Page 27 of Working For Her Attention

“Stell, go use the bathroom,” I ordered.

“No! Wait, don’t go!” my sister chimed in just as more footsteps neared the front door.

“Knock, knock!” another all-too-familiar feminine voice called, and I watched as Avery paled.

“Hey! Avery, right?” Rainy said as she walked into my house. “What are you doing at…” She blinked. I wasn’t sure how one of my sisters had already met Avery. “Wait! Hold the phone! Holy shit!” she whispered, and then her face transformed. All my sisters were full of personality, but Rainy grinned wide and yelled out. “Windy! You are never going to believe this!”

“Small world,” Avery squeaked, pulling my shirt down her thighs. “I can get out of here and⁠—“

“No!” Stella moved closer to Avery. “Don’t go.”

“What is happening?” Windy asked, a cake box in her hands. She stopped, and the moment she saw Stell, she rolled her eyes. “What’s the big deal? It’s just Stella!” Stella turned and gave her a look, and that’s when my baby sister moved out of the way. I swear, Windy’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head.

“OMG!” she shouted with a jump, careful not to drop the box she held in her hands. I didn’t think Windy had ever said OMG in her life. “You’re her neighbor?!” she exclaimed, turning so fast to look at me I was shocked she didn’t get whiplash. “He’s a total dork, Avery! I expected better from you,” Windy teased. She better be teasing.

“Shut up,” I rumbled. It was time to get control of the situation. “Okay, all three of you, will you guys… go to the kitchen or out to the backyard and set up the table and chairs for today, so I can talk to my woman?”

“His woman?” Stella repeated with unhinged glee.

“His woman!” Rainy and Windy both repeated at the same time. My jaw clenched. Pains in my ass.

“You’re going to scare her off if you guys keep acting like teenage girls hopped up on caffeine.”

“We’re grown—“ Windy started to argue. I rolled my eyes.

“Yes, I know. Just please give us a minute?” Stells blinked and looked at the other two. Quietly and in that unnerving way they spoke without words, they all nodded almost at the same time before smiling at Avery and walking to the kitchen. It wasn’t until the sliding door that led to the backyard shut that I moved.

“I’m sorry about them.”

“They’re your sisters,” she observed quietly.

“Yeah.” I smile. “The three pains in my ass.”

“That you helped your mom with.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” She bit the inside of her cheek, and my brows furrowed.

“What’s up?” I could see she was doing the math in her head and something wasn’t adding up.

“Nothing, I just… I thought… when I saw Stella, I thought…”

“What?”

“That you and her were… you know, and I’d messed up by not asking if you were even seeing someone. It made me realize we hardly know one another.” I immediately closed the space between us and picked her up.

With Avery, I wasn’t the kind of man to let things linger and fester. Not after she gave herself to me. Her legs wrapped around my middle, and I didn’t stop until we reached the master bedroom.

“Sam! What are you⁠—“

“Shh…” I hushed, kicking the door shut behind me before settling my ass down on the edge of the bed with her straddling me. Somehow, it was just enough to block out the outside world.

“We know each other more than you think.”

“Honey—“

“I’m serious. I haven’t been in a relationship in… I don’t even remember how long. The last time I had sex other than this morning was over a year ago.”