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“Okay.”

“Don’t forget, your phone is still in the iPhone dock in the closet.‘You Can Leave Your Hat On’sends a definite message.”

“Got it.”

“Let’s play it safe. Let’s find out how long he’s in town for. We’ll give him a couple days to settle, and then, I’ll talk to him. I don’t want to drag things on too long. It’s too much of a risk.”

“I want to be there when you talk to him, Rhys.”

“It’s best if I do it man to man?—”

“Like I’m not involved?”

“Keira, we don’t have time for this.”

“Fine.” She purses her lips.

I fling the sheets off my naked body and rush to the bathroom. I take care of business, brush my teeth, and splash cold water on my face. To hide the smell of sex, I spray a generous amount of expensive cologne all over my body.

Shit.

The scent is overpowering.

I might have overdone it, but at least it might extend my life for a few more days until Noah curls his hands around my neck and chokes me for fucking his kid sister.

Pushing my imminent death aside, I run back to my bedroom.

In a mad rush, Keira picks up damning evidence from last night’s naughty peep show.

Good girl.

I race to my walk-in closet, jump into a pair of jeans and pull a t-shirt over my head before sprinting barefoot to the front door.

When I swing it open, my best friend greets me with a warm smile.

He doesn’t wait. He steps inside my home and grabs me in a back thumping man hug. “Jesus, Hartford.” He breaks our embrace, taking a long step back. “Did you pour the entire bottle of cologne over your body? Those damn New Yorkers can smell you all the way from the east coast.”

“Sorry. I was rushing. I didn’t want to make you wait too long.”

“You’re excited to see me too, right?” His blue eyes sparkle with glee. Finding out Keira and Noah had different fathers explained a lot. They’re complete opposites. With his light blue eyes, blond hair, and super pale eyelashes, Noah looks like aViking. “I knew I did the right thing by surprising you.” He grabs me again and squeezes the life out of me. “It’s been way too long.”

When he lets go, I can breathe again.

“It’s a surprise for sure.”

“Since I couldn’t make it to Vietnam while you were there, I figured I’d make up for it.”

“What about the show? You always complain about how hard it is to get away.”

“New Zealand was hit by a series of severe storms this past month. It’s caused some serious delays in filming to keep everyone safe. There was a small window for me to get away, so I jumped on it.” He slaps me on the shoulder. “Where’s my kid sister?” He glances over my head.

I’m six-two.

Noah is six-seven.

I’m quite tall.

He’s a tree.