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Only Cameron, Poppy, and me lived in town, so whenever any of our other siblings came home, there was always at least one family staying in the small guesthouse not far from the main cabin. That was no place for Harlow and Sage to feel comfortable.
My gaze swung to Jax when I’d sufficiently quieted Cameron. “You don’t know Harlow, and you definitely don’t know what my friendship is like with her. This won’t wreck anything. Last night and this morning were great. Easy. The same relationship we’ve always had.”
Jax studied my face. “What’d you have for dinner last night?”
His question had me blinking. “Ordered some takeout from the diner while they unpacked. I had a cheeseburger, Sage had a grilled cheese, and Harlow ordered a chicken salad.”
“You buying?”
“Yes, I told them I would. What’s your point?”
“And after dinner?”
I settled a hip against the framing of the nearest wall and stared him down. “They unpacked. I was doing some yard work. When they finished, we played a game of Uno, and then Sage did her homework before going to bed.”
Jax’s face was inscrutable. “And then?”
Cameron gave him a quick look, but Jax ignored it.
“I don’t need to recap every fucking minute of our night, Jax. Turns out, it’s none of your business.”
“What was she wearing when you got home? Or don’t you notice things that your friend wears?”
My jaw clenched. “Clothes.”
If he heard the complete and utter bullshit in my answer, he didn’t call me out on it.
She was wearing black leggings and a stretched-out black tank top with Miss Piggy’s face on it, and the crisscrossing straps of her sports bra underneath were petal pink. The only reason I noticed was because the lightly muscled definition in her upper arms took me by surprise.
The Harlow I knew hated exercise, would only run if a serial killer was chasing her, and it was one of the first moments when I felt a tug of desperation about the time we’d missed.
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Jax, cut the bullshit. If you have something to say, just fucking say it.”
He crossed his big arms across his big chest. “When’s the last time you had sex?”
I threw up my hands. “This is ridiculous.”
“That long, huh?”
At his dry tone, I narrowed my eyes dangerously. “If you have a point, I suggest you make it.”
“I’m not judging if it’s been a while,” he said. “But it does make a difference. A man goes six months. A year. More? You put him in a situation like this with a beautiful woman who knows him, you like each other. Trust each other. Give it long enough, Ian.”
My molars were going to be ground to dust. “You can’t know that.”
“Sure I can. It’s dark, you’re talking at night. It’s just the two of you.” He shook his head. “This’ll change your relationship with her, mark my words.”
“You saying you wouldn’t offer Cameron a place to live if he was in a bad situation?”
Jax quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t have any desire to sleep with Cameron.”
“Thanks,” my brother answered dryly.
“I don’t want to sleep with Harlow,” I said calmly.
Okay, fine, I didn’t say it calmly. I yelled it. And when I yelled it, my brother got this god-awful, satisfied look. I took a deep breath because this was my karma. It had to be. I gave him so much crap when his girlfriend, Ivy, moved into town, and now I was paying for it.
“No? You’re telling me even back in high school, you never thought about it?”
