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“How are my favorite girls?” he questions with a grin.
“We were fine before you showed up, jerk,” Anika replies.
She tosses a beer can at his head, which he annoyingly manages to catch at the last second. He pops it open with a satisfied smirk, taking a swig before looking at me. His gaze moves from the knife on the floor to the expression on my face and his smile immediately drops.
“Hey, little sis. You okay?”
My heart is still racing but I can feel the rest of my body settling. I inhale a soft breath before nodding once and slipping back into the kitchen. I hear Anika and Carson trade a few hushed words and two minutes later, I can feel my brother’s presence behind me.
Well, smell would be more accurate. He uses this annoying cologne with a musky scent that he swears draws in all the ladies. I’m, like, fifty-percent sure said ladies need to get their olfactory receptors checked.
He places the knife I dropped on the counter beside me, his silence loud and probing.
“I’m fine, Carson,” I mutter, pulling the popcorn out of the microwave and pouring it into a bowl.
“We didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I know. It’s okay. I overreacted. It’s not like I was going to stab anyone,” I say, my tone light.
That’s a lie, though. If the situation arises, I wouldn’t hesitate to go for the liver of anyone that tries to hurt my little sister. Self-defense was one of the first things I learned growing up. It’s the only reason I’ve lived this long.
“You didn’t overreact, muffin,” he murmurs.
I turn around and he’s giving me that look. Like he’s trying to figure out how to talk to me. I hate that look.
“Carson,” I say on a sigh, “you don’t have to worry about me.”
“I’m your big brother,” he states. “Worrying about you and Nika’s my full-time job.”
He’s a very genuine, open person, my big brother. They all are. Carson, Anika, my father, and Anika’s mother, Priya. They’re the type of family to gather around a table to talk about their feelings—an activity that is torturous to me.
“Oh, please. We both know you’re only here to steal our snacks and intrude on girl time,” I state, tossing a piece of popcorn on his face.
It hits his nose before sliding down to the floor. Carson gives me an unimpressed look. He’s a goofball half the time, but he can get very serious very fast. At twenty-eight years old, he’s the CEO of his own company, a small financial advisory firm. Cameron Financials is literally his baby. He put his all into building it and now it’s a flourishing business in Greenville, a city that’s about an hour or so away from here. Carson’s an intelligent, successful young man. He’d be a catch if only he wasn’t such a player.
“What are you doing here, anyway?” I ask, heading back into the living room and effectively putting an end to the conversation.
If I don’t change the subject, my siblings will keep pushing. But thankfully, they always drop it once I do.
“It’s family night tomorrow,” he replies, taking a seat on the sofa.
I settle down next to Anika and she immediately grabs the bowl of popcorn from my hand. Her attention is back to the cowboys bull riding on the screen. I’m getting worried she’ll actually make her way to a competition and somehow find a way to do it. I wouldn’t put it past her.
“Exactly. It’stomorrownight, loser,” Anika speaks up. “Do you have no friends in Greenville or something? You’re always here.”
“Well, I’ve gotta make sure I always provide you two with the pleasure of my company.”
Anika and I snort simultaneously.
“Why the hell are you watching cowboys?” he questions.
I sigh, leaning back into the couch, “Don’t ask.”
“Can we watch a movie instead?” he asks hopefully, blue eyes fixed on Anika.
“You’re a twenty-eight-year-old man who wants to watch a movie with his little sisters on a Friday night. That’s sad. I miss the old you.”
“I don’t,” I immediately state.