“Great,” she said.
Just then, the truck pulled up to a lovely ranch house. It was vast, with natural wood siding and large windows like the kind in the lobby of the hotel, but it was a lot more rustic.
“This is your house?”
“Yes. My brother and sister each had their own place on the property, but they’re usually here.”
He was close with his family. So that said something good anyway.
He wasn’t all bad, no matter how he pretended to be prickly.
He also couldn’t be entirely cynical.
He was building too many things to be cynical.
In her experience, cynical people didn’t tend to accomplish very much, because they talked themselves out of it before they ever got started.
No. Building up something like this wasn’t the act of a cynic. She could see what he meant, she could see the hard edge in him, but there was more than that. It was complicated, and so was he.
Do not go writing fanfic about this hot man in your head. That is very stupid. And you know better. Especially now.
She practically shook her head, trying to get all these thoughts and feelings out.
She really couldn’t do that. Just because he was handsome didn’t mean she could turn him into something benevolent, especially when he was making it clear that he wasn’t that.
As soon as he put the truck in park, she got out, followed him up the front steps, and into the house.
There was a loud discussion happening, and even if she couldn’t make out the words, she could hear the passion.
That had to be Lila.
A smooth, male voice responded, and she was sure that was Walker, based on what he had said about his siblings. It tracked right along with how he had described them.
They rounded the corner and entered the dining area, and both Lila and Walker turned to look at her.
“Lila,” he said, gesturing to a brunette. “Walker,” he said, pointing toward the blonde man. “This is Marlowe.”
“Nice to meet you,” Walker said, standing up quickly and extending his hand.
“Calm down,” Cody muttered.
Marlowe blinked.
Was Walker… Flirting with her? But then, based on what Cody had said, Walker was a flirt and a little bit of a grifter. So, she was going to stay well away from him.
Really, she wanted to stay well away from all men, she didn’t want to be experiencing this attraction for Cody. It was off-putting and strange.
“Nice to meet you. Both of you,” she said.
“Have a seat,” Cody said.
She complied, sitting down in front of a platter of sandwiches and a pitcher of lemonade.
“Drink?”
This question came from Lila, who didn’t look frightening. She was petite, wearing a flannel, with darkhair and a twinkle in her eyes. She seemed like the kind of person who would maybe enjoy a dirty joke, but she didn’t give off quite as much of a spiky aura as Cody did.
Or maybe that was gender bias on Marlowe’s part, since men weren’t her favorite right now.
