“Everything alright?” Catching me unprepared, Trey pats me on the back so hard, I almost faceplant on the counter. The guy really does not understand his own strength.
“Yeah,” I reply with what must be a little too much enthusiasm because Trey pauses searching through work orders to eye me suspiciously. He can squint at me all he wants. There’s no way I’m going to tell him I don’t think Charlie wants me to meet her family. He’d assume she was a stuck-up bitch and immediately dislike her. It’d be tenth grade all over again—though in hindsight Chelsea was kind of a bitch. Still, I like Charlie a lot and the last thing I need is my brothers hating her right off the bat. I do not need that kind of grief in my life.
Trey huffs but doesn’t press any further before returning to his search. “Was that your new girl?” he asks after a few minutes.
“Yeah. Her name’s Charlie.”
“Charlie?”
“Short for Charlotte.”
“Cute.” Finally finding whatever it was he needed, Trey turns his full attention to me. “Is this the one you’ve been hung up on forever?” The corner of his lip ticks up for a split second, which means he’s giving me shit on purpose just to get a rise out of me. Knowing that, you’d think I wouldn’t play into his game, but my mouth has a tendency to run off before my brain has a chance to catch up.
“Nine months,” I say, plainly irritated. “And yes. It’s her.”
“She hot?” He bumps my shoulder, and I stumble.
“Sure, apart from the lazy eye and warts. Oh, and she’s a little hunchbacked, but it’s barely noticeable under her burlap sack,” I deadpan.
Trey draws back. “Damn. Who pissed in your cereal?”
“It’s a stupid question,” I reply and start flipping through the stacks of receipts lying next to the computer, just to give my hands something to do.
“Let me guess, you made a move on her and she shot you down,” he says with a quirk of his brow. Seems he’s moved on from subtle to being an outright ass.
Talk about getting it wrong. I scoff. “No.”
I instantly realize my mistake when Trey’s eyes light up like a laser light show. “Wait a second…” He grabs my shoulders and shakes me so hard, I’m certain something fell out. “Did baby brother get lucky?”
I shove him away. “Okay. You can stop now,” I say, but Trey’s not listening. Instead, he’s opening the door to the shop and screaming for Garrett to “Come out here now, bro.” And Garrett, being the supreme pain in the ass he is, comes running.
I groan and drag a hand down my face. This is going to suck so hard. Gossiping old ladies have nothing on my brothers.
“What’s up?” He just got here and already Garrett’s grinning like a jackass.
Trey crosses his arms and smirks. “Ry-ry’s been holding out on us.”
“Whaaaat?” Garrett says with a stupidly surprised face. Sometimes I really hate them.
“Yep. Looks like he’s been getting freaky with this new girl of his.”
“Oh yeah?” Garrett slaps me on the shoulder. “Way to go, bro. Wait.” He points a finger at me. “You use protection?”
“Ha-ha.” I cross my arms, imitating Trey’s pose. “Why are you two assholes so interested in my sex life? Your hands not doing it for you anymore? I’ve got a couple girls I could introduce you to, but they’ll expect you to bathe—”
Trey lets out a whoop and starts cracking up. Garrett only grins and shakes his head.
“What’s this girl look like again? Cute? Shoulder-length brown hair? Super short?” It takes me a minute to process what he is saying. Meanwhile, Garrett’s waggling his brows and bobbinghis head toward the front of the shop. I spin around and there’s Charlie, looking through the glass door. She sees me and waves.
“Cu-u-tie!” Garrett does a wolf whistle, and I slap him in the chest.
“Shut up.”
Leaving my brothers behind the counter, I cross the showroom, unlock the door and step outside. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she repeats. She’s smiling, but it’s strained, and her eyes keep flitting toward the showroom door.
They’re probably watching us. I glance over my shoulder, and yes, they are totally watching us. “Come over here,” I say, leading her toward the side of the building where we’ll be out of sight and pull her into a soft kiss. It’s probably a billion degrees out here, and I’m already sweating balls, but hell if I’m going to pull her inside to be harassed by my shithead brothers.
