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“You’re not going to let it drop till you figure it out, are you?”
“Nope. That’s what I do.” She stares me down in an attempt to get me to say more.
I sit, comfortable that I’ll win this little standoff.
Which I do when, after a moment, she stands. “Same old Owen,” she says. “You never tell me anything.”
There’s a pause, and I feel the weight of the eight years of geographical distance between us. Mack never understood why I moved out of North Carolina in the first place, and she didn’t have any problem telling me exactly what she thought when I left.
She seemed to think people would move past my public embarrassment, but it was more than just that that drove me away.
I needed a fresh start, away from people who’d made up their minds about me, or thought they knew me by looking at me, or judged me for my past mistakes—and there were many.
“Where are you living?” she asks.
“I’m at Mom and Dad’s right now,” I say.
Her eyebrows raise. “Really?”
I shrug. “It’s temporary.”
“They’re going to drive you nuts, you know.”
I offer an affirmative grunt.
“All right, Grumbles,” she says, unearthing that old chestnut of a nickname that I hated as a kid. “I’m exhausted, and I need a shower. We’ll catch up later.” She stands and starts toward the door but stops and faces me. “Thanks for saving my best friend.”
I lift my hand in a thumbs-up, she shakes her head with an eye roll, and then she’s gone.
“Who was that?” Levi Lawrence is standing in my doorway, eyes full of Mackenzie and setting off that protective older brother thing I always have when it comes to my sister’s dating life. It’s stupid. I’ve been away too long, and Mack is an adult who can more than take care of herself. But I just met Levi yesterday, and I don’t like the way he’s looking at her.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say.
Levi puts his hands up in mock surrender. “Just going to compliment you, buddy. Every girl in town is going to want your number after last night.”
“That was my sister,” I say. “And I’m not looking for any numbers.”
“Your sister?” Levi’s eyes go wide. “Ooh, yeah, I get it. ‘Off-limits,’” he chuckles. Then, after a pause, “Is she single?”
I’m about to grab the closest thing within reach and chuck it at him when I realize I don’t actually know.
I’ve been away too long.
“Not sure.” I straighten the covers and start to make the bed.
“Can you find out?” Levi asks.
I tuck the cover under the pillow. “I’m not setting you up with my sister,” I say, opening the small closet on the opposite side of the room.
“Guess I’ll have to find out for myself.” Levi grins, then takes a step into the hallway. “Or I might take a run at your girl from last night. She had that sexy librarian thing going on.”
A wave of protectiveness rises inside me. I glare at him. “Don’t.”
He lifts his hands. “Whoa. Got it. Message received.”
Why the heck did I do that?
I try to justify it. “She’s just been through a major trauma, Lawrence,” I say. “The last thing she needs is some guy hitting on her.”
