“Well, I’ve never had bourbon whiskey before so I wouldn’t know the difference.”
He remained silent, forcing me to backtrack.
“It tasted great. Best I’ve ever had.”
A lopsided grin decorated his face. I always thought he was so handsome when there was a lightness in his eyes.
“How did you find me?” I asked.
“I followed the crumb trail.”
“Those crackers were expired, I hope you know. You need to do a better job of stocking your pantry.”
“Right, because I want my trespassers to feel welcome and full.”
“Don’t snack shame me,” I said, lifting the sheet over my face. “I’ve had a shitty day, Jake.”
“You wanna tell me about it?”
“Where to begin? Quinn lied to me. The family hates me. I’m about to go on tour with my ex-boyfriend. And you were out of my favorite shampoo in the bathroom.”
“My god.” He grinned. “How do you go on?”
Jake, with hisrealproblems, probably thought I was such a silly little girl. The truth was his good days were probably worse than my bad.
“Get dressed,” he said. “Meet me on the deck. I’ll make you another drink, and we’ll talk.”
I nodded, but added, “Jake, I’d prefer a coffee instead. Maybe the CEO of Starbucks gifted you some?”
He waved me off, laughing as he walked out.
By the time I joined him out on the deck in a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt borrowed from his wife, with my hair pulled into a messy bun, he had the firepit on and two coffees steaming in their cups.
“Your wife’s short,” I commented, sitting beside him and lifting my leg to show him the indisputable capri-length proof of my claim. “You can tell her that for me.”
“Or… I could just tell Casey you said thank you for loaning her clothes to you in your time of need?”
“Yes.” I chuckled, taking a sip of my coffee. “That’s what I meant.”
“So, you wanna tell me why everyone is looking for you?”
“Like you don’t know.”
“I actually don’t. I’ve been busy all week and only got bits and pieces of the drama.”
“Cut the bullshit, Jake. I know you know. I know the whole family knows because gossip runs rampant. You, and everyone else, purposely withheld Quinn’s deceit from me.”
“Wrong!” Jake game-show gonged me out. “I didn’t even know you were in New York until today.”
I scoffed. “Thanks for caring, Jake.”
“You can’t have it both ways. Either you’re pissed that I knew or pissed that I didn’t.”
“I can be pissed at you any way I want.”
Jake rolled his eyes.
I was being unreasonable, but my brother wasn’t taking offense, so I continued down the spicy path. “How’d you know I came here?”
