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He looked the guy right in the eye. “To not be a jerkwad.”
Bryce stared him down, then grinned and extended his hand. “Welcome to the family.”
The shake was firm and short, but friendly enough that a wave of relief caught Merit by surprise. He hadn’t expected to care what her family thought of him, especially a younger brother. In truth, he hadn’t even thought about her family beyond Ian. He didn’t know about her family beyond Ian. He was going to have to fix that.
“How old are you?” Bryce asked.
The question surprised him into an automatic reply. “Twenty-six.”
“At least you’re older than me, but still…” The guy arched a brow at his sister. “Cradle robber.”
Mae rolled her eyes and reached out to grab the cooler from Merit’s hand. “Three years difference is hardly robbing the cradle.”
He’d have to agree with her. A few years between them was insignificant in his mind.
“It’s gonna be four in a week,” her brother pointed out.
She glared at him before declaring, “I’m going to sit.”
“Too bad for her you got the chairs,” Bryce commented as she stalked away.
“I have my blanket,” she called back over her shoulder.
Her brother grinned again as they both followed.
“I’m already on thin ice,” Merit admitted in a low voice. “I’d rather not annoy her.”
“She’s been moody, I take it?”
He shrugged, not stupid enough to voice an opinion on that specific subject.
“She was like this when she was pregnant with Ian. A real pain in the ass.”
“I did not say that.”
Bryce chuckled. “Clearly, you’re not living with her.”
Hell, he’d only barely gotten her to start talking to him. Living together would be pushing it toward warp speed.
She’s pregnant.
Okay, yeah, moot point there.
“So, tell me, Merit, what do you do?”
He shot Bryce a sideways look to decipher if he was making casual small talk or playing detective. Either way, he wasn’t about to admit that he did nothing. “My degree is in structural engineering.”
“Oh. So you two met through work?”
“No. Her best friend married my brother.”
Bryce shot him a glance, then stopped abruptly. “You’re a Diamond? As in Senator Mark Diamond is your dad?”
And there it was. In less than a minute, he went from being himself, to being Senator Diamond’s son.
“Well, that’s definitely a step up from the deadbeat jerkwad.”
If he only knew.
