“Oh, right.”
“I kept thinking about how far I could have taken it if I were a weaker man.”
Clara tilted her chin, arching a brow. “Are you saying you’d like to sleep with me?”
“What I’m saying is you’re Nic’s little sister and you need to stop playing around like this.”
She smirked and met my gaze. “I’m supposed to be playing the part of your girlfriend. I was a theater major. Acting is in my blood. So I can play the part without letting it get too real. I’m just having fun.”
“This isn’t my idea of fun.” I ground my teeth, unsure if this was a fight or not. Clara was just as sharp as I was, but hid her wit and intellect behind sunshine and rainbows. Me? I internalized it, pushing people away, just like I was trying to do to Clara, but she wasn’t backing down.
She took a step toward me, then another. “You get so cranky when your blood sugar is low, I’ve noticed that about you. Eat a piece of candy or something. It’ll do wonders for that grumpy face of yours.”
She brushed past me and I turned to watch her. “Where are you going?” I asked. “Don’t forget we have that office party tonight.”
“I have to run by the store to grab a few last-minute things for the party,” she said. “So I’m going to get ready. Find yourself a snack in the meantime.”
I heard her bedroom door snap shut and I allowed myself to fantasize about following her in there, stripping each other nude, and ignoring all the things I had just said to her about not taking things too far.
My phone buzzed on the counter and Nic’s name sucked me back to my senses. I had dodged his call the day before. There was no way to ignore him again without starting to look suspicious.
I answered. “Nic, what’s up, dude?”
“There you are,” he said. “What’s up is the same as yesterday before you hung up on me, you dick.”
I chuckled, playing it off. “Sorry, man, work is nuts. I wasn’t trying to be rude.”
“It’s fine. But have you talked to my sister? She’s been really weird about this whole New York trip.”
I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. “Clara is actually with me right now, staying at my place. I was going to tell you yesterday and then I got called away to a meeting.”
I waited for the explosion of brotherly rage to come screaming down the phone like hot fire, but Nic sighed with relief. “Thank God. I’d hoped so. She needs someone who knows their way around the city. She mentioned she’s made some connections already.”
I smiled. “I introduced her to some friends, and you should have seen her, Nic. Your sister wowed them, man. They recruited her to decorate for my office’s Christmas party, which is kind of a big deal.”
Nic laughed. “She’s a little firecracker, that kid. I always knew she was destined for bigger and better things.”
“Well, the Christmas party isn’t the only gig she landed,” I said. “I think she’s got a meeting with a Broadway director or something. You’d have to ask her the details on that. I was too in awe, watching her charm the pants off these people.”
“That’s great news,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. I love having her in Texas with me, but her dreams are bigger than Harrison City. And at least I know you’re out there to keep an eye on her for me. You’re a good friend.”
“You know it,” I said, feeling guilty as sin.
“Just don’t let her charm the pants off you, too.” Nic laughed.
I forced myself to join him, as if she hadn’t already put me under her spell. “No time for any of that. The holidays are the busiest season for me, with football in full swing.”
“I caught your show the other night,” he said. “Were you wearing makeup?”
This time, my laugh was genuine. “Dude, they make me wear that. Apparently, I’m too shiny to be on camera without a few layers. I’ve learned not to argue with them.”
“They need to hide that ugly mug so it doesn’t break the cameras,” Nic joked.
I missed him. The friends I had in the city were made after I was famous. Unlike them, Nic didn’t see me as the TV guy. I was still his dumbass buddy from Texas and he still busted my balls like we were in the locker room together.
We talked a little more about nothing and said our goodbyes. He thanked me one final time for looking after Clara, and I told him it was my pleasure, even though it was also like torture.
When we hung up, I sat in my kitchen, staring into my espresso. The conversation with Nic had gone a lot better than I had expected it to. Instead of being mad or suspicious, he was thrilled I was watching his sister. And it just made me feelguiltier. Because clearly he trusted me so much that he didn’t even suspect I would make a move on her.
