Page 24

“Butt floss?” Abigail turned. Her face went fire-truck red as she snatched the scrap of fabric from my hand. “Give me that.”

I chuckled. Abigail always played it so tough; it was fun to see her unravel a little. I wondered if she ever let other people in, or if those walls stayed up all the time.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t open any more closets around here. And that goes for cabinets and drawers too.”

“Fair enough. Is there at least some counter space where I can put my toothbrush?”

Abigail rolled her eyes and gestured for me to follow her to the bathroom. “You decide.”

If I thought her closet was bad, her bathroom countertop was an explosion of cosmetics.

“Did you buy out Sephora with your last commission check?”

“Ha-ha. You know, it’s not easy looking this good.”

I smiled and leaned against the doorframe. “Could’ve fooled me.” Abigail always struck me as one of those natural beauties. She had that pretty girl thing. A petite nose that freckled in the sun, pink, kissable lips, and big, mesmerizing eyes. No wonder Gabe was so protective over her.

My words made her look up, and she met my gaze in the mirror. “Stop it,” she said.

“What?”

“Just…stop saying that kind of thing.”

“You don’t like people complimenting you?”

“I do. It’s just weird whenyoudo it.”

Frowning, I straightened and let her brush past me to exit the bathroom. Her shoulder nudged my chest, and I resisted the urge to follow her into the hall. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know what it means, Rex.”

“I can’t tell you you’re pretty?”

She spun around in the middle of the hallway, and I had to jerk to a stop not to run into her. Our chests nearly brushed, and Abigail stuck her chin out. She wasn’t backing down. I liked that about her.

“No, Rex. You cannot tell me I’m pretty.”

If she wasn’t backing down, I wasn’t either. I inchedforward so that our chests did touch. I felt dizzy and out of control. It had been a long time since I’d felt like breaking the rules. “What about beautiful? Can I call you that?”

“Absolutely not.” She blinked a few times, then narrowed her eyes.

I smirked. I liked this game. Liked getting a reaction out of her. I wondered how she’d react if I told her I thought she was drop-dead gorgeous. That she’d been turning heads for as long as I could remember, and the only thing stopping every guy in town from slavering over her was the promise of deadly retribution from Gabe.

It had stopped me.

Until now.

Ding-dong!

Abigail and I froze, sharing a look.

“Is that them?” Abigail asked.

“Probably. You’re not still expecting the pizza guy, are you?”

“As a matter of fact, I am.” She walked past me with a big, proud smile.

As I followed her down the stairs, it hit me that I was about to see my brother and Blair for the first time since they got engaged. My gut tightened and my hands grew clammy. I could barge into a burning building without so much as a second thought. So why did this reunion make me so uneasy?