Darcy shrugged and dropped eye contact. The one person she’d never been able to lie to was her nosy-ass sister. “Nothing more than the usual.”

“Hmm,” Zoe said, which she uttered whenever she was thinking something she wasn’t ready to say out loud. Zoe then slid a glance at Xander before coming back to Darcy.

Yep. Whatever she had to say couldn’t be said in front of Xander.

Confirming that, Zoe stood up and headed to the front door.

“Hey,” Xander said after her. “You’re not going to get out of her what happened?”

“No,” Zoe said.

“Why not?”

“Hello, have you met her?” Zoe asked. “She never talks until she’s ready. Darcy, honey, I need your help in here.”

“Doing what?” Zoe didn’t need help, ever.

“Rearranging the stock cabinet,” Zoe answered. “You know, where we keep all of our feminine hygiene products like tampons and panty liners. Xander, you’re welcome to come in and help if you’d like.”

Xander paled. “Uh …” He looked like he’d rather have his nuts surgically removed. Without drugs. “Can’t, sorry.” Darcy snorted and stood up, carefully stretching to avoid any cramping in her legs. “Go home, Xander. Sorry I cried and snotted all over your shirt. I’m just really tired, that’s all.”

He stood with her. “Something happened,” he insisted.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“Darcy—”

“Honest. I’m just exhausted and I need a hot soak.” She cupped his face and smiled up into it, letting him see that she really was okay.

“You’re not lying, right?” he asked warily. “This isn’t one of those things you women do, where you pretend to be okay when you’re not?”

“We don’t do that,” Darcy said.

“Are you kidding? You were born to do that.”

“Okay, true,” she said. “But really, I’m fine.”

He brushed a soft kiss across her lips and touched her face. “Dinner?”

“Can’t. I have to help Zoe with the thing.”

“Yeah,” Zoe said. “The tampon thing.”

“Never mind,” he said, scrambling for his keys to make his escape.

When he drove off, Darcy looked at Zoe with a laugh. “That was mean.”

“Hey, if he can’t handle the heat then he has no business getting so close to the fire. And you’re definitely fire.”

“He means well,” Darcy said.

“You sure about that?”

“Yes,” Darcy said firmly. “He’s my best friend. He’d do anything for me.”

“Whatever you say.”

“You don’t think he cares about me?”

“Oh, I know he does,” Zoe said. “Just not as your best friend.”

Darcy blew out a breath. “He’ll get there.”

“Just don’t be disappointed if he doesn’t.”

“He will,” Darcy insisted. He had to; she didn’t know what she would do without him.

“Honey, I mean this in the most loving way,” Zoe said. “But don’t be naïve, it’s not like you. Men don’t do the bestfriend thing. They do the sex thing. And some of them do the sex thing really really well. But being friends with a woman with no possibility of benefits?” She shook her head. “Not in their genetic makeup.”

“That’s harsh,” Darcy said.

“It’s truth,” Zoe said, and held the front door open for her.

They hit the kitchen together, where Zoe poured tea and added a healthy dollop of whiskey into each.

“Nice,” Darcy said, and lifted her cup. “What are we drinking to?”

“You tell me,” Zoe said.

“Nothing to tell.”

Zoe added another dollop of whiskey to Darcy’s cup of tea and Darcy laughed. “You think that’s going to work?”

But Zoe wasn’t playing. She didn’t smile. She reached across the kitchen table for Darcy’s hand. “Listen to me, okay? I’ve known AJ a long time. He’s one of the best men I know. He’s strong, both inside and out. He’s resourceful, smart, and steady as a rock.”

“Sounds like you’re trying to sell me a dog.”

“AJ isn’t exactly a puppy,” Zoe said.

No kidding.

“I’d trust him with my life,” her sister went on. “And I’d trust him with yours.”

“But?” Darcy asked. “Because I definitely sense a but at the end of that sentence.”

“But he’s a man. And I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

“Oh yeah?” Darcy asked. “Like he’s watching the circus?”

“Like you’re his next meal.”

Well, hell if that didn’t shut Darcy up. She had been his meal. And she’d loved every single second of it.

“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Zoe asked.

“Like I told Xander, I’m just tired.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve known you a long time, too,” Zoe said. “And as luck would have it, you’re one of the best women I know.”

Darcy snorted but Zoe squeezed her fingers. “You are,” she said fiercely. “You’re strong inside and out, just like him. And also resourceful and smart.”