard about when I was in her presence.

None of those outings had amounted to anything more, which dropped Oaklyn straight into my hands.

Hands that were fucking dying to touch that perfect body.

Still, there was a but.

A realization that had come to me over the last several weeks as the one-year anniversary sprinted closer.

As my sister’s best friend, a woman who was off-limits and someone I cared about and wanted to protect, I was going to do her a favor.

That favor would show her exactly who I was and why I wasn’t the right man to take her virginity.

Not that I didn’t want to—fuck, I wanted nothing more.

But she needed someone soft.

Someone tender.

Someone who … wasn’t me.

And once I made her aware of that, I was sure she’d be too terrified to follow through with her proposition, and this whole fantasy would be over.