“Younger brother? Like how much younger?” My sister’s eyes brighten.
“Still too old for you,” I reply, giving her a pointed look over my plastic cup.
Her mouth drops open. “I’m eighteen.”
“He’s twenty-four,” Charli says. “A touch too old for you.”
“Six years isn’t bad,” my sister disagrees.
“I’ll just call Dad and see what he thinks of you dating someone with an age gap,” I tease.
Her eyes narrow. “Sure. And be sure you tell him you’re doing the nasty with your employee.”
My mouth drops open. “He’d be fine with it, because he dated Mom when she worked there. But you dating someone six years older? No way.” I grin at her smugly, only because I know it’ll piss her off.
Em rolls her eyes dramatically. To Charli she states, “I was just kidding about your brother. I just wanted to get a rise out of Lizzie.”
I let out a huff as her words wash over me. I should have known she was just asking to piss me off. “You’re terrible.”
She takes a victorious sip of her drink before glancing at Charli. “So tell me about Cam’s friend. The one that made you snarl when you mentioned him.”
Charli’s eyebrows shoot for the sky. “What? I didn’t snarl.”
“Oh, you definitely did. Spill the tea, new bestie.” Em looks positively delighted to hear new gossip, especially involving Charli.
“No tea. Quinn is annoying at best.”
“You like him!” Em announces, drawing the attention from the few other patrons inside the coffee shop.
“You’re off your rocker! He’s the most opinionated person alive, and he’s always right. He does anything and everything he can to push my buttons. Quinn is the typical younger brother’sannoying best friend, and he will never be anything more than that.”
I can tell Em doesn’t believe her, and to be honest, I’m not sure I do either. She’s incredibly defensive and adamant of her annoyance of him, which is a big red flag. I can totally see where my sister would believe there’s more there than just irritation at the man, but it’s not my place to call her out more.
At least not now.
We sit and chat for the next thirty minutes, until Charli needs to head to the salon for her first appointment of the day. She says Saturdays are usually her busiest day, because more people have that day off.
When we all stand up and Em walks over to the trash can to dispose of her cup, Charli looks my way and quietly says, “If you’re not okay with her going with us, that’s fine and I’d completely understand. But the offer stands. We can take her to dinner and then bring her back safely afterward. We can even bring you something to eat.”
I nod. “I’m okay with it, if she is.” The truth is Em is eighteen, and I trust Collin’s family. Despite only knowing them a short time, they’re good people.
Before either of us can say anything about dinner, Em blurts out, “So what time is dinner? We’re still going, right?”
I crack a smile as Charli replies, “We are. I’ll text my brothers and find out what time works best for them. Do you like Mexican?”
“Love it!”
“Great, that’s the plan. I’ll text Lizzie with a time. I can swing by and pick you up.”
“Sounds great!” Em replies, pulling her new friend into a hug. “See you soon!”
Charli gives me a quick hug before slipping out the door and heading for the salon. Em and I exit and get in my vehicle. Theresale store isn’t too far away, but I figure if we buy anything, it would be more convenient to have a vehicle there than to have to lug it all back to where we left it.
With a smile on my lips, we set out for the next part of our time together, and I wouldn’t change a second of it.
“Hey.”
I offer a small smile and step back, granting him access.
