Page 3 of The Overtime Persuasive

And then we have days like this, when he apparently celebrates Bring Your Biceps to Work Day and makes it considerably harder to remember why I find him so irritating.

It’s not long before the Snyders are back in front of me, with Liam handing me a two-cookbook collection to ring up for them.

“I’ll take it home and wrap it,” Lucy says, taking the books and putting them behind the counter.

“Thank you,” Liam says, looking at his watch. “I’ll pick up the card, okay?”

“Seriously, dude. Her birthday isn’t for two months, and I think she’s going on a cruise with her girlfriends.” She laughs. “So you’re off the hook for now and can calm down.”

“Sue me for being organized.” Liam’s cheeks flush pink. “When I’m not organized, you won’t let it go, and when I am, you needle me.”

They both look at me, like I’m the deciding vote, but I put my hands in the air. “Leave me out of your shenanigans, please.”

“I’m being smart, Lucy, which seems to be lost on you today, so drop it.” His phone vibrates before Lucy can retaliate. Liam pulls it from his pocket, reads the message, and groans.

“What’s your problem now?” she asks.

“Campbell says Coach is dividing us into teams for an off-ice circuit after practice. Half the guys wear navy, the other half green.” He holds up his phone as if it’s personally responsible. “Apparently, I’m supposed to bring a green shirt.”

“So bring one,” Lucy huffs.

“It’s too late, I’m here and close to the arena. If I backtrack and go back to my place now, I’ll be late.”

“I might have one,” I say. “Actually…” I picture the basket of clean laundry I brought downstairs this morning, intending to fold it during a quiet spell that has yet to arrive. “I think I have two.”

I slip into the stockroom, where the basket sits on top of a box of subscription supplies. After digging past a pair of jeans and several socks currently refusing to acknowledge their partners, I find two green T-shirts near the bottom.

When I return, Liam looks wide-eyed from the shirts to me. “Those are going to fit me?”

“They’re men’s, because I like to sleep in oversized T-shirts.”

Liam’s brow furrows. “How oversized?”

It’s a fair question, because another look at him reminds me his shoulders are now huge. Lucy snorts as I hold them both in the air. One is plain forest green. The other is a faded concert shirt I found at a record fair last year.

“Take your pick.”

Liam reaches for the plain one. “You’re sure?”

“Unless you’d rather explain to Coach that you were defeated by a color.”

He grins. “I’ll wash it and bring it back.”

“I’d appreciate that. It happens to be one of my better pajama tops.”

His hand stills around the shirt for half a second before he folds it over his arm.

“Thank you,” Liam says, glancing at his watch. “Now I really do need to get to practice. It was great seeing you both.”

“You were here for ten minutes,” Lucy calls after him.

“Ten of the best minutes of my life.” He looks back long enough to wink before walking out the door.

“I swear, that’s meant for you,” she mutters under her breath.

I grin. I should be used to these two, but no. I won’t ever be. Sibling banter is next level, but twin banter? Fire. “He loves to agitate you.”

“I think he has a crush.” She laughs as the bell rattles again.