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Her words caused an ache to start in my chest and spread throughout my arms and legs. I didn’t like the way her words made me feel, but it was that look of certainty in Teddy’s eyes that made me feel like absolute dog shit. Like it was a foregone conclusion that I couldn’t be trusted, that I was nothing more than a good time.
“Don’t be upset or offended, Cal. ‘Permanent bachelor’ is kind of your brand, isn’t it? I mean, you hired me to turn your home into the world’s greatest bachelor pad. Own it. Just be a man and accept the fact that not all women will see that as a virtue.”
“So, what? I’m somehow deficient because I don’t want a wife and kids? I’m less of an adult because I value my freedom and my free time?”
“Not at all.” Teddy’s words were softer, but her eyes were filled with mischief. “But you and I want different things, Cal. That’s all.”
She laughed when I groaned. “Using my own words against me? How rude.”
Her laughter grew louder, and I felt that warm sensation again. We’re not done yet. That thought kept echoing in my mind, but right on its heels came Teddy’s words. Cruel. She thought I was cruel and untrustworthy, and before we could get naked again, I had to make her see I wasn’t that boy anymore.
Teddy
“So, the date was a bust?”
Hannah shielded her eyes from the sun that warmed her spacious backyard and nodded. “What’s bigger than a bust? The jerk had the nerve to tell me that a successful YouTube channel wasn’t really a career.” She let out a sad little sigh and I wanted to find that guy and kick him in the nuts. “It’s too bad, really.”
“Did you hit it off before he said that?”
“No,” Hannah sighed. “But he was super hot, and I could use a man-generated orgasm.”
I let out a loud bark of laughter and Hannah joined in.
“There’s something about a man teasing pleasure out of you that makes them just a little bit better than a battery-produced orgasm, but I prefer the efficient orgasms provided by my vibrators,” I told her.
Vibrators didn’t need their egos stroked and they didn’t make excuses. They needed batteries or they didn’t. It was uncomplicated, just how I liked it.
“Really? That’s good to know,” Cal’s voice sounded on the other side of the tall wooden fence Hannah had made herself for another one of her DIY craft videos.
Hannah sucked in a breath at what I gathered was a surprise appearance by her brother. “Cal, what are you doing here?”
She pushed open the locked fence and greeted him with an exuberant hug.
Cal squeezed Hannah tight and he did that thing, closed his eyes and really absorbed the hug, that almost made him seem like the guy I’d thought he was when I was a girl.
“Do I need a reason to visit my favorite sister?”
“Of course not. Come on in, I was just about to test out the smoker I made. And I have enough fish for three.” She looped her arm through his and they walked across the yard to the table and chairs where I sat, pretending his presence here wasn’t unsettling.
Cal winked at me over Hannah’s head, and I rolled my eyes. Whatever he was up to, it wouldn’t work. I had a feeling Cal knew I was here and had shown up to prove a point and continue his little game.
I wasn’t on board for it.
“I’ll let you two catch up, since it happens so rarely. Talk to you later, Hannah.”
She blinked and dropped Cal’s arm. “What? Why? Stay, there’s enough food for everyone.”
“Of course, there’s enough food—you always cook enough to feed half of Jackson’s Ridge. But I have things to do today.”
Hannah folded her arms, blond brows arched in question, a challenge burning in her eyes. “Like what? We were supposed to spend the afternoon together.”
I nodded. “And now you can spend the afternoon with your brother. You’re welcome, Hannah.”
I knew by the gleam in her eyes that she wouldn’t let this go so easily.
She half-snorted, half-laughed, and shook her head. “You two are really pathetic. Seriously. Don’t you think it’s time you buried the hatchet, whatever it is?” Her keen gaze bounced between me and Cal, trying to see which of us would break first.
Cal’s blue eyes lit with mischief. “Yeah, Teddy, let’s bury that hatchet.”
I glared at his smiling face. He thought he was so cute and so clever, but I was always up for a challenge. “We buried a lot more than the hatchet, didn’t we, Cal?”
He choked on his stupid, amazing smile, eyes wide with shock. Or maybe it was fear.
“I mean, you were buried pretty deep,” I went on, “multiple times, if I recall correctly. Do you remember that, Cal?”
