“Thank you! I love you!” I said quickly before hanging up and running to my bathroom to fix my makeup and hair. I didn’t check on Kira again; if she ended up not getting ready and deciding not to go, then that was on her. I needed this. I needed to get out of this condo so I wouldn’t continue feeling the way I had been. I needed something to look forward to that wasn’t a new day of moping because I was in the wrong state.

May 29

Liam

“GIVE IT UP, old man,” I said on a laugh as Dad got ready to throw the wadded-up paper from his sandwich into the trash. “You never make it anyway.”

Wadding up my own wrapper, I eyed him as he stared down the trash can for a few more seconds before carefully tossing his wrapper—and missing. I immediately tossed mine in and grinned mockingly.

“Bastard,” he scoffed.

“Don’t take the loss too hard, it’s not the first time.”

He smiled and rolled his eyes before checking his watch. “Tell me about these girls coming in. You didn’t say much on the phone.”

I held my arms out to the side, then dropped them. “I don’t know anything about them other than they’re Eli’s nieces, and twenty-two. He just said he wanted them to try to find something to do here, or get some friends. Apparently they’re not happy they’re here.”

My dad gave me a look. “Not happy they’re here?” he asked, and when I nodded in confirmation, he shook his head. “If they’re twenty-two and not happy here, why don’t they go where they are happy.”

“Question of the week, Dad. I have no clue. But I owe Eli, so I told him I’d arrange the interviews. You don’t have to hire them, I really don’t care either way . . . I know you’ve already had a handful of people apply; so does Eli. I think he’s just hoping that if they get out once, they’ll continue to do so.”

“Jesus, you’re making them sound even worse. I’m expecting awkward, shy girls who never leave their house.”

The phone in his office beeped a second before one of the receptionists told him the girls were here for the interviews, and Dad exhaled heavily as he stood up.

“I’m sure this will go over well,” he mumbled sarcastically, and slapped at my shoulder as he passed by me. “Thanks for the lunch, bud. Go see your mom soon, she’s been complaining about how long you’ve been gone.”

“Yeah, all right. At least be nice to them for Eli’s sake,” I called out just as he walked out the door.

He looked around the doorframe with an amused expression. “What is that supposed to mean? I am the nice one around here. I could always let Konrad do the interview . . .” He trailed off, and I shook my head as I laughed.

“I know you are, but you also look scary as shit. We don’t want to scare them so bad that I get fired.”

With a loud laugh, he turned and walked away. My dad had owned McGowan’s Gym since sometime around when I was born, and he and his business partner, my uncle Konrad, had changed this place a lot over the years. It was a fighting gym, and always would be, but instead of a place for people to only work out or train for the ring, they now offered classes depending on what kind of training you wanted, and had a large bar up front for before-, during-, and after-workout drinks.

Dad had been an underground fighter in college until the doctors told him if he didn’t stop, he’d risk paralysis, so McGowan’s was the only way for him to stay doing what he loved without giving my mom a heart attack. That didn’t mean he wasn’t still built like a fighter and able to take on anyone who wanted to challenge him in the ring; it just meant he was a lot more careful. And it was because of his confident presence mixed with his large appearance that I was betting the girls wouldn’t last more than a few minutes with him before leaving.

But then I remembered Mason and realized they might be more used to guys like my dad than we had given them credit for.

After cleaning up the rest of the lunch I’d brought with me as a thank-you for his agreeing to the last-minute interviews, I left the gym and was back at work within twenty minutes.

I’d been in my office for an hour when Eli came in talking to me before he even had a foot in the door. “Did you go to the gym?”

“Yeah. Talked with Dad for a bit, he was with your nieces when I left.”

“So they made it?”

I looked up at him from my computer at the relief in his voice, and responded slowly, drawing each word out, “Did you think they wouldn’t . . . ?”

“No, I—” He cut off quickly and turned to see who had just opened my door. “No! Go back to your desk and stay there,” he demanded, pointing at Cecily, who gave a wide-eyed look as she quickly turned around and left. “Seriously, Liam?”

I suppressed a smile and went back to the e-mail I’d been responding to when he walked in. “I didn’t ask her to come in here, I didn’t even tell her I was back. She was probably just hoping to attempt to steal my office again.”

“Bullshit,” he huffed, but I could easily hear the amusement in his voice. “Do you have any plans for the weekend?”

“No,” I said distractedly, then it hit me. “You asking because of the girls?”

“They need to get out, Liam.”

“I know, I get it. I don’t know of anything right now, but I’ll let you know.”

He stood there for a few seconds longer, not saying anything or looking at anything in particular. “Give them a shot. I know you’ll like them; it’s them liking everyone else I’m worried about. They’re kind of—well, like I said, one only thinks of her boyfriend. The other has a personality somewhere between her dad and Mason, so you can imagine how often she gives new people the time of day without telling them exactly what she thinks of them.”

I snorted. “I’m sure I can. I told you, though; I will get them out at least once. I’ll let you know if there’s anything going on this weekend, and if there’s not, I’m sure next weekend will be different.”

Eli grabbed for his ringing phone and started backing out of my office as he answered it. “It’s been a slow week, there’s no point in staying for the rest of the day, you can head out,” he whispered before greeting whoever had called him.

I quickly finished the e-mail and checked the unread ones as well as my calendar before cleaning up and getting ready to go. I started texting Cecily as I shut off my lights and locked the door from the inside, but looked up when a husky, feminine laugh caught my attention, and stopped abruptly in the middle of the doorway.

This isn’t fucking happening.

My eyes widened as I looked at the identical twin girls talking with Eli about the job interview they’d just come back from, and my mind raced as I tried to deny what I was seeing.

Long black hair. Dark blue eyes. Tall, slender, yet curvy bodies covered in tattoos. Smiles I’d thought of for months.

Memories from a night in Vegas a year ago flashed through my mind as I looked at her. No, no, no. This can’t be happening. That can’t be her. That can’t be Moon.

But there was no denying it was her. The one girl who had slipped out before I’d woken up . . . the one girl I thought I’d never see again . . . was now standing a dozen feet away from me and talking to my boss—her uncle.