Chapter 1

At the welcome-home dinner for my boyfriend's childhood friend, someone suggested we play pass-the-parcel.

Whoever the token landed on had to take off a piece of clothing.

First round, I took off my jacket.

Second round, the token landed in my lap again.

I looked to Ervin Henson for help. He gave a short, mocking laugh.

"If you can't take a joke, take a cab home."

I bit my lip and had just lifted the hem of my shirt when Marilyn Fox shoved her phone at me, snapping photos, laughing without stopping. "Ervin, your taste is awful. My little sis here's got nothing to show. What's the appeal?"

I froze, but the drumbeat kept going, and Marilyn timed it perfectly, jamming the token hard into my lap. "What are you taking off this time? Your pants, or—"

She smiled, loaded with meaning, and elbowed Ervin. "So you're serving your girl up as a treat for the guys? That open-minded, huh?"

I clutched myself, face pale. "This round doesn't count for me!"

Marilyn's smile stalled. "Ervin, so this is the girl you're dating. She's got playing the innocent down to an art!"

"Fine, I'll take it off for her. Some people just count on their boyfriend spoiling them and pull this shameless act!"

Ervin's pupils shrank, and he hurried to wrap her in a blanket.

"Marilyn, how can you let outsiders see a girl's body!"

I stood there a long time, then suddenly laughed.

So he did know some things were worth protecting.

1

Ervin snapped at the group of guys who'd been joking around. "Turn around! Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

Reg Fox, being Marilyn's older brother, lazily lit a cigarette and waved a hand at them. "All right, turn back around."

"Didn't think you'd actually treat Mari like some delicate little thing. You two used to bathe together, and now you care about this?"

Ervin shrugged, resigned, and pulled off his own jacket to drape over Marilyn. "She's mine. Can't have other people looking."

The guys around him started hooting, asking since when the two of them were together. "Mari's never cried this hard, all teary and trembling. Looks like she really got hurt."

Held in Ervin's arms, Marilyn cried with her shoulders shaking, but she still didn't forget to take a dig at me.

"All right, all right, I'm fine. I just can't stand it when some people take advantage of how easygoing Ervin is, putting on airs when we're all out having fun."

She sniffled, poking half her face out of the blanket, the corners of her eyes still red, and gave me a sweet smile. "Little sis, don't take it to heart, okay? We've been like this since we were kids. Ervin always sticks up for his own. Play with us a few more times and you'll get used to it."

A few more times.

I looked down at myself. Jacket gone, sweater gone, and now nothing left on me but a thin little camisole.

How was I supposed to keep playing?

Ervin never once looked at me from start to finish. He just frowned and tucked the blanket tighter around Marilyn. "Say less. If you catch a chill you'll be complaining about your stomach again."

Marilyn stuck out her tongue and pressed her luck. "Then pour me something hot. I want ginger tea, the kind from that place outside—"

"I know. Same as always, less sugar, more ginger."

Ervin said it without missing a beat, like he'd said it a thousand times.

He got up and headed out, and his steps paused as he passed me.

I thought he'd finally remembered I was there.

"You're in the way," he said, flat.

I turned aside to let him through. He brushed past my shoulder, his jacket carrying a faint scent of cedar.

That bottle of cologne was the birthday gift I'd given him last month.

Reg sat across from us, watching it all with interest, and suddenly laughed. "Mari, stop clinging to Ervin all the time. He's got a girlfriend now. Mind your boundaries."