* * *

If she’d had any idea how beautiful she looked, wrapped up in his arms and smiling up at him, nose crinkled, Zoey would have grabbed her blanket and found a better man in a better truck bed to spend her evening with.

Somehow, she’d chosen him, and Graham was trying to keep his gut reactions in a choke hold. Then she’d busted out that word.

The word.

And he didn’t blame her one bit, because Graham was pretty sure he loved…this…too.

Messing around in his truck was beyond fun, but fun was quickly being replaced with a series of emotions he did not want to share with anyone who might happen to walk past their secluded parking spot.

Now his damn phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. So far, he’d managed to successfully distract her, but at some point, it was going to be more than a little inconvenient.

“Zo.”

“Hmm?”

Groaning, Graham nipped her lower lip, because not doing so seemed so wrong. “Any chance we can take this back to your place? It’s closer.”

“Depends on if you tossed my keycard in the grass next to my bra.”

Lips curving, he nipped her neck this time, then each of her fingertips. “That wasn’t me.”

“I’m pretty sure it was.”

“Definitely not. L’s at a thing, right? The thing we’re invited to go to that we don’t want to go to?”

Her breath caught, and Graham decided they definitely needed to take this back to her place.

“I can get a new keycard. Grass likes me.”

“Grass hates me.”

“You probably deserve it.”

In the end, they found her keycard after hunting for their clothes. Hastily dressing, they snuck up to the resort. The interior of the hotel was empty, with all the guests and employees outside watching the fireworks. The elevator took twice as long as it should have to reach her floor, or maybe that was just Graham’s impatience getting the best of him. Arm around her shoulders, Graham held open the door for Zoey after she unlocked it with trembling fingers. Graham felt the same. His hands might not be trembling, but his entire body was tensed with anticipation. Wanting her was killing him, especially when she kept stealing glances at him from the corner of her eye, unconsciously wetting her lower lip.

Unable to keep his eyes off her mouth, Graham stole her hand as soon as the door closed behind her, pulling her back into his arms. The room was dark, lit only by the low summer light and the fireworks still exploding above the mountainside through the windows. The view was incredible, but all Graham could see was her.

“Are you sure, Zo?” He had to ask one more time because more than her fingers were trembling now. “We can take this slow.”

“I’m trying not to attack you,” Zoey replied, breathless. “How am I doing so far?”

When her hands slid beneath his shirt, tracing his abdominal muscles, Graham groaned, capturing her mouth. Fingers kneading into her hips, he whispered against her lips.

“Bed or couch, gorgeous?”

“Both,” she breathed. “Or the window. The shower. Maybe the elevator.”

Not asking her to marry him right then and there was only possible because his hands and mouth were currently otherwise occupied.

They were halfway to the couch when Graham heard a small noise that didn’t belong. Disengaging Zoey’s hands from him, he pulled her behind him protectively, scanning the suite for something out of place.

“What’s wrong?”

“I heard something.”

Not something. Someone. As he stepped closer to the partially open door to Lana’s bedroom, he saw movement next to the bed. This time, the noise was a small sniffle, feminine and familiar in tone.

“It’s L.”

Zoey pushed past him, turning on a light and making a little noise of distress in her throat.

For the first time since he’d met her, Lana looked rough. She’d been crying, her face and eyes reddened. Hair a mess and clothing—

With a growl of instant rage, Graham realized her clothing was dirty, as if she’d fallen, and there was a scratch on her arm.

“Who did this?” he demanded. “Did someone hurt you?”

“Graham, give her space. Lana, what happened?”

“It doesn’t matter. Just a small disagreement, and then I tripped.” Lana tried to give them a breezy grin, but it fell flat. “Did you two crazy kids have fun on your date?”

Her shaking hands would have given her away even without her makeup running down her cheeks in thick streaks. Taking Lana’s hands in her own, Zoey sat close.

“Lana, it’s okay. You can tell us.”

“Word about the condos has spread. It appears not everyone is happy about my little investment project.” Sniffling again, Lana raised her chin defiantly. “But I refuse to be intimidated.”

“Who was it, L? Did you recognize them?”

“No, but that nice boy from town stepped in. The place with the pool tables.”

“Rick?” Zoey asked quietly. Lana nodded.

“He should have done more than step in,” Graham decided, incensed. Taking Lana’s wrist, he gently turned her arm. “That’s a bad scratch you have there. Rick should have gotten you medical attention.”

“I told him I was fine. I don’t need a man to hover over me when I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”

Even as she said it, Graham noticed the empty bottle of wine on the nightstand. She might not need a man, but it was clear she was distraught, half-drunk, and needed a friend.

“Graham, we need to get her cleaned up.”

Curling her arm over his shoulders, Graham locked his arm around Lana’s waist. Zoey did the same, although the height difference between the two women wasn’t going to make it easy for her to help.

“I got her,” Graham promised. “Okay, let’s get you somewhere more comfortable. Upsy-daisy.”

Picking her up, Graham carried Lana to the bathroom, carefully setting her on the vanity counter next to the sink. “You didn’t take anything with that wine, did you, sweetie?”

Lana glanced at him guiltily. “Nothing worth talking about.”

“Let me guess, more baby aspirin.” Sighing, he kept a steadying arm around her as Zoey found a washcloth. It must have stung when they scrubbed the dirt and debris from the scratches on her arm, but Lana was tough. Other than clenching her teeth, she ignored it.

“Was this down in town?” Keeping her voice soft so as not to pressure Lana. “Or was it somewhere on the grounds?”

Staying quiet for a long time, Lana finally whispered, “I went down to the lake because I wanted to talk to you two. I didn’t want you to be mad at me.”

“We weren’t parked with the others. Zo and I were aiming for some alone time.”

Graham leaned a hip into the counter next to her, taking Lana’s face in his hands. In all their years of steadily growing friendship, he’d never seen her like this. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Graham waited until she was able to look up at him.

“I’m not happy with you, sweetie, but my guess is you won’t be happy with me either. But it’s not going to change how much you matter to me. I’m not the kind of guy that bails on my friends. Okay?”

She nodded, accepting a tissue from Zoey to blow her nose.

Graham waited for her to compose herself, then continued. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to take a deep breath, then you’re going to tell me what happened. And then Easton and I will take care of it.”

“It’s not your problem,” she whispered. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know. I’ve been watching you for a long time now, and I believe you’re capable of anything. But this place here? This is just a bunch of sticks and concrete glued to a mountain pretending to be far more important than it actually is. It’s not real, L, and neither are the people. It’s not worth getting hurt for, and it sure isn’t worth protecting anyone for.”

Zoey put a warning hand on his arm. “Graham, not now.”

“I’m just saying—”

“Say it later, okay? Not now. Look, she’s half-out as it is.”

Zoey wasn’t wrong. Lana had started to sway, her eyes glazing. The combination of alcohol and who knew what else was quickly taking her down for the count.

“Should we call a doctor?” he asked Zoey, wrapping an arm around Lana’s shoulders.

“No, she’s done this before when she was upset. I don’t know what she takes, but it helps her calm down.” Voice clipped, Zoey took Lana’s shoes off. “Help me get her to bed?”

“Did I do something to upset you?” Graham couldn’t imagine what, but he wasn’t imagining her teeth clenched tightly together or the way Zoey wouldn’t look directly at him. He chose instead to focus on the woman currently falling asleep against his shoulder.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

Well. That was never good.

Zoey finished taking off Lana’s earrings and necklace, a ridiculously expensive diamond-encrusted set he would have been afraid to touch, let alone stuff in a jewelry box without looking twice. Clearly, Zoey was more used to Lana’s jewelry, moving on to shed her of a delicate tennis bracelet worth more than Graham’s house and land put together.

Watching Zoey wipe Lana’s streaked makeup clean from her eyes with a makeup remover cloth, it occurred to Graham these two made a strange pairing, but their friendship was real.

“She’ll be horrified if she wakes up with mascara on her face.” Her voice was still clipped, but Zoey’s movements were careful. “It always embarrasses her the morning after, when she’s been upset. Okay, she’s ready. Put her on the left side. That’s the side she sleeps on.”

“Carrying around drunken women in this hotel is starting to become my thing.”

“She’s not drunk, she’s sedated. And that wine was more than half-empty when I left today. She couldn’t have had much more than a glass.”