“Going out tonight?” Braden asked me. His tone was casual, but that didn’t mean anything. I could see the set of his jaw, and I had a feeling that I knew what was on his mind.

“Yeah, probably.” I looked out the window at the building across the street. “I’ll hit Happy Hour at the pub with you first, though.” There was a moment of silence and I glanced back at Braden. He just nodded.

“I was wondering if I could ask you a favor.” I waited for it; three, two, one… “Would you mind going with Beth to that fundraiser tomorrow?”

“You want me to go with her?” I tugged at my collar. Suddenly, my tie felt too tight, and had somebody turned up the heat in here? Adam looked amused. What a shocker. He knew that I had been going nuts trying to curb my desire for Braden’s younger sister.

“Yeah, I mean, I would go, but Gabrielle and I have plans, and so do you and Lily I assume?” he asked Adam.

“Uh, yeah.” Adam laughed. “I would guess that Cam and Jess do too.”

“I’m not letting Bruce go as Joan Crawford, but he and Jason probably have plans anyway,” Braden added. “You’re the last single guy Mark.”

“I thought maybe you wouldn’t feel comfortable with me going with her.” I had no idea how to handle this. Braden was really protective of Beth, and even though I’m sure that he could see how much I wanted her, we had never openly discussed it. It was becoming one big-ass elephant in the room.

“You wouldn’t have a casual hook-up with my sister?” I could see his muscles tensing. Oh fuck, we were going to discuss it. Here came the circus.

“No, I was just wondering if anyone would say anything. Your dad is a senator, and everybody keeps talking about him running for president.” He seemed to relax, but he still looked as uncomfortable as I felt.

“There are usually journalists and photographers at these things.”

“Like paparazzi, here in Philly?” Adam asked sounding surprised.

“It’s not like New York or LA, but there’s usually a couple of nosy tabloid reporters and maybe a paparazzo or two with nothing better to do than try to catch a senator’s kid fucking up.”

“Fucking up how?” I asked, carefully.

“Acting drunk, starting fights, engaging in too much PDA.”

“Beth’s a brawler, but he could keep her under control,” Adam joked.

“I’m sure it would be fine,” Braden said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself of that. “I mean this is a business event, with my sister, not a hit and run with some chick you met in a club.” He laughed but it didn’t sound like a happy laugh.

“So, don’t put your hands anywhere that might not look good on Twitter,” Adam offered helpfully. I gave him a smile but it wasn’t a happy smile.

“It’s just that, I would be blind not to see that…” Braden began, conversing with the file in front of him.

“Braden, I’m sure that you realize that I find Beth very…” I interrupted, speaking very earnestly to my bookshelf.

“She’s an adult,” he broke in, addressing my coatrack. “She’s twenty-six. But dude, if you plan to… do anything, please just remember that you work together, and if she were, you know, upset…”

“Braden, I swear, I wouldn’t. I mean it’s not like that.”

“It’s not?” he asked looking back at me. “So, what is it like? You did say you were going out tonight, right?”

“I was, I am, but… Oh shit.” I rubbed my temples.

“He’s been going out for weeks and going home alone,” Adam broke in. “You and I both know where that leads.”

“Really? You have?” Braden asked, sitting forward and looking a bit stunned. “So, it’s more than just wanting to bang her?”

“I think I want to ask her out, but I’ve been worried about pissing you off, and I’m not even sure she’s interested in dating a guy who she’s always seen as a player.”

“Interested?” Adam asked incredulously. “If she gets any more interested, she might kill you.” I had to laugh at that. It was kind of adorable, if a bit painful, that she got so distracted around me. She had injured me more than once.

“Adam and I both get that it can take some time to wrap your head around this stuff. When you’re ready, just do it right. If you do it right, then I’m fine with it. Hell, I would rather see her with you, than the assholes she usually dates.”

“Yeah, what’s with that?” I asked with a laugh.

“I don’t know. But I do know that Adam’s right. She’s interested. She’s had a thing for you since you guys visited my parents’ place in our first year of law school. I overheard a comment that she made to her college roommate that almost made me go deaf.”

“What did she say?” I sat forward in my chair and felt my dick stir as I remembered vividly what Beth looked like that summer in her little white bikini.

“I’ve blocked the details out, thanks to the trauma I sustained hearing it, and half a bottle of Stoli.”

“But she liked me, huh?” Why did that make me so excited?

“She definitely liked you. Now let’s never mention it again,” he said getting up. “Happy Hour at O’Malley’s, I’m taking my wife out later on a date to a blues club.” The smile on his face said it all.