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Paige tilts her head, much like her dog does when confused, just before a hopeful little smile curves her mouth. “Charlie is single, you know?” she offers, unprompted. “And multiple women have said he’s very good in bed.”
The banana was a mistake. Paige’s words have me sucking in a surprised breath, which means I breathe in more banana than air. I choke on the thing, trying to cough the yellow mush out of my throat.
I’m successful, only my aim is lacking because I spit the half-chewed fruit straight onto Charlie’s shirt where it rests in the sink.
The two of us stare at the new mess as I pant. “Shit,” I gasp out, losing my standing as the smooth one in this kitchen.
Charlie abandons his shirt and places a hand on my back. “You okay?”
I nod, then glare at Paige. “Don’t say stuff like that when I have a full mouth.”
“What? It was a simple fact.”
If my brother didn’t love her so much, I might strangle Paige. “And blue whales are the animals who have the largest penises! That’s a fact! But you don’t see me trotting it out during dinner with your parents, do you?”
“Well, they’re not very interested in animal genitalia. I don’t see why that fact would be relevant to the situation.”
A snort at my side has me redirecting my scowl. Charlie bites into his goddamned lower lip again. Still, he’s not able to hold back the laughter for long. One second the man stands tall above me, then next he’s sliding down to the kitchen floor, holding his stomach as he roars in laughter. Pumpkin trots over to him, tail wagging as she licks the side of his face.
I want to be mad. I want to be furious.
But the sight before me is so joyful that I fight my own smile.
“Please do!” Charlie eventually forces out. “Please tell Mr. H about whale penises. And please do it when I’m there. I will give you all my money.”
I glance at the woman who’s soon to be a member of my family. Paige shrugs, an affectionate smile gracing her pretty face as she watches Charlie dissolve on her kitchen floor.
“I will do no such thing,” I mutter with absolutely no heat.
“Do you need a shirt?” Paige asks. “You’re the same size as Dash.”
Charlie nods, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. Then he grins up at me, and my stomach twists in a strange way that combines pleasure and discomfort.
“Sure you don’t want to get breakfast with us? Since you just spit out all of yours?”
Funny thing is, I do. The idea of spending more time with Charlie Keller is tempting.
But that’s a sensation I shouldn’t explore.
“Can’t. Busy.” I move to escape the kitchen and the heat of his attention. But I lose the battle against the urge to glance his way one more time.
Mistake. Watching the smile fade from Charlie’s face as his eyes focus on the floor, I wonder if this is what it’s like to walk away from an adorable puppy at the animal shelter my brother used to work at.
He’s not a puppy. He’s a man. And you don’t need one of those.
I never have and never will.
ChapterSix
LUNA
Parking on the familiar street has my muscles tensing. Ready for a fight.
But I don’t let anything as unacceptable as fear register in my mind. Surviving here means wearing a tough exterior at all times. No hesitating. I climb from my car and head up the cracked sidewalk, my confident stride fueled by my need to have this encounter over as quickly as possible.
The door seems smaller than it used to be, as if the wood is a dying thing that slowly decays as the years pass by. The color is different too. A surface that used to be brown is now a faded blue. I’ve been gone long enough that things had time to be new and grow old. There’s no sound when I press the doorbell. I rap out a pounding knock with the side of my hand.
Still nothing, but that doesn’t mean no one is home.
