“No, although those are pretty. Stupid expensive though. Do you see that piece of old newspaper they’re using as decoration in the display? That’s from the 1920s, Graham. It’s almost a hundred years old. It should be in a museum.”

“No one goes to the Moose Springs Museum. It smells like formaldehyde.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s in the same building as the taxidermist.”

“You’re lying,” she accused, but Zoey was giggling as she turned around and stepped out of his arms.

Graham opened his mouth to proclaim his innocence, but then he saw stars. Everything blurred for a moment, but as he staggered back, he could hear Zoey yelling.

“Hey! Get off him!”

Vision clearing, Graham saw who had sucker punched him. Jax always could get the jump on him. But Zoey had planted herself between them, hands up and stance ready, like she was prepared to kick Jax’s head off.

Someone had taught this girl some serious self-defense, because Graham was still working his jaw, trying to keep his feet, when Jax moved in for the hug that always followed their ritual greeting. Zoey, his tiny slip of a perfect person, grabbed Jax by the wrist and did some sort of Jedi thumb trick thing that had him yelping in pain and jumping backward.

“Trust me, buddy, I have had a long morning, and I’m not in the mood to watch a friend get attacked. So back off or I will go full spider monkey on your ass. Security!”

Her only weapon was a worn water bottle, but she brandished that sucker like a broadsword, braced and ready.

Grinning, Graham stepped behind her, draping his arm around her collarbone and pulling her shoulders back into his chest.

“Jax, this is Zoey. She’s cute, right?”

“She’s mean. I think she broke my thumb.”

When Zoey twisted her face around to look at him, Graham caught a glimpse of actual concern in her eyes. Graham rested his chin on the top of her head, hugging her tighter to him. “You’re not mean. He’s a baby.”

“He hit you.”

“It was his turn.”

“That makes no sense at all.”

Groaning, Zoey leaned back into him, just a little. The smallest of actions, just an involuntary need to take shelter from a stressful situation, but Graham liked her leaning into him for comfort.

“Mr. Shaw?” A blond, curly-haired hotel worker with massive eyes stared at them in concern. “Are you all right? Do you want us to escort Ms. Caldwell off the grounds?”

Zoey’s own eyes went wide with horror, even if not nearly as big as the blond’s eyes. “No, Quinn. I was just…argh.”

“Naw, it’s fine,” Jackson promised. “Graham’s taste in women has always been off.”

“Did he just call me off?”

“It was a double insult, darlin’,” Graham said in her ear. “If he riles me up enough to hit him, then Jax gets first punch next time.”

“This makes no sense. Which, considering it’s you, makes complete sense.”

Slipping away from his hold, Zoey stepped sideways, looking at both of them as if they’d lost their minds. With a grin, Graham moved in and gripped Jax in a massive bear hug.

“Let’s start over. Jackson Shaw. This is Zoey. She’s taken me down, and I promise you, she can do the same to you. Tread lightly, my friend. She has pointy toes and knows how to use them.”

She offered him a pained look. “Really?”

“Zoey, this stuck-up rich boy is Jax. Believe it or not, he’s not half-bad.”

“Don’t wax poetic on me,” Jax teased, then said to Graham, “Where are we going? I don’t want to eat in this shitbox.”

“You’re reading my mind, brother.”

Their usual haunt was Rick’s pool hall, and Zoey agreed to share a pizza with them. They piled into her rental car at Zoey’s insistence. Hands tight on the wheel, Graham wondered if she was still upset at Jax or if there was something else bothering her.

Rick didn’t say much, but he gave Jax a rough hug in greeting before sticking a pizza in the oven for them. The pool hall was empty at that time of day, leaving the bar-height tables free for them. Even after consuming a mass quantity of bread, cheese, and meat, Zoey seemed frazzled. More so than a simple accidental thumb-breaking situation would have caused. Wrapping his arm around the back of her chair, Graham tilted his head to catch her eye. Only then did he notice the hairline crack in the center of her glasses or the tiny piece of scotch tape holding the delicate frames together over the bridge of her nose.

“Hey, what happened? Did your glasses break on you?”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

Graham slid his arm down to her shoulders, hugging her tight. “Should I ask? Did the planned spontaneity not go as planned?”

Zoey groaned. “I’m at the point I don’t even want to talk about it anymore.”

Jax raised an eyebrow.

“Her vacation is trying to kill her,” Graham supplied helpfully.

“It started with a zip line. A spontaneous, exceptionally long zip line, which sort of…stopped.”

“How far in?”

“About halfway.” Zoey put her forehead on the table, her mangled glasses digging into the bridge of her nose. “And they argued awhile about who would have to come get me. Then I was hooked up like the bad end of a tow truck and hauled to the next line. Which, again, was really long.”

Oh, this poor woman. Even now, her face flushed with the embarrassment she must have endured.

“How many times did you get stuck?”

“Every. Single. Time. At least until they started sending me out with someone else to make sure our weight kept us moving.”

“Did it?”

“Nope. They decided halfway through the course that my equipment was faulty and needed replacing. They held up not just our group but every single group following us until they could get my entire butt sling thing changed out. Guess who was everyone’s favorite zip line companion today?”

Graham squished her sideways into him, as much as he could safely squish her and not break her or her taped glasses.

“I think you get the record for having the worst luck on excursions.”

Jax frowned. “This wasn’t one of ours, was it?”

She shook her head. “No. I booked all my excursions in a package deal with Moose Springs Adventurers. They gave me a discount for adding this last minute.”

“There’s your problem,” Jax decided, lightly slapping his hand down on the table. “They suck. Like, they seriously suck. Don’t go anywhere with them. I mean, I get that people want to save money, but if the price is bargain basement, you’re probably going to get screwed somewhere. Just stick with us, Zoey. I’ll tell the concierge to make sure you get in one of our zip tours today.”

Despite his friend’s intentions, Graham felt Zoey tense.

“Drop it, man,” Graham warned in a light voice, catching Jax’s eye and giving a hard shake of his head.

“What?”

“Thank you, Jax.” Her appreciative words didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll talk to the concierge later.”

“Naw, let me call them now. Freaking Grass is over there. Who names their kid Grass?”

“That’s what I said. Hannah called me a jerk.”

“She’s called you a lot worse,” Jax said with a smirk.

Even though Zoey knew about Hannah, having the other woman mentioned casually in front of her left Graham uncomfortable.

“I’m going to find the restroom,” she decided. “Excuse me.”

Jax might have been cut from the same roughneck cloth Graham was, but he’d spent too much time in the kind of circles Graham never would. When Zoey pushed her chair out, Jax rose to his feet, the manners drilled in automatically. The moment she was gone, Jax dropped down to his seat with a grunt and a curse.

“What’s with the death glare?” Jax asked.

“She can’t afford it. And before you do, don’t. You’ll only make her feel worse.”

Jax gave him a considering look. “That’s disturbingly astute of you.”

“Keep calling me names, and this shit’s going south fast.”

Barking out a laugh, Jax settled back in his chair, manspreading for all he was worth. “Okay, seriously. What the hell are you doing? Last I checked, you wouldn’t touch a girl like her with a ten-foot pole.”

Bristling, Graham sat up straighter in his chair. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, she’s hot enough, but come on.”

“You’re more of a jerk than I remembered.”

Jax snorted, shaking his head. “Maybe I’m just tired of being around people I can’t speak my mind to.”

“Well, how about you don’t start by running your mouth about Zoey? Cause all pleasantries aside, you and I are about to speak our minds outside.”

A massive grin spread across Jax’s face. “No shit. When Ash told me, I didn’t believe it. You’re screwed, man.”

Gritting his teeth, Graham looked away. “You didn’t come all the way here to mess with me about my love life or lack thereof. What’s the deal?”

“I don’t know. My folks are acting real weird, and they told me I had to come. There’s some benefit or something I’m supposed to represent the family at.”

“Lucky you.”

“You think I like going to that crap?”

No, Graham knew Jax didn’t. There was a reason they were sitting in Rick’s instead of eating up at the resort.

“By the way, they said to ask you if I saw you—”

“No way. Hannah brought it up the other night too. I’m not opening a second location, and definitely not at the big house.”

Jax hit him with a calculating look. “It could help the foot traffic at your place.”

“Low blow, man, using intimate knowledge of my misery to advance your mother’s agenda.” Graham shook his head. “I’m not hiring employees. The last thing I need is someone depending on me. It makes being undependable too hard. No, but thanks.”