Should he urge his brother not to be stupid? The past couldn’t be undone now. But it stung that he’d lived with his parents’ disappointment all these years.
‘Any chance we can give this brother thing another shot?’ Jase asked.
‘I suppose we might as well. You’re the only one I’ve got.’ He blinked away the tears pricking at his eyes.
‘So, now we’ve put that to bed, you gonna tell me about this hottie you’re after? I might be able to give you some advice. I haven’t completely lost my touch where women are concerned.’ A trace of his brother’s swagger returned.
Griff always envied Jase’s easy charm that let him get away with anything, although now he saw it hadn’t done him any favors in the long run.
‘I’ve got a date with her, tonight.’ A slight exaggeration maybe, or wishful thinking? ‘Her name’s Lyndsey. She’s British, and she’s temporarily living next door with her sister’s family.’
‘Interesting.’
‘I’ll tell you the whole story and see what you think.’
* * *
Lyndsey ticked the last item off her to-do list. She’d been on the go since far too early that morning, after snatching a typical four hours of sleep. A long-standing customer back in the UK had needed an appointment by video link, so she hadn’t crawled into bed until one o’clock. Since then her day had been rather like ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas.’
Onemuggy five a.m. brisk walk around the neighborhood, essential to keep up her fitness levels, because the chatty ambles she took with Nora didn’t really count.
Twoflowerbeds weeded.
Threeloads of washing done, folded and put away.
The day had continued on from there in a similar fashion. She flicked a satisfied smile around the sparkling kitchen that these days bore no resemblance to a germ-death-trap.
‘So, are you going to tell me what made you stop being an idiot and give you and Griff another chance?’ Becca strolled into the kitchen. Holding a sleepy baby in the crook of her arm, she selected a red apple off the dish with her free hand.
‘No.’ The curt response earned a surprised look from her sister. ‘I might do later. We’ll see how it goes.’
‘If you don’t roll in until tomorrow morning, that’ll be all the answer I need.’
She didn’t dignify that with a response. ‘Where’s Theo?’
‘Upstairs working on a coding project.’ Her sister’s smile widened. ‘He’s got a friend over, who he met at camp. That was a smart idea of yours.’
‘I’m glad it worked out. You never can tell.’ Lyndsey didn’t point out that she’d tried several tactics with her sister before hitting on the right one.
‘Paul’s staying to have pizza with us, then his dad’s collecting him later.’
‘That’s really great.’
‘So what’re you wearing to lure Griff back into your bed — or his?’ Becca’s dismissive gaze swept over her. ‘Not that, I hope.’
‘What’s wrong with this?’ The loose linen trousers and soft white T-shirt were cool and comfortable.
‘Uh, just maybe it’s about as frumpy as I am. You looked awesome the other day in that gorgeous coral and turquoise dress.’ Becca looked awkward. ‘Maybe best not to wear that one again, in the circumstances, but we bought you lots of other pretty things when we went shopping.’
‘You’re not, and never have been, frumpy!’
Becca snorted. ‘Liar. When you arrived, I could’ve featured in a “before” ad for a makeover company.’
Not any longer, Lyndsey thought. Her sister’s hair gleamed again, the extra pounds had fallen off and there was a new brightness to her eyes. In her opinion, Becca was more beautiful than ever — softer around the edges than in her pre-marriage, pre-pregnancy days and radiating contentment.
‘Deke won’t be able to keep his hands off you when he comes home.’
A whoosh of heat flared in her sister’s porcelain skin. ‘That’s the plan, although I can’t compete with teenage groupies who are readily available.’
