Page 48 of Freeze Frame

“Violet, this is my boyfriend, David. David, this is my sister, Violet.”

Violet blinked at me, then at Josh, and she pasted on a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her features were pinched tight, making her look severe. Shrewd, even.

“It’s good to meet you.” Violet held her hand out for me to shake. “I’ve heard nothing about you.”

Her gaze shifted to Josh and she arched an eyebrow at him. “You kept this a secret, little brother.”

“It wasn’t a secret, it just wasn’t your business. There’s a difference, Vi.”

Violet smiled again, and it looked like she was trying to make her expression more personable, but I could see a glimmer of something in her eyes.

“I just came by real fast to see if you still had that crate you borrowed to bring Nitro home in? A friend of mine needs to borrow it.”

“Yeah, I think it’s in the laundry room. I’ll be right back.”

I wanted to follow Josh and help him look. Being left alone with Violet gave me bad vibes. Her eyes were soft and kind whenever she looked at Josh, but they hardened when she looked at me.

“So, you’re his boyfriend?” she asked, giving me the onceover.

“David Fisher. It’s good to meet you. Josh speaks highly of you.” I tried not to let it sting that Josh hadn’t mentioned me to his sister, but maybe there was a reason he hadn’t.

Before she could get another word out, Josh returned with the pet carrier in hand.

“Here it is. Thanks for stopping by.”

“Oh, I don’t have to leave yet.” Violet set the crate down by her feet. “I’d love a coffee. We can catch up, and I can get to know David better.”

Josh practically glowed when his sister said that. It was like he was blind to the malice behind her eyes, or maybe I was imagining it. After the day I’d had, anything was possible.

“Did you want a coffee too, David?” Josh asked.

“Sure,” I said. “That sounds nice.”

It sounded fucking awful, but I put on a brave face for Josh. His sister was important to him and even though it felt like we were already off to a bad start, I wanted to make a good first impression.

TWENTY-FOUR

JOSH

I’d meantto tell Violet about David, but time had gotten away from me. And if I was honest with myself, Violet could be a harsh judge of my choices. She always had my back, and she always supported me in the end, but sometimes it was hard to get her to understand that she didn’t have to be okay with my choices in order for me to make them.

Case in point, my career choice. My work in the porn industry had been a bone of contention between us since day one. To this day, it was a subject we didn’t agree on, and she’d thankfully given up on trying to change my mind. But now I could see the wheels in her head turning as she came face to face with a boyfriend she’d heard nothing about.

“Did you want a coffee, David?” I asked as I poured water into the carafe to get a pot going.

“That would be nice actually,” David said.

I glanced at him and shot him a smile. One I hoped would reassure him. I hadn’t planned for him to meet Violet yet, and I’d kind of hoped to put it off for a while. I’d also wanted to warnhim about her. Before our parents decided that I didn’t exist, Violet had been an amazing big sister. But when they turned their backs on me, it was like a switch flipped in her brain and she’d gone into overprotective momma bear mode.

It didn’t seem to matter to her that I was an adult now, living an adult life, paying adult bills. To her, I was still the same scared teenager with shitty parents and little hope for my own future.

“So David, how did you meet my brother?”

“I met Josh at the dog park. Our dogs were rescued from the same person.” The dogs in question had curled up on my couch and had gone to sleep.

“That’s sweet.” Violet sounded almost sincere. “Now I know why he wouldn’t let me set him up with this client of mine.”

“I wouldn’t let you because I’m not interested in my sister running my dating life. I also wouldn’t let you because, full offense, Vi, you have horrible taste in men.” I’d finished measuring the coffee into the basket and started the pot, so I joined David again, slinging my arm around his waist.