It’s not fine, and I know it. She’s only rope-a-doping, not surrendering, but I’ll take that for now. I ignore just how right she is about my main motives at having Violet stop by too.

“She offered to give my office a little refresh, so she’s coming by to see my space and take some measurements,” I say airily.

Truth be told, this was one of our rather genius ideas yesterday as we unpacked and moved the rest of Violet’s things to the penthouse. We need time together in public to sell this, and we’re both busy people. She can’t just start stopping by for lunch randomly and keep up her work-hard pace, nor can I cut out of the office and meet her all over the city while she’s seeing clients. A minor update to my space gives her the chance to literally put her mark on me, my home, my office, my life, and no one can refute the importance of that.

Plus, she can stop by morning, noon, and night with a cover story beyond a booty call. Though I hadn’t been averse to everyone thinking she was coming by for her daily dose of my dick, but I could also understand her resistance to developing that reputation.

Courtney looks around, seeing the same industrial cold décor that my home possesses. Black leather, gleaming metals, everything simple and luxurious. “What’s wrong with your office?”

I’d been surprised at what a couple of throw pillows and a fuzzy blanket had done for my living room, and I’m interested to see what Violet will do with this space. “Nothing, but Violet’s a magician with her designs so I’m going to let her work her magic. She already did great things at home.”

“Home?” Court says, her perfectly sculpted eyebrow raising.

I smirk. “Yeah, when we moved her in this weekend. We’re engaged, Sis. It only makes sense for us to live together.” I use the same logic on her that I did on Violet, hoping it works just as well.

“You moved in together?” She screeches in shock.

Yep, pretty much the same reaction.

Courtney composes herself, uncrossing and then re-crossing her legs before smoothing her skirt. I can see her take a calming breath too. She’s going in for the kill.

Is it weird that a twisted part of me can’t wait? I live for this shit—the verbal debate, the battle of wills—and I’m glad Court’s finally grown up and skilled enough to be a worthy adversary. She keeps it interesting at the office, at least.

“Seriously, Ross? How can you be in love with her? I mean, seriously, she was just engaged days before you two hooked up!” Evidentiary point, Courtney.

“But I wasn’t engaged,” I point out. “I was single. And what I feel for Violet means I don’t care about before that. I’m just glad we finally found each other.” Rebuttal point, me. Bonus point for using emotions as a tactic because Courtney can’t refute those.

She rolls her eyes. “How do you know it’s not just a rebound? From what I’m hearing, it’s not even a rebound. She was so freshly broken up with Colin, the ball hadn’t even hit the rim yet!” Her eyes widened. “Oh, shit, did Colin break up with her because of you?”

We’d wondered when someone was going to question the timeline of our getting together. I’d expected it to be the media painting Violet as a cheating man chaser, not my sister.

“They broke up because Colin is a dumbass who didn’t appreciate what he had. Abi and Archie took Vi out to comfort her. Kaede and I saw them at Club Red, and one thing led to another. We talked all night, and things changed.” It’s the truth, one hundred percent, just not the whole truth.

“You’re getting played, Ross,” Courtney reiterates. “I’m not saying Violet’s doing it on purpose. She’s Abi’s best friend, and I think she’s pretty damn cool, personally. But her head’s gotta be all sorts of messed up after Colin, and now this. Seriously, it’s been days and I still can’t wrap my head around it. It’s fast, too fast.”

“Don’t care,” I reply with a calculated laugh. “Courtney, have you ever been in love?”

Courtney blushes, her eyes narrowing. “Don’t be a dick, Ross. You know I’ve had my heart broken.”

“Of course I do. I distinctly remember throwing Eric Butterfield off our boat into the middle of the lake during your senior year of high school for just that reason,” I remind her. Not that I minded. He fucking deserved that and more. “But think back to those moments before it all went to shit. Did you ever just feel it in your gut, in your heart, in your soul that he was it?” She bites her lip and I know I have her. Reminding her of the guy who broke her heart is a shitty thing to do, but it’s the only way I can get her to remember what love feels like and let this go.

“Courtney, I can’t really explain it, but it’s real. There was just this moment when I looked in her eyes and I saw . . . I saw the two paths my life could take. On one hand, I could keep going the way I have been, and in some ways, it looked good. I was happy, carefree, and adventurous. But then, I saw this other path with Violet. A houseful of kids, a dad bod, the picket fence, the whole nine. And I could see that life without her was empty. I picked her, knowing it would be messy and hard and that people would doubt us. But it just happened. We fell. Hard.”

It’s bullshit, but at the same time, as the words tumble out of my mouth, I find myself liking what I’m saying. Having a few kids and a home with a woman like Violet . . . okay, I could do without the beer gut, but the rest doesn’t sound half bad.