Page 7

“Hi Lena.” I pulled her into my arms for a tight hug, squeezing and rocking her.

When we parted, she planted a big, noisy kiss on my cheek before wrinkling her nose. “Your facial hair makes that less fun than it used to be.” I pulled her back to me and playfully rubbed my face against her neck, making her squeal and squirm to get away. When I finally let her go again, we were both laughing hard.

I glanced toward the house and saw a man standing on the front step, scowling. Despite the scowl, he was objectively hot. His black hair hung down just past his ears, his dark eyes were framed by thick brows, and his defined jawline had what looked like two days’ worth of stubble on it. He was wearing a tight T-shirt that stretched across his shoulders and hugged his defined chest and biceps, and what skin was showing was covered in tattoos. I looked at Lena and tilted my chin in the direction of the house.

“That’s Ellis,” she said. “My brother.”

I shoved her shoulder playfully. “I know who Ellis is.” We’d never met, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t heard enough stories to know his name. Besides that, she’d warned me when we’d been on the phone the previous night that Ellis was living with her, too. It was going to be tight quarters, but it didn’t matter. I was grateful for the break from Port Grandlin and grateful for the space from my life to figure out what I wanted next.

“Let’s get you unloaded and into the house,” she suggested after a moment’s pause.

“Deal.”

“Do you need any help?”

I went to the trunk and pulled out two rolling carry-on sized suitcases. “In the backseat is my laptop bag. Can you grab that? And the small toiletries bag?”

“Sure thing.”

I murmured my thanks and once the car was unloaded, I followed Lena up the sidewalk and into the house, where Ellis had retreated to when we’d started grabbing suitcases. There was noise coming from the kitchen when we stepped inside.

Lena put my two smaller bags on the couch. “Ellis, come say hi.”

“Hi,” he called without leaving the kitchen.

Lena gave me an apologetic look before shouting to Ellis. “Don’t be an asshole.”

From the kitchen, I heard a loud, put-upon sigh before Ellis came into the living room. “Hi.”

I put on a tight smile. “Hi. Thanks for letting me crash here.”

He shrugged and tipped his head toward Lena. “Thank her.” A moment passed before he spoke again. “I have to work.” With that, he left the room and headed down the hallway, presumably to his bedroom.

She gave me another apologetic look. “Sorry about him. He takes some getting used to, but he’s not that bad, really.”

I shrugged and waved away her apology. “It’s fine. I get it. He probably doesn’t want someone encroaching on his space. I don’t blame him.”

“You’re right, but he doesn’t have to be a dick about it.”

I didn’t want to stand around shit-talking her brother and making things worse, so I changed the subject. “Where should I put my stuff?”

She brightened. “I emptied out the hall closet for you. It’s not much, but you don’t have to leave your suitcases lying around on the floor, at least.”

“Thanks. And… thanks again for letting me stay.”

“It’ll be like we’re back in college.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Maybe with less beer pong.”

“Deal. Should I give you a quick tour?”

“Yeah, definitely.” I followed Lena as she made her way through the living room. “Your closet.” She opened a door in the hallway and inside was a small coat closet—big enough to store my suitcases, at least. “Kitchen is here.” She gestured to her right and kept walking. “Here’s Ellis’s bedroom on the left, bathroom across the hall, and I’m at the end.”

“Easy enough. And we’re sharing a bathroom, right?”

She looked at me apologetically. “It’s the best I could do. He’s just staying here until he can get himself back on his feet.”

“That’s something we have in common then. Don’t worry about the shared bathroom part. You’re doing me a huge favor. I can share a bathroom with just about anyone. I don’t leave my towels on the floor and I can work around his shower schedule. It’ll be fine.”