BECCA HAD BEEN WRESTLING WITH witness lists for hours. It was crowding her brain, making it hard to focus. Some of it was the sheer number of potential plaintiffs, none of whom had a claim worth more than a couple hundred dollars. All of whom—best as she could tell—needed the money for things like groceries and medicine. They needed internet service too, but until the country adopted some sort of broadband infrastructure plan, they would be at the mercy of the one overpriced carrier in the area. And if no one challenged them, they’d continue to price gouge the people they were supposed to serve.

The communications company had been overcharging for years, padding bills and cocking things up. The people they cheated didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t like they could take their business somewhere else or find someone willing to help them fight for their hundred and fifty dollars. If she didn’t find a way to win this case, it wouldn’t just be the people getting cheated by their internet providers.

With the recent SCOTUS ruling, all class action suits were in jeopardy. It could be some of the worst kind of predatory lawyering, but it could also do good. No one would take an individual case against a big company if the potential payout was less than a couple hundred dollars—less than tens of thousands of dollars, really. But lump a couple hundred of them together, and it was suddenly worth the time and energy. The individual plaintiffs might not get much, but if it kept companies from taking advantage of them, she couldn’t help but think it was a good thing.

The idea of being part of a case like this excited her, but work wasn’t the only thing taking up space in her head. She missed her sister, and going home to an empty place every night didn’t help. Michael and Amanda still had a week and a half left of their honeymoon to Yosemite. Her sister sent photos of the two of them climbing Half Dome that kicked Becca’s fear of heights into overdrive on the ground three thousand miles away. But her sister looked so in love, and Michael looked like he’d follow her to the end of the earth. It was impossible for Becca to feel anything but happy for them.

She was less comfortable admitting some of her distraction was left over from her crazy night—or rather, the night that wasn’t—with Nate. She’d replayed the evening a dozen or so times in her head. She wasn’t any closer to understanding what had happened than she’d been when he left her at her door with a kiss on her cheek. For now, she chose to ignore the power a simple brush of his lips held. That kind of thinking wasn’t going to get her anywhere but kicked off her own case, which ran counter to her goal of making partner.

She wasn’t an overly vain woman. She knew she was attractive enough. It had never been more than one other thing about her and certainly not the most important thing, but she’d always felt pretty sure of herself. She’d also gotten reasonably good at reading people, starting with her sister and the rest of her family and then honing her skill on clients and juries. She’d bet her grandmother’s pearls Nate had been interested in her romantically when they’d been dancing at Amanda’s wedding. Even after Gabe cut in and issued his cryptic warning. She just didn’t know what happened between the reception hall and her doorway.

Something had changed. She bit the end of her pen, a nervous habit she’d mostly managed to quit, and ran through things in her head again. Nate had gone from sitting on her sofa, practically making her purr under his skilled hands, to bolting for the exit so fast if he’d been a cartoon character, there would be papers flying in his wake.

“I thought you stopped doing that when you passed the bar.” Gabe took the pen out of her hand and dropped into the chair on the other side of her desk. “Something bothering you? Is it a case?”

It would be so much easier if that was it. She knew how to handle problems at work. The fact that her brother could come into her office and make himself comfortable before she noticed him showed exactly how distracted she’d become and the importance of finding a way to fix it. People counted on her to do her job. Maybe not like her cousin, Jude, the doctor, or Adam, the detective, but what she did had an impact on people’s lives. She didn’t take that responsibility lightly. Which meant she couldn’t half-ass her way through things.

“Why did you really try to warn me off Nate?” She could dance around it, but her brother was going to give her grief over this or something else. She might as well get straight to what she wanted to know.

“Aw, you guys didn’t hook up, did you?” he asked, looking squeamish. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

“We didn’t hook up, ass.” She snagged the pen from his hand and tapped it on her desk. “Answer my question.”

“I’m not under oath. I owe you nothing.”

“You owe me everything. Remember that time I saved you when you broke Momma’s Limoges? If she really knew what happened, you’d probably still be banished from the house.”

“Dammit.” He muttered the word under his breath, but she knew she had him. “You cannot tell him I told you, and I never want to talk about it again.”

“Fine.” She made a go on motion with the pen in her hand and waited for him to fill in the details.

“Nate didn’t have much of a family growing up. Did he tell you about his parents?”

She nodded, and they were both silent for a moment. She couldn’t imagine growing up without their parents. She bet Gabe couldn’t either.

“He had his grandma, but she was just one person. That kind of thing must take a toll. Anyway, we were talking after the thing happened with that kid. I got the impression Nate was maybe starting to think about families and shit. I swear to God, Becca, if you tell him I said anything, I’ll sit on you and make you eat grass like I did when we were kids.”

“I don’t doubt you’d try.” She slid enough derision in her voice to show him exactly what she thought of his chances.

He smirked in response.

“Last I heard, you weren’t anywhere close to being ready to settle down. I was trying to save you both some heartache. And if I’m being honest, minimize my pain-in-the-ass factor. If you took him home.” He shuddered when he said the words, and she smiled in spite of herself. Making her brothers squirm was still one of her favorite things to do. “He’d probably do something stupid like fall in love with you, and you’d probably do something stupid like break his heart. I’d end up in the middle. That’s nowhere I want to be.”

It didn’t answer her question about what happened that night with Nate but it confirmed what Gabe said earlier. And that Nate hadn’t been telling her the truth when he said her brother was trying to outsmart her by using him as a smoke screen. It was just one more thing to turn over in her head when she had a minute. That and the butterfly feeling she got in her stomach when Gabe said Nate would fall in love with her. She was definitely looking at that one later.

“Why are you here?” she asked, circling back to the newly relevant information. It wasn’t unheard of for her brother to visit her at work, but it usually only happened when he needed a favor.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and she narrowed her attention, pinning him with her gaze.

“Enough with the prosecutor look.” Gabe waved a hand in front of his face as if the movement would somehow ward her off. “I need a favor.”

“I knew it.” She relaxed back in her chair, smugger than the situation probably warranted and prepared to be benevolent. “What can I do for you?”

“It’s not just for me. It benefits you too.”

“I can’t wait to hear this.” Gabe’s idea of mutually beneficial usually involved him trying to convince her to try something she never wanted to do.

“Remember at the wedding when Nate and Berlin were dancing?”

“It was a couple days ago. Of course I remember.”

“Well, I was thinking about how good they looked together. Or maybe not that. More how awful we were.”

She thought about contradicting him on principle, but he was right. They were rubbish. Like, back in middle school, shuffle-step awkward awfulness. “And?” Her normally cocky brother squirmed some more, and she started to wonder if there was more at stake than not embarrassing himself on the dance floor. “Just say it.”

“I’m going to ask Berlin to marry me. I want to take her to the Carlisle and do the whole romantic dinner and dancing thing. All of it. And I don’t want her to have a chance to second-guess things when I’m stomping on her feet on the dance floor. I need you to take lessons with me so I don’t look like an ass.”

The words came out in a rush. When he finished, he looked at her with an expression of hope tinged with wariness.

“You are an ass. I don’t think the lessons will help with that.”

“Funny. Will you do it or not?”

“Of course. I love Berlin. I’m happy for you guys. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“Thanks. She still has to say yes.”

“She’d be a fool not to. She isn’t.”

His answering smile burned the last of the uncertainty from his face and made something in her chest tighten. She thought Emerson would be next down the aisle. With as driven as her oldest brother was and as much as he adored the Australian jewelry designer, he and Sophie still might beat Gabe and Berlin to the altar. Which just left her playing everyone’s favorite attorney and auntie.

––––––––

“I FOLD,” SAID Nate. He could blame his lousy poker playing on the cards he’d been dealt but it wouldn’t matter if he’d pulled a hand full of aces. He was too distracted to know what to do with them. Hell, he was grateful he’d lasted as long as he had. If Michael hadn’t still been away on his honeymoon, Nate was pretty sure he’d have been exiled after the first couple of tragic hands he’d played. Necessity kept him in the game. That and it felt wrong to bail on his bosses and obsess about their sister at the same time.

She hadn’t completely left his thoughts since the night at the police station. He’d been playing and replaying scenes with Becca in his head, trying to reconcile his ice queen first impression with the woman he’d spent the evening with at the Southerland wedding. And then later at her house when he thought they maybe had something worth exploring, and she treated him like a dirty little secret. Or rather, that’s what it felt like to him. The more he replayed things in his head, the less sure he became. He wasn’t all that sure to begin with, which was the main reason he couldn’t get her out of his head.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked Emerson. “It’s not even fun to take your money tonight.”

“Speak for yourself,” said Liam. “I’m happy to take his money. I never get to play.”

“Goats don’t play cards, huh?” Gabe reached across the table to grab a wing.

Liam gave Gabe the finger with one hand and pulled his winnings toward him with the other.

The man was in town for a few days, helping on a job and giving Gabe just enough grief to keep things fun. He was also cleaning up at poker. Lack of practice hadn’t dulled his skills. At least the stakes were low. Nate wouldn’t have to embarrass himself and lose any real money.

“I need a beer. Anybody else want one?” Emerson asked from the doorway to the kitchen.

They were playing at Gabe and Berlin’s place, a Craftsmen-style bungalow that felt like a real home, something he was sure had more to do with Berlin than Gabe.

“I’ll take another lager.” It didn’t look like they were quitting any time soon and Nate didn’t want to go home anyway. Time by himself was just more time to obsess over how badly he’d messed things up with Becca. He usually managed to avoid overreacting, but there was nothing usual where she was concerned.

“I don’t suppose it could make your playing any worse.” Emerson shook his head as he left the room and Nate resisted the urge to flip off his boss.

Southerland Security felt like a family but Liam had been there a lot longer than Nate. He wasn’t about to push his luck. Or at least not any more than he already had with Becca. Jesus, he still wasn’t sure what he’d been thinking there. What he was still thinking. When had he gotten so prickly he’d turn down a chance to spend time with a gorgeous, intelligent woman over some perceived slight? Of course she’d consider what her brothers thought. He worked for them. Something he maybe ought to push further to the front of his mind.

“Leave him alone,” said Berlin, entering from the other room. “It’s not like any of you guys are sharks.” She paused beside the table and bent to kiss Gabe. He wrapped his arm around her and when she tried to pull away, he held her fast.

“Want us to deal you in?” asked Liam.

“As much as I’d love a chance to take your money, I can’t. Becca’s dropping off something for a client. I need it for my meeting in the morning.”

Nate sucked in a breath at the sound of Becca’s name and Liam shot him a look. Smooth. Very smooth.

“We can wait until she gets here and deal you both in. Or you can help me play my hand.” Gabe pulled Berlin onto his lap, making her laugh and then kissing her until she stopped.

“I play my own cards.” She pulled away a bit but made no move to get up.

“I’ll sit out a hand,” offered Nate. Sitting at the same table with Becca wasn’t going to do a thing to improve his game.

“No, Becca can’t stay; I tried. And I’ve got to work to get ready for tomorrow.”

That was something anyway, but any relief he’d been feeling vanished when the doorbell sounded. Berlin jumped up to answer the door while Nate looked around for something to do so he wasn’t just sitting there at the table like he was waiting for something to happen. Somewhere to hide would be better, but that wasn’t a realistic option. Thankfully, Emerson reappeared with his beer so he at least had something to do with his hands.

“Hey.” Becca breezed into the room, looking ready to rule the world in a power suit, her hair smoothed back into a tight knot, and her makeup impeccable.

It was the way she’d looked at the police station when she’d put the detective in his place. The difference was her smile. She smiled at her family the way she had at the wedding: warm, open—completely at odds with the ice queen persona. She glanced around the room, her expression only faltering for a second when she saw him.

That was something. At least he wasn’t the only one affected by whatever the thing was between them. Not that he imagined he took up as much space in her beautiful head as she did in his, but he’d take the small wins where he could get them.

––––––––

“ARE YOU SURE you can’t stay for a glass of wine or something? I’m sorely outnumbered here.”

It took a moment for Becca to realize Berlin was talking to her. She’d been so thrown by seeing Nate settled in the midst of her family again. He wore a long-sleeved T-shirt. The kind that made her want to press her cheek against all that softness. The sleeves were rolled up to expose his strong forearms. She remembered how good it felt to have him hold her while they danced, his arms wrapped around her and the warmth of his chest through the fabric of his shirt. She’d been replaying those moments in her head since the night of her sister’s wedding. Seeing him in person after he’d spent so much time in her head was unsettling.

Not that it seemed to bother him. Nate relaxed back in his chair, hitting her with that smile that managed to make her reconsider her priorities, before taking a long pull from the bottle in his hand. She needed to get a grip. She needed to stop looking at his lips.

“I wish I could,” she said, pulling herself back to Berlin’s question. “But I’ve still got a couple of hours of work before I’m done for the night.”

“You should have let me come to you to pick up the papers,” said Berlin. “You didn’t need to deliver them. Not when you’ve got so much going on.”

“Don’t be silly. I needed a break from the office,” she said, pulling the other woman in for a hug. Becca liked her, and she loved the way her brother looked at the woman he wanted to marry. It still felt weird to think of crazy, impulsive Gabe settling down, but she’d count herself lucky to have Berlin as a sister-in-law.

“Liam is running out of people to take money from,” said Gabe. “Is work really so important?”

“Spoken like someone who doesn’t do enough of it.” Emerson cut his gaze at their brother but the teasing was good-natured.

Gabe flipped him off and Becca was reminded of the way they used to squabble as kids and later pummel each other as teenagers. This felt civilized in comparison.

“Seriously, though, anything good? You were pushing for partner, right?” Gabe gave her the look that always made her wonder if he played the goofball on purpose. He could be perceptive when he wanted to.

“A kind of class action thing. There’s a communications company in the western part of the state that’s been overcharging for its services—accidentally on purpose because there is no one to hold them accountable. They’re the only ones in the area and the numbers are small. I’m trying to get a settlement for the people who got screwed.” It was a vastly abbreviated version, but in her experience, when she started talking law, people started tuning out.

“That sounds remarkably altruistic. How did you get your firm to let you take it on?” Emerson always had his eyes on the numbers. It made him a good counterpoint for Gabe.

“They hedged at first, but if I win, which I will...” She wasn’t being unrealistic. There was always a chance she could lose. She just didn’t see a good reason to give that possibility any energy. “It could have huge repercussions for class actions and get the firm good press.”

“Because of the SCOTUS thing, right?” asked Nate.

Becca’s brain stuttered for a moment as she stared at Nate. He leaned forward, watching her as if he were genuinely interested in what she had to say. And either he was crazy good at bullshitting, a possibility she wasn’t discounting, or he knew something about under publicized Supreme Court cases. Which was odd and a little sexy.

“Tell me you follow the Supreme Court blog or some other geeky shit,” said Liam. “That’s way weirder than anything our goats do.”

“Pretty much everything your goats do is weirder,” teased Gabe.

“I read Wired. There was an article last month about class action suits and how the recent SCOTUS ruling made it harder to lump smaller cases together,” said Nate. “Good for big companies. Bad for the little guys. And lawyers. Those things don’t usually go together.” He gave her that cocky grin she’d known would be trouble from the beginning.

“No, they don’t. Erin Brockovich aside, huge class action suits don’t have a great reputation. But in this case, it’s the only way to put enough pressure on the company to force them to make things right.”

Talking about the case even in a casual way reaffirmed how important it was to her, both for her career and for the people she wanted to help.

“Robin Hood in heels.” Nate raised his bottle to her, and she laughed.

“There’s less running in this kind of social justice,” she said.

“That’s still what it is,” he said, the admiration clear in his voice.