“You do that on every group chat,” I say, unlocking the door.
“And now I’m doing it live!” Liam grins and follows us inside. “Seriously though, I had a crap day, and tequila sounded like therapy. You don’t mind if I crash here, right?”
Ash throws me a look over Liam’s shoulder. I shrug.
“Bless you both,” Liam says, beelining for the kitchen and mumbling about snacks. “This place is a palace. I feel like I should be wearing silk pajamas and calling people ‘darling.’”
“Silk pajamas do sound nice. So feel free,” I shrug, hiding a grin behind my hand.
“Oh, my baby sister is the nicest. Isn’t she the nicest, Ash?” he asks.
Ash nods in agreement. “She is nice. And pretty, too.”
“Hey, that’s my sister you’re talking about. Shut your filthy mouth.” Then Liam points at Ash. “You. We’re drinking.”
Ash raises an eyebrow. “We just got back from dinner with my terrifying parents.”
“All the more reason to drink!” Liam slurs, already digging around for a bottle.
Ash looks at me. “Do we stop him?”
I sigh. “I think we just supervise and make sure he doesn’t try to climb into the fountain.”
Ash grins, brushing his hand lightly against mine as he heads toward the kitchen. “Guess it’s gonna be one of those nights.”
Liam pauses mid-snack rummage and squints at us from the kitchen doorway.
“Hang on,” he says, pointing a suspicious finger. “You two showed up together.”
“Correct,” Ash says, casually. Too casually.
“Like…togethertogether.” Liam staggers a step closer, eyes narrowed like he’s solving a true crime podcast in real time. “Where were you? What were you doing? Who drove?”
“We went out for dinner,” I say, keeping my voice breezy.
Liam’s eyebrows jump. “Dinner. Together. On a weeknight.”
“Wild, I know,” I deadpan, slipping off my heels.
“With mybest friend,” he says, turning to Ash now like a disappointed parent. “You went to dinner with mybaby sister. Alone. At night. In public.”
Ash blinks. “We’re engaged, Liam.”
Liam waves that off. “Fake engaged.”
Ash looks at me. I look at Ash.
Technically… still true. But also very, very not.
“We had a meeting,” I say quickly. “With his parents. Dinner with the future in-laws. For the wedding. All very wholesome and fully chaperoned by judgmental retirees.”
Liam narrows his eyes at me. “You’re being sarcastic. That’s your sarcastic voice.”
“It’s also my tired-of-being-interrogated-by-my-dramatic-brother voice.”
He turns back to Ash. “So? Anything to say for yourself, Romeo?”
Ash raises a brow, deadpan. “She ordered the salmon. I paid the bill. We made small talk about tax brackets.”
