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Braxton’s soft snicker had me shooting him a look that told him to hush. This was why I was so protective of my little cousin. She had zero filter and was always embarrassing herself because of it. Everyone in our family thought it was adorable and we never made her feel bad about it, but those who didn’t know her little quirk could easily hurt her feelings without even meaning to.
His amusement dried up and he neutralized his features, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from eating up her image on the screen.
“This is where I need to remind you she’s not even sixteen yet,” I whispered, and his face lost all color.
“Christ,” he gritted out savagely, and Sasha lifted her head with a whine.
Inhaling deeply, Nevaeh finally dropped her hands. “Yeah, okay. I’m good now,” she said to herself before focusing on me once more. Her cheeks were no longer stained red, and I knew she’d already put the whole “Greek god” comment behind her. “What do you need help with?”
For the next half an hour, she walked us through writing an English paper step by step, giving us suggestions and even advice on how to outline everything to keep ourselves on track. She made it seem so simple, but honestly, before she’d dumbed it down for me, I was lost.
“Are you sure you won’t come to school out here?” I batted my lashes and pouted my bottom lip at her. “Pretty, pretty please?”
“I’ll think about it,” she said evasively. “But I do have to come to the East Coast in a few weeks. PopPop volunteered me for something I can’t get out of now, so I have to go to New York. Want to come up and spend the weekend with me?”
“Hell yes!” I laughed. “I’ll see if Lyla wants to come too.”
“Great. PopPop as a chaperone is basically no chaperone at all. So we can do whatever we want.” She propped her head on her hand, looking bored. “By the way, what do you want for your birthday?”
“That’s still a while away,” I reminded her.
“Not as far in the future as you think. Besides, I’ve got to get a head start on this present thing. You know I suck at it. So, help me out and just give me a few suggestions on what to get you.”
> “Earrings are fine.” I brushed it off. “You know I’m not picky. Besides, I’d rather spend time with you than get presents.”
“Holy shit!” she cried, her eyes growing huge.
Startled by her sudden reaction, I glanced around her background, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. But her eyes were glued to something behind me. As I turned my head, my mouth went dry when I spotted Barrick walking into the living room with a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Hey, Mia. I’m seriously going to think about your suggestion to come to school out there if every damn guy is as yummy as that one and Braxton…” She clamped her mouth shut before she cursed under her breath. “I need to go before I say anything else that makes your friends think I’m a total weirdo.”
“Wait,” I called, but she was already disconnecting. Sighing, I leaned back against the couch beside Braxton. “She’s not a weirdo,” I defended. “She just has no filter because there’s so much other crap in her brain.”
“I didn’t say anything,” Braxton said, holding up his hands in surrender.
“I know, but I just needed you to understand. Nev is the sweetest, most pure-hearted person you will ever meet.” My gaze lifted to Barrick, who didn’t seem to have noticed Nevaeh had even been on my laptop only seconds before. “You just gave my cousin a small stroke.”
Grinning, he put his forearms on the back of the couch and leaned down to kiss me. “Sorry?”
“Did you enjoy your run?” I asked, straightening up the notes I’d taken during Nevaeh’s call.
“It kept me occupied while you were busy,” he said with a shrug. “What about you two? Get everything taken care of?”
“Something like that,” Braxton muttered, getting to his feet. Sasha jumped down, following him as he picked up his books. “I need a time-out.”
“You okay?” Barrick asked, his brows lifted.
“Not even a little bit,” I thought the younger cousin muttered, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Brax—”
“Relax. I’ll be fine. Just need to decompress.”
Barrick snapped his mouth shut until Braxton slammed his bedroom door shut behind him. Then he looked down at me with wide eyes. “What happened while I was gone?”
“Nothing. He was fine…” I trailed off and glanced at my laptop. “Until Nev’s call.”
He frowned, but he shook his head after a minute. “I’m sure he’s fine. It’s probably just been a long week for him.”
