Aaron’s head whips in her direction. “Wait. You knew all along he was texting Barbie?”
“You need to stop snooping on my phone,” I say.
“Those notifications appeared on your lock screen,” Lara counters. “It’s not my fault her contact photo isliterallyof you two kissing.”
“Dude,” Aaron gasps. “When were you going to tell me you’re dating Barbie?”
“Never,” I reply. “Because I’m not dating Barbie.”
“Because you’d rather be unhappy?” Lara asks. “Oh. Come on, Ethan. You have the dorkiest smile on your face whenever your phone goes off. EvenMomcaught on that you’ve been in a better mood. She even asked me the other day if you truly had a girlfriend or if I was messing with her.”
“We’re just friends,” I say. “Nothing more is going to happen between us. Just because she’s sweet and funny and I love her doesn’t mean anything when she lives in California.”
“Dude,” Aaron repeats, his eyes wide.
“You just said you love her,” Lara gasps.
“I also said she lives in California,” I say quickly, pointing to the grill. “And someone should flip the patties before they become hockey pucks.”
“California borders us. That means we’re neighbors,” Aaron responds. “Practically next-door neighbors.”
“She lives in LA, which is almost a fifteen-hour drive from here,” I reply. “Nothing about that says next door.”
“And exactly how do you know how long it’ll take to drive to LA?” Aaron lifts a brow. “Bro, you have it bad for her. I always knew you did with how much you brought her up, but I didn’t realize you loved her.”
“We’re not together?—”
“The picture says something else entirely,” Lara says. “Why are you here when you could be with Barbie in LA? Literally, Labor Day weekend was last week. You could have tapped into all that cash you saved from your boring office job and flown out to see her for the three-day weekend.”
“The money’s not for that,” I say.
Lara frowns. “It’s not like you have student loans to pay off anymore. Take all the money you’ve saved and blow it all on a half-tank of gas in California.”
“No, the money’s going to good use.” I tip my head. “The house isn’t going to pay for itself, you know?”
Lara blinks and stares at me incredulously. “What do you mean?”
“The house isn’t fully paid off,” I reiterate. “Mom still has?—”
“Why would you do that?” Lara asks. “Oh my God. I can’t believe you. Why would you—You are such an idiot.”
“For being responsible with my money?” I know my sister is a decade younger than me, but there’s no reason for her to be upset when I’m trying to pay off the home she grew up in.
“This is—” She shakes her head, huffing an irritable sigh. “I can’t—Oh my God, I can’t look at you.” Refusing to meet my eyes, she turns her back toward me and storms into the house.
I stare at her in bewilderment, then shoot a frown at Aaron. “What was that about?”
“No idea,” Aaron says. “Butbro. Are you planning on moving back home?”
“No.”
“Then why are you paying it off?”
“Because my mom?—”
The sound of the sliding door slamming open cuts me off, and we both look over to see JoJo sprinting out into the backyard, followed by my mother.
“You better come here right now,” Mom snarls in Spanish,“and explain why your sister just told me you want to buy this house.”
