Page 23 of My Brother’s Best Friends Entanglement

If she knows she's still grabbing my arm, she doesn't show it. She just watches me, waiting for me to catch my breath, before taking a deep breath of her own.

"I'm good." I reassure her when I can. "Sorry I wasted some of your tea though. Best Sencha I've ever had." A wink, and she scoffs, her mouth twitching with a fight against a smile.

But then, as if coming back to herself, she lets go of my arm and takes three steps back. "Sorry."

My fingers tighten around the mug so I don't reach out and pull her hand back. "So, bathroom antics aside. What else was good about today?"

Taking a few seconds, she tilts her head. "I just think it's a place I can feel comfortable working for the next three months. The people are nice."

"Yeah? Any people in particular?"

She shrugs. "I went to lunch at the art gallery with a group of research associates. Then a group of us grabbed a coffee on Rundle Street. I do forget how early it gets dark in winter."

"It doesn't in Sydney?"

She huffs. "I have no idea! I wouldn't usually leave campus until nine or ten p.m. It's always dark when I leave."

I frown. "Alexia, that doesn't sound safe."

She waves my words away. "It's fine. I'm never alone. There's always a security escort to the train station. And there are always a million people around."

That doesn't reassure me. She still has to get home from the train station, right?

"Does Leon know..."

Her eyebrows shoot up. "Does Leon know what? That I'm an adult and can take care of myself? Yes. My brother knows."

And just like that, it's six years ago, with our whole lives ahead of us, and one very big factor between us.

"So, um, you were saying, it gets dark early here?"

A pause, as if she's shifting gears back into the current topic, then, "Oh, yeah, Craig walked me to my car. I'd parked all the way around the back of uni, so that was nice. I don't really know what it's like around the campus grounds at night here."

I feel my jaw harden. "Who's Craig?"

"Craig? Just another research associate I met today. He finished his doctorate last year and promised Professor Pollack he'd stay a year to finish a project before deciding where he's moving on to next. He helped me out a lot today. I like him."

And I fucking hate him.

She continues, oblivious to the thoughts in my head. "And he seemed super interested as well, so we talked until almost nine o'clock."

"Interested in your research or interested in you?" I say, before my brain can tell me it's a stupid question to ask.

She looks at me for a moment. Doesn't answer. Takes a long sip from her tea instead. I copy because, no matter what, I'm not ready for this conversation to be over.

"So, you were at work?" she asks.

"Tonight? Er, yeah, at Highwater in North Adelaide. I'm there Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The other four days I rotate between the other bars, depending on the need."

Her eyes narrow. "You work seven days a week?"

"I guess," I shrug. "Most weeks. I can always take a day off if I feel like it. But I usually don't. Unless I'm out of town or there's an unmissable event."

"And these bars, you guys all own them, right?"

I nod. "Yup. The three of us and Leon. Two we also co-own with Hunter Monroe, they're axe throwing bars. Less traditional, more entertainment venues. They're doing really well, actually." I smile to myself, glad we'd branched out to include Hunter in that venture. He's been a valuable member of the partnership.

She nods. "That's great. Though you won't blame me for being surprised that you guys haven't accidentally burned any of them to the ground yet."