“Is anyone home?”

“Yeah, in here.” Luke leaned the broom up against the counter and turned around slowly. He knew that voice almost as well as his own. Standing in the doorway that opened out onto the street was Paul, his onetime best friend, and one of the reasons why Luke had left Gulch Town in such a hurry.

Paul touched the brim of his white Stetson and smiled. “What’s up?”

Luke found himself smiling back. “Nothing much.” He waited as Paul shut the door behind him and came closer. His buddy had sure filled out in the last ten years. At six-three, he had always been tall, but now he was all lean, hard, muscle, his blond hair cut close to his head, the skin around his blue eyes crinkled as if he laughed a lot or constantly stared into the sun.

Luke wiped his hand on his jeans and held it out. “It’s good to see you, Paul.”

Paul returned the handshake, his palm calloused from hard work. Luke wished he had some of those calluses; his hands were already blistered and bruised from just cleaning up the place.

“It’s good to see you, too, Luke.” Paul’s gaze swept the dilapidated store. “Not sure what you’re doing here, though. Did you lose a family contest or something, or are you just down on your luck and need a roof over your head?”

“I’ve wanted to fix this place up for ages and it just seemed like a good time to start.”

“You’re sure about that? It looks like a fucking mess to me.”

Luke’s smile deepened. God, it was good to hear Paul’s leisurely self-deprecating drawl and dry wit again. Some folks thought he was slow on the uptake because he didn’t shoot his mouth off. Luke had learned long ago to listen when Paul did speak, because he generally had something useful to say.

“I’m going to restore it and open it as an old-fashioned soda shop and ice cream parlor. You know, kind of like it used to be in my granddad’s day after he stopped doing the pharmacy part of it.”

“Yeah?” Paul looked around again. “And you’re going to do all the work yourself?”

Luke shrugged. “Most of it.”

“Good for you.” Something beeped in Paul’s pocket and he pulled out his cell phone. “Excuse me.” He read something and texted back, his big fingers surprisingly nimble on the tiny keypad. He looked up at Luke, his blue eyes considering. “Julia’s going to be here in a moment. She’s looking forward to seeing you.”

Needing something to do with his hands, Luke picked up the broom and continued to sweep the floor. “She is?”

Paul put his cell phone away and studied his brown scuffed cowboy boots. “Yeah. Although, being a female, she’ll probably want a few answers out of you.”

Luke stopped sweeping. “And you don’t? I walked away from you too, buddy. Didn’t it bother you?”

“What do you fucking think?” Paul met Luke’s challenging stare with one of his own and then looked away again, but not before Luke had seen the pain in his eyes. “I’ll go see whether Julia’s here yet. She works just up the street.”

Luke stayed where he was, still clutching the broom like a talisman. Paul had as much right to be angry with him as Julia did, but he’d always been good at hiding his feelings, far better than Luke and Julia anyway. Inwardly, Luke groaned. Why had he needled Paul? He suspected it was because Paul seemed so accepting of the situation, so disinterested in rehashing the past. Luke needed to face what he’d done, and would almost have preferred it if Paul had walked in and punched him in the face. At least then, it would all be out in the open.

He stiffened as he heard voices in the street and deliberately turned his back on the door and carried on with his chore. Paul had looked even better than Luke had imagined him—would Julia be the same?

“Hey.”

Luke turned slowly around and almost swallowed his tongue. Julia was dressed in a dark blue business skirt and white blouse. He’d unconsciously been expecting her to be wearing jeans and a T-shirt. She’d definitely grown up. The coltish legs, elongated by killer heels, and her face…God, she was so fucking beautiful he wanted to kiss all her lipstick off.

“Hey.” He nodded at her as if he’d never left and had just popped out to get a soda or something. God, he even felt like his eighteen-year-old self—stupid, inarticulate, and horny as hell. “How are you doing?”

She inclined her head a slow inch and a curl of her upswept brown hair touched her cheek. “I’m doing okay.” She held up a basket. “Paul and I reckoned we’d bring you some dinner. Is that all right?”

He looked around the empty space. “Sure, but there’s nowhere to eat in here yet.”

“That’s okay,” Paul said. “I’ve got some camping supplies in the back of my truck. I’ll go get them.”

Luke watched Paul leave and reluctantly turned back to Julia, who was putting the picnic basket and cooler on the least damaged section of the countertop. He cleared his throat and she looked up at him, her gray eyes slightly wary.

He gestured at the basket. “Thanks for doing this. I sure as hell don’t deserve it.”

“That’s true.”

He’d always liked that about Julia, her no bullshit attitude to life. The way she’d nagged him and Paul to say what they thought, rather than relying on her to translate their pathetic man-speak.

“Your aunt Josie said you were back for good. Is that right?”

Luke shoved a hand through his hair. “It kind of depends on how things go here.”

“Whether you can put this place back together again, you mean?” She frowned. “There’s one of those new, pharmaceutical mega stores less than five miles away now. I doubt this place could survive or compete with their prices.”

“I’m not thinking of reopening it as a proper drugstore. I was thinking more of a coffee and ice cream shop. I notice the town doesn’t have anywhere for people to sit and relax anymore.” Luke patted the countertop. “The bones are good, all I need to do is restore the parts that can function in the new design and get rid of the rest.”

Julia looked up at the stained ceiling, her hands on her hips, her teeth biting into her bottom lip. As he watched her, Luke shifted his stance, wanted to sink his teeth into her lip and bite down hard until she begged him to fuck her.

She lowered her gaze and met his, and heat flowed between them. Julia was the first to look away, her cheeks flushed, her hands twitching at the hem of her skirt. Had she seen the lustful gleam in his eyes? Was she surprised by it? He’d never stopped wanting her, never stopped wanting to come back…

“Why did you come back, Luke?”

As if she could read his thoughts, the question he’d been expecting arrived. He shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

She raised her chin. “It doesn’t seem too complicated to me. You walked out on us and didn’t bother to contact us for ten years. That’s not complicated, Luke. That’s criminal.”

He frowned. “I wrote to you.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Well, I never received anything.”

“Are you sure about that? I wrote to you about six months after I left, to let you know I was working in San Jose.”

“I never got that letter.”

“And that’s my fault?”

She opened her eyes wide at him. “I didn’t say it was. Just because you’re feeling guilty, don’t try and take it out on me.” She sighed. “Look, right after you left, my mom got married again. When her new husband decided to move back to the coast, I decided not to go with them.” Her smile was wry. “Not that I was invited anyway. So I stayed here, rented an apartment and worked two jobs to see myself through college and pay the bills.”

“So you probably weren’t at the old address then.” Luke shrugged. “I kind of figured you were too mad at me to want to write back, so I just kept on working and hoping.”

“Hoping for what?”

He smiled at her. “To make enough money to come back home.”

Julia opened her mouth and then closed it again when the door opened and Paul reappeared, his arms full of stuff. By the time she faced Luke again, she was totally composed; all her smiles were for Paul as he set up a makeshift table and camping chairs.

Ten minutes later, Luke found himself sitting down with his two oldest friends and wanted to pinch himself. He hadn’t expected them to come to him. He’d assumed he would have to do a whole lot of begging and pleading to get them to even talk to him. But here they were, balancing paper plates on their knees and sharing barbecue chicken wings and pork ribs with a salad on the side.

“Does anyone want another beer?” Paul asked as he reached inside the cooler behind him and grabbed a couple more cans. He handed one to Luke and one to Julia. Luke concentrated on eating his chicken. God, he hadn’t realized how hungry he was.

Julia glanced at Paul, who winked as if daring her to proceed. Did he think she was just going to start screaming at Luke or simply wrestle him to the ground and have her way with him? Luke looked so confused it almost made her want to laugh. Perhaps he’d expected to be screamed at as well.

He also looked amazingly hot, his black hair longer than Paul’s, his long, lean body as familiar as ever, his fingers elegant as he devoured his food. His hazel eyes looked green in the subdued lighting and matched his tight-fitting T-shirt.

She took another swig of her beer and kicked off her shoes, watched as both men stared at her legs and the hint of stocking top her rucked-up skirt showed. “So you’re going to make this into a coffee bar and ice cream parlor, right?”

Luke looked up at her. “Yeah, that’s the plan.”

“And how do you plan to finance that?” The words came out of her mouth before she’d even realized it. God, was she turning into a typical bank employee with nothing better to talk about than her job?

“I’m good, thanks.” Luke nodded at her and then returned his attention to his food. Julia frowned at Paul who was grinning at her. Why wasn’t he helping out? Did he expect her to bring the whole sordid mess out into the open? Of course, he did, he was a man.

“I know you said it’s complicated, Luke, but that’s not a real answer. Why did you come back?”

Luke sighed and put down his beer. “I always intended to come back. It just took me longer than I’d anticipated.”

“Is that all?”

“Of course not. I had to grow up and realize that running away from things wasn’t the solution to my problems.” He met her gaze, his hazel eyes serious. “I had to understand that facing the people I’d hurt was an essential part of liking and forgiving myself.”

“So it’s really all about you, then.”

He smiled. “God, when you put it like that, it sounds totally selfish, but that’s not what I meant.” He took a deep breath. “I hurt you both. I ran away from the two most important people in my world.”

“Yes, you did. And I still don’t understand why.”

For the first time, Luke’s gaze slid away from her and came to rest on Paul. “I figured two’s company, three’s a crowd. I knew Paul was a way better prospect than I would ever be. He had the ranch. He had all the stability you and I were lacking.”

“So, you decided to make things easier for us by running away?”

“Basically, yeah, that’s what I told myself.”

Julia stared at him hard. She knew him far too well to believe him completely. And there was definitely something he wasn’t telling them.

Luke chuckled. “The thing I can’t figure out is why you guys aren’t married with four kids by now.”

Paul glanced at her. “You’ll have to ask Julia about that. I’d marry her in a heartbeat.”

Julia shifted in her seat. “I’ve never been comfortable with the idea of marrying anyone. My mom’s four trips down the aisle kind of cured me of that.” She tried to steer the conversation back to Luke. “So, why haven’t you gotten married? Too busy playing the field?”

He sat back and considered her, his long legs, encased in worn denim, stretched out in front of him. “I’ve certainly had time to work out what I like and what I don’t like.”

Julia sighed. Luke had obviously become as closemouthed as Paul. Were all men this difficult to talk to, or was she just lucky? She had no idea how to get around to what she wanted to say. Even for her, suddenly suggesting Luke jump into bed with her and Paul seemed a bit of a conversational leap.

As if he sensed her dilemma, Paul rose to his feet and came over to crouch beside her, his arm around her shoulders. “We might not be married, but we still have a hell of a sex life, don’t we, honey?”

Julia sat still as Paul slid his fingers lower and cupped her breast, his thumb unerringly searching out her nipple beneath her blouse and bra. Luke swallowed hard, his throat working, his gaze fixed on Paul’s moving fingers. Julia leaned into Paul’s touch and arched her back.

Paul kissed her jaw. “Yeah, Julia always was something special. Do you remember that, Luke? How much she loved to fuck?”

“Hard to forget.”

“Yeah, hard is a good word for what Julia does to a man.” Paul took her hand and placed it over the zipper of his jeans. Julia couldn’t help but look at Luke’s groin, see the thick outline of his cock already pushing at his fly. “She makes me so hard I could hammer nails.”

“I could do with an extra hammer for this place.” Abruptly, Luke stood up. “And perhaps you two should get a room.”

Julia met his gaze. “Why are you leaving? It’s not as if you haven’t seen it all before.”

His smile was crooked and didn’t quite match the blaze of interest in his narrowed eyes. “Thanks for the food.” He turned and headed for the back room, leaving Julia gaping after him.

“Paul…” She swung around to face him and realized he was smiling. “Did he just walk out on us?”

“He didn’t go far, honey.” He leaned in to kiss her, his mouth so hot and voracious that she was immediately wet. He picked her up so that her legs straddled his. “If he can’t see us, he’ll still hear us.”

Julia opened her mouth to argue, but Paul kissed her again and whether it was the thought of having Paul in such a public place or that Luke might watch, she didn’t stop him from pushing up her skirt and settling her over his big cock. She gasped as he thrust deep and held her down over him, his hands clamped on her hips.

“I bet he’s watching Julia, I bet he sees you sitting on my cock, my mouth on your tits, my fingers on your clit.”

Paul kissed her again and finally let her move on him, his mouth and hands as busy as he’d said, his cock a thick, hot presence inside her. She felt cold air on her ass, realized he’d gathered her skirt up to her waist to expose her buttocks, to let Luke see his big cock filling her. The mere thought of it made her come, and she gasped out Paul’s name. He groaned and began to move faster, taking control of the motion, lifting her and slamming her down over his shaft with a speed and strength that made her climax again, this time while biting his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around her and came in great shuddering waves, held on to her for at least five minutes before he finally looked at her. His smile was full of lust. “Hey, thanks for dessert.”

“You’re welcome.” She couldn’t help smiling back at him. He lifted her off him and groaned as he examined his cock. She threw him a couple of napkins and pulled down her now-crumpled skirt. There was still no sign of Luke, so she concentrated on getting her breath back and finishing her beer.

Paul zipped up his jeans and tossed the used napkins into the trash sack. “Do you need to clean up, honey? I think there’s a bathroom of sorts out back.”

She smiled at him and stood up, saw his eyes widen as some of his cum trickled down her inner thigh. “I kind of thought you’d like it if you drove me home like this.” She brushed the top of her stocking with a fingertip. “So you could touch me and play with me.” She blinked slowly and then licked her wet finger. “Only if you’d like to, of course.”

Paul crawled toward her and ran his tongue along the edge of her lace stocking. “Damn, honey, I’m hard again. I’m not sure if we’ll make it home. Maybe we could stop somewhere along the way and I could tip you back in your seat and lick you all clean.”

Julia shivered as he licked at her and she stroked his thick blond hair. The quality of the silence behind her had changed, she was almost certain that Luke was not only listening to them, but watching as well. The thought of it made her so hot she wanted to shove Paul’s face into her pussy and make him make her come with his tongue and fingers until she screamed or until Luke couldn’t stand it anymore and came to join them.

Paul slowly got to his feet, his expression as hard and sexy as she expected hers was. “Yeah, in the truck, right now. Go.”

She blew him a kiss as he sauntered toward the partially closed door Luke had disappeared behind and said, “Night, Luke. I’ll come see you tomorrow. You can keep the camping gear as long as you like.”

There was no sign that Luke had heard him, but Julia knew Luke well enough to guess he was fully aware of everything that had just happened and understood that they weren’t just going to leave him be. She smiled. It might not have been the welcome home he expected, but it was much more fun than shouting. Paul winked at her and walked out. She took a moment to straighten the kicked-over chairs and trash the beer cans. She paused at Luke’s door and tapped on it.

“I know you’re still there, Luke, and I know you watched. Did you like what you saw? Did it make you hard?” There was no answer, but she hadn’t really expected one. She kissed the scarred wooden panel. “We’re not going away, Luke, this is our town. You’ll either have to deal or leave. Good night.”

Luke held his breath until Julia slammed the back door behind her, and then waited for the roar of Paul’s truck to fade down the street. With a stifled groan he managed to unzip his jeans without damaging his over-excited cock. He wrapped his hand around his throbbing shaft and lay back on the makeshift bed, images of Paul and Julia flooding his head.

God, of course, he’d fucking looked. How could he not? He’d been starved not seeing them together and not being with them. He pictured Julia sitting in the truck beside Paul, his big hand between her legs as he fingered her soaking wet pussy and clit. Luke had wanted to get back out there and lick her clean, to lick them both clean whether they wanted his help or not.

He tightened his grip of his cock and deliberately pumped hard, let his nails dig into his swollen flesh, imagined Paul and Julia watching him as he fucked himself. He climaxed and kept his grip tight, felt every agonizing pulse of his cum force its way out and cover his fingers.

He shuddered with the force of it and looked down at his shaft, which was already filling out again. There was no way back. He had to face up to his needs. If Julia and Paul wanted to play it this way, he was definitely up for it.