“He tripped on the carpet,” I say, glancing at it for veracity’s sake. “Didn’t you, Brin?”
“Yeah.” Brin frowns warily. “You want one of those rug grips on it.”
“Or you could just watch where you’re going,” Lavender suggests.
“Yeah, you really ought to watch where you step.” My delivery is light, words like a stone skimming over water. “Wouldn’t like to see you get hurt.”
“Got it,” he says. At last.
“What are you doing here, anyway?”
“I came to see Raif. On business.”
“What business?” Lavender seems unconvinced. Stepping closer, she punches him playfully in the chest in a quickone-twomotion.
“Nothing that’s got anything to do with you.”
“Fuck off.” Lavender pulls a face. It’s an iteration I haven’t seen, but one her brother obviously has.
“This is exactly what I was talking about,” he mutters, his eyes darting my way.
Idiot.
“You two have been talking about me.” Her attention pings between us.
“No,” says Brin.
At the same time, I answer, “Yes.”
Lavender’s brow quirks. “Which is it, then?”
“I know this might come as a shock, but not everything in the world is about you, Lavender.”
I slide her brother a disgusted look. “Brin is here in his capacity as older brother to warn me to be good to you.”
Lavender snorts.
“If only he’d called ahead, I could’ve saved him a journey. Your mother beat him to it.”
“What?”And there’s that expression again.
“She dropped into my office this morning. I must say, Polly delivered her threats with much more class.”
“Steel fist in a velvet glove, that woman,” Brin mutters.
“You didn’t say she’d been to see you,” Lavender says, ignoring him.
“I was being diplomatic.”
“And you were being a dick about it, I suppose?” This she delivers Brin’s way.
“That’s fucking charming!” he complains.
“I suppose that’ll be the reason he tripped,” she says airily, eyebrows riding high.
“Why do you assume this is my fault?” Brin bleats. “You’ve only known him five minutes!”
But he’s not really hurt by her assumption. I’m also not really flattered, either. Her loyalty is owed to me. She has five million reasons for it.
