Chapter 1
Grant threw the wrench he was using across the floor of the shop. He was having a hard time coming to terms with the ‘boyfriend’ his sister had brought home for him to meet. The man was older than Grant himself, eleven years older than Reagan,andhad been her professor all last year. Grant and Reagan had a rule about doing what made them happy as long as it didn’t hurt anybody, and as far as Grant could tell, she’d followed that rule.
It didn’t mean he had to like it.
He could still picture it, the way she knocked on his door a half hour earlier than he’d expected her.
“Grant.”
She said it in that way she had that made him feel like the only person in the world. They’d relied on each other for so many years that he was feeling depressed over her moving on with her life. Despite being happy for her, he was lonely with her at college.
“You’re early. Why didn’t you tell me you were here so I could get your bags?” He pulled her in for a hug and ushered her inside the apartment.
“Because I have to tell you something.” She heaved a sigh, and Grant frowned.
“What is it?”
Reagan sat on the couch and he plopped down next to her. “I brought someone home, and they’re going to stay in the hotel down the street. I promise I’ll stay here with you since I’ve only got three days.”
“It can’t be Luna. You said she went home for the summer.” Her first friends at college, Luna and Davis, had vowed to work something out so that Reagan could stay in Maryland and work over the summer. Grant frowned.
“No, it’s my boyfriend.”
He felt it, the protective side of him wanting to explode, but he kept it in check. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”
“I moved in with him last weekend so that I wouldn’t have to live with Davis.”
He rubbed one hand over his temple and breathed deeply. “Okay.”
“There’s more.”
His head snapped up and his eyes widened. “What is it?”
“He’s older than me. And . . . and he used to be my professor.”
Grant threw another wrench and listened to it skitter across the concrete floor. He’d wanted to throw a fit when Reagan told him her news, but he had managed to keep it locked down.
“Does he make you happy, Ray?” he’d asked.
“More than anything,” she’d replied.
“And you’re going to bring him over to meet me, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
He was silent for a few minutes as he tried to process the fact that his baby girl had grown up. “Okay.”
Grant himself had just turned twenty-five, so it was a shock to have Reagan come to the door with someone clearly older than him.
“Grant, this is Hudson. Hudson, this is my brother, Grant.”
“Hi, Grant, I’ve heard so much about you.” The man was about Grant’s height, with red hair and a full beard. He was standing next to Reagan, thankfully not touching her. He held his hand out, but Grant stood there in the doorway, too frozen to move.
“Grant,” Reagan prodded. He moved backward, allowing them to come inside.
“Your apartment is great,” Hudson said politely.
Reagan smiled up at him like he’d quoted Shakespeare, but Grant could only stare at him. He was trying to work out what to say, but his brain refused to catch up. His baby sister was dating someone older than he was.Livingwith him, for fuck’s sake.
