“Garage code is his birthday. You’d think an engineer would come up with something more secure, but nope. Bet his phone passcode is six zeros.” I laugh at the thought, and Eli grins. “So…Melanie’s out of town for a while, isn’t she?”
I frown at him. “Wait, how’d you know that?”
“Junior loves to run his mouth.”
“Ah.”
“So she’s gone, then?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” My eyebrows raise, and he grins again. I have a feeling he gets away with more than he should by flashing that smile. “No offense, of course. I’m sure your sister is a lovely individual, but she doesn’t like me much. Can’t imagine why.”
Landon’s words from the country club echo in my head.
The sister that appeared out of thin air and is now living in our house when you refused to let my brother stay with us for a week.
“Oh,” I say, finally understanding. “You’re the brother she wouldn’t allow to stay here. I don’t know why I thought it was Junior.”
“Oh, she’dneverlet Junior stay here. That guy’s the worst.”
I blink at him. “He’s your brother.”
“Yeah, but he’s a whiny bitch. No one likes him. Not his friends. Not his girlfriends. Not his parents.”
“I’m learning so much today,” I muse.
Eli’s abrupt laughter fills the room, loud and booming, and I marvel at how opposite this man is from his brother. “First I’ve heard that one. Landon says IQs drop when I enter the room.”
“Well, his ego’s way bigger than his IQ, so I wouldn’t take his opinion to heart,” I mutter, and then clap my hand over my mouth, eyes widening. I’m about to backpedal, but Eli’s laughing so hard I eventually deem it unnecessary.
“Damn, I like you,” he says, wiping at his eyes, and a blush works its way up my neck.
I clear my throat. “Anyway, don’t feel too bad Mel wouldn’t let you stay here. She barely let me into the house when I showed up. She’s just a very private person, I think.”
“I’m sure that’s it,” he says, though it doesn’t sound like he’s sure at all.
I nod and pull some chicken out of the fridge. I’m not sure what else to say, so I start prepping my dinner, Eli studying me the whole time in a way that makes me feel like a science experiment. When I’ve made up a plate of leftovers, I give him a shrug. “Well, see you later, I guess.”
He grins, patting the stool beside him. “Don’t want to keep me company?”
“Oh, no. It’s not that. I have some…things to do. Apartment hunting and whatnot.”
Plus, I don’t want Landon to think I’m trying to get in good with his brother, who I’m sure is as “off limits” as Parker. Probably more so. I’d never say that to Eli, though.
“Suit yourself. Gonna wait down here for the birthday boy to arrive.”
I frown at him. “It’s Landon’s birthday?”
“No. But I’m the best present a guy could ask for, so it might as well be.”
And that pretty much sums up Eli.
Up in my room, I’m too burnt out to apartment hunt, so I watch my show instead. It’s not long before the garage rumbles, signaling Landon’s return, and my curiosity piques. I can’t help it. Setting my plate aside, I crack my door open and slip out of my room to listen to their reunion from the mezzanine. Should I be eavesdropping? No. But I’m not perfect, and the drive to snoop is too strong.
“Why don’t you look happy to see me?” I hear Eli ask.
“Who said I wasn’t happy?” Landon responds, and by the sound of it, they’re hugging.Hugging. I can’t picture Dr. Don’t-Come-Near-Me touching anyone, especially with any kind of affection, and I wish more than anything I could sneak a peek inside that kitchen, if only to verify Landon’s an actual human being and not some sort of robot. “It’s been a while. How’d you know Melanie’s gone?”
