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“But I was the one who kissed you.”
“Don’t remind me,” he said.
“Well?”
“Well, what?” A smile tugged at his lips. This was actually sorta fun.
She groaned. “Elijah. Just tell me if you’re going to tell Annabel what happened today.”
This time he twisted around so he could get a good look at her. His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what she wasn’t saying. “Is there a reason I should tell her?”
Scarlett huffed.
“Let me rephrase that. Did it mean anything?”
Her scowl softened, and then her expression went slack altogether. “No,” she said firmly. “It didn’t mean anything.”
The disappointment that trickled in, along with the frustration over his brother, made him wish he’d actually eaten something. For some reason, he really was feeling sick to his stomach. “Then I guess there’s no reason for me to say anything.” He said it quietly, but it wasn’t so quiet that he wasn’t heard.
“What aren’t you going to say?”
They both jumped at the appearance of Lucas.
Never in Elijah’s life had he wanted to knock the teeth from his brother’s mouth so badly. Up until Scarlett had arrived, he’d actually had a good relationship with his brother. They got along great, and that probably had a lot to do with the fact that Lucas’s poor decisions had never crossed over into Elijah’s life—with the exception of his less-than-stellar work ethic.
Now, he couldn’t fight this feeling that Lucas was doing everything in his power to set Elijah on edge.
His brother wandered toward Scarlett and stood beside her—a little too close for Elijah’s comfort. He glanced toward Elijah, then Scarlett. “You two aren’t keeping secrets from Annabel, are you?”
Scarlett glanced toward Elijah briefly before laughing like she’d done before. Unfortunately, Lucas didn’t miss the exchange. Elijah was going to hear about this one for sure.
Thankfully, Lucas was smart enough to change the subject. It was either that, or he knew an opportunity when he saw one. “I was thinking. You’re back in town and a lot has changed around here. There’s this country club that went in on the outskirts of town where we could go dancing.”
“Lucas,” Elijah warned with a shake of his head.
“Oh, come off it. Annabel isn’t the boss of any of us.”
Scarlett’s brows lifted, but she didn’t say anything.
“If I want to ask Scar on a date, then I’m going to do it. And you’re not going to do a thing about it.” Lucas nudged Scarlett again. “What do you say?”
“I really don’t think that Annabel would approve…”
“Where’s your sense of adventure? If it would make you feel better, we don’t even have to tell her.” Lucas wagged his eyebrows, then reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
That small gesture was almost too much for Elijah to bear. He nearly shot to his feet to shove his brother away from Scarlett, but his own good sense held him back. He glowered at his brother, shaking his head again. “You don’t want to cross Anna, and you know it. Why even risk it?”
“It’s just one date, Elijah. Back off.” Lucas turned his attention once more toward Scarlett. “And if we get to the end of the date and nothing comes of it, then who cares what we tell Anna?”
The hesitancy was the first thing Elijah noticed just before the confidence in her expression returned. She tilted her head slightly and her eyes brightened. “You know what? I think that would be fun, actually. Though it would probably be better to go in a group. If you can convince Anna to go with us, then I’ll do it.”
Elijah just about crowed with delight at the look on Lucas’s face. He hadn’t seen such disappointment in a long time. But Elijah’s happiness was short-lived. Scarlett was still agreeing to go out with Lucas even if Annabel was part of it. She would likely dance with him. And if he knew his brother like he thought he did, Elijah knew that Lucas would pull her aside to the dark shadows outside and steal his own kiss.
Just thinking about Scarlett kissing Lucas set his whole body on fire. He burned white hot with pure and utter jealousy. He didn’t want anyone, least of all his brother, to lay their hands on her.
Somehow, between their kiss and watching Lucas make his moves, Elijah had come to a very real, very bad insight. He liked Scarlett more than he had before. His insignificant crush had exploded the second her lips had touched his. It was as if a bomb had gone off and all that lay before him was destruction.
If it wasn’t there already, itwouldbe the second Annabel found out about any of this.
