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“I’ll get this, you get them,” he says.
I toss him a look of appreciation and snag our beer bottles to toss in the trash. Then I head to the door, thanking whoever listens that the rest of the house stays clean as shit in case Jordan’s parents make an unexpected stop by. Even our guest room where Callie’s younger brother stays some weekends is spotless by the time Connor leaves. He has a fear of Jordan’s mother. As do most of us.
I pause in front of the mirror in the hallway and check out the fit. Ripped black jeans, an open flannel with a plain black tee underneath, and my hair slicked back in a bun. The real Benji and not the dressed up version.
With a lick of my lips, I can’t help but smile. Hopefully she is a snob, and I’ll get to enjoy the look on her face when she sees Archer’s younger half-brother looking like he just crawled out of a history of grunge documentary.
My mouth’s still turned up when I swing open the door and find my brother waiting. He has on a dressy black coat, leather gloves, slacks and shoes like he just came from his office.
“Well, well, well,” he says, and I mimic him with a, “Well, well, well.”
“Come here.” My brother tugs on my shoulder, so I’ll give him a one armed hug, our free hands slapping the other on the back.
For all the differences between Archer and I—his black and styled hair, rounder jaw, and broader shoulders—we both have the height and our mother’s cheekbones.
And her sense of humor, if you ask her. Which we never have.
“Who would have thought it would be me saving your ass,” I tell him as I pull away.
He gives me a quick narrowing of the eyes, but he follows it up with a grin. “I think you underestimate yourself, B.”
I smirk at that, pretty sure only Archer would have that opinion.
“All right, all right. Get in here before I change my mind about giving up part of my comfy digs.”
He chuckles. “You wouldn’t turn away a beautiful woman, now would you?” He trades hands with his bag and gestures out to the person still standing on the step as he steps past me inside. “Benj, this is Charlotte. Charlotte, Benji’s my baby brother.”
My head follows him inside before I turn back to the woman on the second step down from the brownstone. She’s smiling when I see her for the first time since the last time she was smiling at me. Both her hands are gripped tight to the bag in front of her, a saggy black hat covering all but a small section of hair that falls down to lie across her cheek, rosy from the cold. Amber eyes meet mine, and her expression vanishes, my brow drawing in at the same time.
“Charlie.” Her name rushes out in an exhale, and I swear exhaling is all that’s possible at the moment. Air’s too cold, harsh and unforgiving when the wind picks up.
“Benji Jones,” she whispers in disbelief.
It carries to me on the breeze, and it must carry farther than just my ears.
“Hold on a second,” the voice comes from behind me. “You two might have been in school together.”
Charlie’s gaze shoots to Archer in the entryway, her blush even redder now, panic tensing her shoulders. It takes me until now to remember who she is. Why she’s on my stoop with a suitcase.
The taste is bitter. A mixture of pain from years ago and realization from this very moment. They taste similar while they clash, and then the cold takes over, numbing me in every way I need to be.
“We did.” I force a smile and swing to my brother. “She dated Mike.” I turn back to her. “My best friend from back then.”
I step back then, gesturing for her to come in as my smile turns tight. She swallows hard, her attention flashing from me to my brother again, and then she’s smiling and walking past me.
“Thanks,” she breathes out.
“My pleasure,” I bite back at her.
Then my eyes follow her tight ass through the door, and I curse at myself for being a complete and utter idiot.
The door shuts behind me with more force than I intended, and I swear I’m more like Jordan in this moment than myself—all dramatic, but if ever there was a time.
The slam sends Charlie’s attention to me, quickly followed by my brother’s.
“Sorry,” I tell them. “The wind must have caught it.”
Archer gives me a huge smile. “Well, show us around. This place is great.”
