And there it was. Two beers, no food, a hey-baby smile, and a wanna come back to my place? Della placed her half-finished cocktail on the table. “So you do just want to hook up?” she asked, her voice a lot calmer than she felt.

She’d joined Tinder to meet men and, yes, potentially indulge in some sexy times, but this was way faster than she’d expected.

“Oh no. No.” Cody somehow managed to master offended and reassuring all in one look. He was really good at it. “I don’t mean that. I mean…it’s just more private there. Less noisy. Unless…” He stroked a finger across her knuckles. Goose bumps pricked along Della’s scalp—not the sexy type—and she withdrew her hand. “We can if you want.”

This time, he conveyed both restraint and eagerness. Man, she had no idea why he was fixing potholes on the streets of Denver when he should be in Hollywood accepting his Oscar.

Della reached for her bag and pushed to her feet. “Thank you,” she said, “but I think I’m going to call it a night.”

Cody stood. His brow wrinkled. “Della? Come on, it’s okay.” He placed his hand on her arm. It was light, and Della didn’t feel threatened, but she didn’t like it, either, and shook it off. “We can stay and eat. We don’t have to go anywhere.”

Maybe he didn’t. But she did. There was no point continuing when it was obvious Cody had been lying from the beginning. And not just about his height. “Thanks, but I don’t think I’m what you really want.”

He certainly wasn’t what she wanted. Depressingly, that guy was in a bar across the street. And he didn’t want her either.

Tucker turned back from the basketball on the wall-mounted television to see Della walking across the street. He was sitting at one of the long, high tables that faced the street, the big windows giving him the perfect view of the restaurant opposite. He checked the time—half an hour.

That didn’t bode well.

She was bundled up in her jacket, but he knew exactly what she looked like underneath those layers. He’d thought of little else since she’d emerged from the bedroom in that dress that shimmied around her just right. Not to mention her swishy hair and her shiny lips and those cowgirl boots with the scalloped tops playing peek-a-boo with her calves Those lips and boots were distracting in ways a guy should not be thinking about when it came to his friend’s sister.

Tucker waved at her as she entered the bar. Spotting him, she shrugged out of her coat. Heads turned. She didn’t notice, but he did as his pulse thudded thick and slow through his ears.

“What happened?” he asked, sliding off his chair as she drew to a halt next to him.