Drake stepped closer, waiting impatiently for her to look up and notice him. She was tall—she’d always been tall for a female and skinny—but the feminine curves on her were new to him. She wore jeans, a simple V-neck T-shirt, and a light-blue-and-white-plaid flannel shirt tied around her waist that highlighted the dip inward from her hips. On her feet were flat-soled sandals with copper beadwork that showed off a toe ring and wine-colored toenails. With her face still pointed down, his gaze was drawn to her collarbone, partially revealed by the wide vee of her shirt, and something about it got his attention as a man instead of as her brother’s friend.

He shook himself out of that right quick, and then finally she pulled her attention from her bag and looked up. It was as if someone had zapped him with a Taser as a strange combination of familiarity and shock hit him. Familiarity because that smile and the spark in her eyes were his friend’s little sister through and through and took him back to when he was a teenager and she was a busybody brat he’d affectionately called Shawlet. Shock because…damn. Mackenzie Shaw had grown up spectacularly. The picture Ez had sent did not do her justice.

“Drake,” she said in a melodic voice that was fuller than the teenage version he remembered, “you’re here.”

The surprise in her tone gave away a hint of vulnerability, as if she hadn’t believed he’d make it, and that waver of insecurity took him back to the time when he and Ezra had been determined to protect her from an eighth-grade putz who’d broken her naive seventh-grade heart. He and Ez had picked her up at the middle school for a week straight just to intimidate the little prick who’d kissed her after a basketball game and then ghosted her. Their intimidation had been limited to big-brother don’t-fuck-with-my-sister stares, as they’d had the advantage in size, brains, and muscles and it wouldn’t have been a fair fight.

Without thought, he stepped forward, wrapped her in a brief hug, and kissed the top of her head. “It sounds like you didn’t think I’d show.”

“Ez said you might be late.” She beamed up at him, and his nostalgia was shoved aside by a surge of desire. “Thanks for picking me up.”

“Welcome back,” he said, more than a little rattled by his reaction to her.

Mackenzie inhaled deeply, causing her chest to rise, sexy collarbone, intriguing breasts, and all. “It feels good to be back,” she said as her gaze roved over him. “Really good.”

Hell. He needed a moment. Or a kick in the ass, which Ez would readily provide if he knew the thoughts firing through Drake’s head.