His sister crossed her arms over her chest. “She lost a husband and has raised a child all by herself. And it seems like she’s recovering really well from losing everything in that fire. I think both of those things prove just how strong she is.” Another shrug. “Who knows? Maybe she could be the chink in Ryan’s or Zach’s armor.”

Hell, no. Not when she’d already gotten under his skin. He didn’t need her getting under his brothers’ skins, too.

“I know what you’re doing, Nice.”

Normally, her nickname fit her. Not today. Today his little sister was clearly intent on messing with his mind by inviting Megan and her daughter into their inner circle.

Sophie gave him an innocent look, her brown eyes a little too big. “Megan is a friend from college. I like her a lot. I want to see more of her.”

“So you’re saying inviting her to the party has nothing to do with me?”

His sister pinned him with a gaze that told him she knew exactly what he was feeling for her old friend. “You tell me, Gabe. Does it?”

He grabbed the bag of whole-wheat nastiness from her. “Thanks for breakfast. I’ve got to get back to work.”

Before he could turn and walk away from the sister he normally liked quite a bit, he caught her smile. And knew exactly what she was thinking.

Sophie thought he was going to fall head over heels in love with Megan and her cute daughter.

She was wrong.

Chapter Five

Saturday night…

Megan had never been so happy about a flat tire in all her life.

She and Summer had just finished running one final errand and were pulling into their underground parking garage when she felt her car bump over something. The hiss of the air was loud enough for them to hear even through their closed windows. Knowing the tire repair shop would be closed by eight o’clock on a Saturday, she told Summer there was no way they could drive the thirty-five miles to Palo Alto on a spare.

She felt terrible about Summer’s disappointment at missing Sophie’s mother’s holiday party, but oh well, that was how things rolled!

Despite her daughter’s enormous energy levels, she was normally quite even-keeled about things like this. So Megan was surprised when Summer pitched a full-on fit about not being able to go to the party.

“It’s going to be a bunch of adults.” Megan didn’t get what the problem was. Or, rather, she didn’t want to get it. “I don’t understand what’s so important about this party.”

“You know exactly what’s so important about this party,” Summer accused, before stalking off to her room and slamming the door. “We should have already been there by now, but you kept making us late with your stupid errands that we didn’t even need to do tonight!”

Megan had to take several deep breaths to try and keep her temper in check.

It didn’t work. Not when she’d been riding on nerves all day just thinking about having to go to this party and see Gabe again.

“Don’t you dare slam the door on me, missy!” she yelled through the door. “You’d better open it up right now.”

A few seconds later, the door opened a crack. Megan was about to push it open the rest of the way and demand an apology, but she stopped herself just in time.

They were both making a big deal out of nothing. In a couple of hours, everything would go back to normal, and they’d be snuggling under a blanket on the couch watching a movie about Rudolph.

She walked back to the kitchen and picked up her phone to let her friend know she wouldn’t be able to make it to the party, which was likely already in full swing. Expecting to get Sophie’s voice mail, she was surprised to hear her friend answer.

“Megan, are you and Summer having trouble finding the house?”

“Actually,” she explained, “we won’t be able to make it after all.”

“Oh no! Why not? One of you didn’t come down with a cold, did you?”

Megan suddenly wished she’d thought to fake a cough. Only, she didn’t believe in lying. And she certainly didn’t want to teach her daughter to do something like that. “No, we’re both perfectly healthy. My car isn’t faring quite as well, though. I’ve got a flat tire and I won’t be able to get it fixed until Monday.”

“Can I call you right back?”

Megan agreed and hung up the phone. As she waited for it to ring again, she got a bad feeling about things. A bad feeling she tried to tell herself was ridiculous.

“Great news!” Sophie said a couple of minutes later when she called back. “Gabe hasn’t left yet and he’d love to come pick you guys up.”

Megan leaned her head into the wall and closed her eyes. “That’s really nice of him, but I’d hate for him to go out of his way. We’re really sad about missing the party, but—”

“He lives really close to your place,” Sophie assured her. “It’s no problem at all. Can I give him your address?”

No!

“Okay,” she said, and then, knowing she was doing a terrible job of being grateful, added, “Thanks, Sophie. Summer will be really thrilled to hear that we’re back on.”

It was dark enough outside for Megan to see her own reflection in the kitchen window as she hung up. She wasn’t surprised that she looked shell-shocked. Worried, too. But there was something else in her expression, something that shouldn’t have been there at all.

Anticipation.

She turned quickly from the window. “Good news, Summer,” she called out with forced cheer. “Looks like we’re going to the party, after all.”

Summer let out a happy squeal and then ran into the kitchen to cut up the fudge she’d made that morning into bite-sized pieces for the party.

* * *

Sophie had sounded positively gleeful over Megan’s flat tire, Gabe thought as he double-parked his truck in front of an apartment building and got out to pick up his two impromptu passengers. In fact, while she was at it, his sister had given him hell for not having already offered to take her friend and her daughter to the party.

The worst part about it, of course, was that Sophie was right. He should have offered.

But he hadn’t, because he didn’t trust himself around Megan, didn’t trust their attraction not to flare up and burn both of them.

He knocked on their door, only to have it flung open before his knuckles could make contact more than once.

“Mr. Sullivan!” Summer threw her arms around him.