Which was both wonderful and terrifying.

It was the dark unknown.

Maybe that was why neither one had said more about what the night in London meant. All he’d managed was to let her know that he didn’t want this time with her to end. Which was terribly unfair because he knew deep down that he could never be enough for her long-term, and he’d have to figure out what the hell to do with this crazy mass of emotions that was rattling around in his head and in his heart.

For now, he had a soft seventeen, so he asked the dealer to hit. He was willing to take a chance on twenty-one. He overshot though, and lost a handful of chips to the house.

“Win some, lose some,” he said to Brent, and the two men played a few more rounds.

Later that afternoon, he settled into his seat on the Gulfstream, along with a pack of Chihuahua-Mini Pin mixes from a local shelter that was overrun with dogs. They were sharing the flight with him from Vegas to Manhattan, en route to their new homes. The tiniest of the crew had insisted on curling up in his lap, a small brown and tan creature who liked to snuggle.

The flight attendant stopped by and stroked the little dog’s head, then rested her hand on the armrest. A brunette with a gorgeous figure, she was exactly the type of pretty that would have lured him to talk to her had he met her at a bar—his type being sexy and someone he never expected to see more than three times.

But he had no desire for her.

He had no desire for anyone but his good friend who had rocked his body, his head, his heart, and his whole entire world.

“The pilot said we’ll be ready to go in five minutes, Mr. Harper. Is there anything I can get for you?”

“I’m all set,” he said, and she returned to the front of the cabin.

His phone buzzed, and he checked the new message. It was a text from Jack. He read the note and laughed. Rather than text back, he gave him a ring.

“Lucky me. A phone call from my best man,” Jack said when he answered.

Nate laughed. “Yeah, and to answer your question, I’m pretty sure there are no strip clubs at my property in the Maldives.”

“Damn. I was really looking forward to a lap dance at my bachelor party.”

“Sorry to let you down,” Nate said, but it was all in jest. Jack had no plans for a bachelor party, and certainly none at a strip club. He wasn’t the strip club type, nor was Nate, for that matter. Besides, there was only one woman he wanted to see stripping—

Shit.

It hit Nate like a flying ton of bricks. It wasn’t as if he’d forgotten Casey was Jack’s sister, but it simply hadn’t mattered much when they were merely messing around. Now it mattered, and Nate was going to have to man up and say something to Jack. Something like, “I’m falling for your sister.” Or maybe something closer to the truth. “I’ve been crazy about her for years, and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual, and I have no clue what to do about it, and if I hurt her I will hate myself forever and ever, and I don’t know how to not hurt her, but I don’t know how to not be with her either. Got any advice?”