“Poor little tyke, all tuckered out. He’s fitting in well here.”
“Yeah, he is.”
We fall silent. I know it’s coming; I almost count the seconds.
“Who hurt you?” Her voice is cold and dangerous. Sebastian might be the loud, get-into-a-fight-to-protect-your-honour sibling, but Asher is the deadly assassin.
“It doesn’t matter; they are dust in the wind.”
“Was it serious?”
I squint and make a so-so gesture. “Well, I mean, they were courting me. I thought it was serious. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, and I was scared, but they were like knights riding white horses, promising to fix everything.”
“And?”
“And they wanted someone else, too. I was just the backup plan. I was…humiliated and wounded but not deeply hurt.”
Asher growls.
“It’s all right. Once I discovered I was just a second choice, I realised that I didn’t actually feel any sort of way about them.”
“Did you get revenge?”
I shake my head. “You’re still as bloodthirsty as I remember.”
“No, I’m much worse these days.”
“Nice! I can’t believe you two didn’t wait for me!”
Cordie stomps over and flops down on my other side. “Ugh, it’s been foreversince I came out here.”
“You don’t come out here much?”
“No, it’s not the same when you’re not here, and if I get drunk, there’s no one who will help me get home.” She looks at her shoes and hisses. “Ugh, mismatched shoes. I’m going to kill him.”
“Cordie. You aren’t still getting blind drunk, are you?” I ask in alarm.
“Occasionally,” she says with no remorse.
I snigger. “How’s your love life?” I prompt.
“It’s a dumpster fire. Your brother is a cock block or would it be clit block? Eh, whatever he is, he’s making my dry spell a dry decade.”
“You two should just get it out of your system,” Asher says.
Cordie sits up. “You take that back.”
“Nope. I call it as I see it, and the chemistry between the two of you is off the charts.” Asher sticks her nose up in the air, not looking at Cordie.
“It’s not chemistry; it’s loathing.”
“The line between love and loathing is the width of your bikini string.”
“Bite your tongue, you she-devil.”
“So, how come you are out here?” I say to Cordie before they can get into a full-blown yelling match. I’ve seen some doozies between the two of them over the years.
“Ah, well, Devon came over, woke me up, got everything ready, and drove me down; there were threats and some blackmail involved.”
