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Karli huffs, shooting daggers at her brother. It’s a look I’m now too familiar with. “I’m gonna go get dressed. And I’d really, really appreciate it if there wasn’t a creepy stranger standing in my parents’ kitchen when I get back.” She stomps out of the room.
Felix calls sweetly after her. “Whatever you say, baby sis.”
Karli’s shoulders loosen with relief and she nods. “Thank you,” she calls out from the hallway.
But then Felix grins like a cunning fox. “By then, the ‘creepy stranger’ will probably be in the living room. Or in the bathroom. Or moving into his new bedroom. Or—”
Karli yells in rage at the top of her lungs as she thunders up the stairs.
I cringe. Man, she’s feisty. Why does that turn me on? I can’t stop my eyes from trailing helplessly after the wild thing as she goes.
Felix looks my way again. I quickly meet my friend’s gaze and give him a tight smile.
Ireallyneed to stop checking out his sister.
“Such a drama queen,” he mumbles, his head wagging from side to side. “Look, I’m sorry about Karli. I had no idea my little sister would be here when you and I made these living arrangements.” Before I can respond, he cocks his head to the side, studying my face. “Dude—you have a black eye.”
“Oh. Uh. I…” I fumble ridiculously.
Felix’s thick brows lower over suspicious eyes. “Wait—is Karli responsible for that?”
I nod tentatively. “It was, uh, a misunderstanding,” I admit over the knot in my throat. That’s notentirelya lie.
My old buddy throws his head back and laughs. “Well. I guess I don’t need to tell you not to mess with my sister. I think you already got the message.”
I exhale. “Yeah. Loud and clear, man.”
Felix pats me on the back. “All right, bro. You go get ready for work, and I’ll try to figure out what to do about Karli.”
Well, I guess I’m not getting a grand house tour. But whatever. I’ll manage. “Which bedroom do I take?”
He jerks his head abstractly towards the upstairs. “You can take my old room. It’s the one with the Avril Lavigne posters on the ceiling.” He winks.
Glad to be off the hook for the moment, I grab my duffel bag and the sex doll, heading for the same set of stairs Karli took earlier.
As I go, I hear Felix booting up a group call on his phone.“Family meeting at Mom and Dad’s house. Stat.”
My blood curls.
Good grief, Tough Girl. What a mess we’ve made.
4
KARLI
I’m fully dressed now—pants and bra and all—as I pace back and forth in my childhood bedroom.
Dammit.
Dammit, dammit, dammit.
I’m struggling to get a grip on my current reality. That ridiculously hot stranger who spent the wee hours of the morning pounding me into oblivion? He’s my older brother’s best friend.
Way to go, Karli.
To make matters worse, he’s here in my family home, with every intention of staying for the foreseeable future. How?! Why?! How could this happen to me?!
And just when I think things can’t get any shittier, they do…
