“And you said your club’s doing well?” I ask.
“It is. He’s trying to set up a new one in Low Ferry, though, so he’s working on that 24-7 right now.”
“Huh. Let me know how that goes for him. I’m looking over there myself, and the competition over real estate is no joke.”
“Oh,” she says, sounding surprised. “We’ve got the venue already.”
I snap the chocolate in half and drop it into a small copper pan. “Well, shit,” I say without much heat, “I’ve been trying to find a venue there for months.”
“Flynn’s pretty excited about it; he’s been working on infrastructure for a long time. But he’ll get the investment he needs; he’s really good at that.”
Her confidence in her brother shines through in every word, and I smile at her as she looks down at the pan, her eyes narrowing.
“Do you actually know what you’re doing?” she says. “That’s going to be the bitterest hot chocolate ever.”
“Well, if you can find sugar, feel free to add some.”
I rest a hip against the counter in amusement as she enthusiastically hops off the stool and starts searching through my cabinets for sugar.
“What the hell is Bragg’s liquid aminos?” she asks, holding up a bottle of the stuff.
“Beats me, Ship must have bought it. She’s always trying to make me healthier.”
She flicks a glance at me, her eyes running over my body approvingly, and I can’t help grinning back at her.
“You look plenty healthy to me.”
“Why, thank you.” I feel my face flush.
“Ah! Here it is. Way in the back.” She reaches into the cabinet, giving me a brief flash of her thighs before she holds up a bag of sugar excitedly.
“A couple of tablespoons of this and you’ll be golden.”
“Tablespoons?” I ask. “Do you have a sweet tooth or something?”
“Definitely, it’s probably illegal how much sugar I eat.”
I pour it in as she stands by the stove watching me. The picture we make is alarmingly domestic, and I frantically try to think of questions to ask her to distract myself. I have an overwhelming urge to pull her against my side.
“So, you’ve met my sisters. How many brothers did you say you have again?” I ask.
“Four. Scott, Ben, Seb, and Flynn.”
“It’s funny we both have the same number of siblings,” I murmur. “I always thought that one would be the perfect number.”
She throws her head back and laughs at that, her eyes shining as she chuckles to herself. But suddenly her smile fades, and she looks at me in horror.
“What?” I ask, adding milk to the pan.
“Oh, god, I just remembered Lola invited me to her bachelorette party. I don’t really have to go, do I?”
I stir the pan thoughtfully. “I don’t know, do you want to?”
“It’s not really my thing.”
“Well, it would certainly keep them off my back for a little longer. Once they hear about Sarah, they’ll have a lot of sympathy for you, too. Feel free to paint me as the villain in that one.”
She laughs. “Noted. When is it anyway?”
