Page 2 of Hot Touch (Love To The Rescue #3)

ONE

ALEJANDRA VERDUSCO

“Oh, come on, Ale! Come with us!” my younger sister whined with a high-pitched annoying tone only a sister could love before she plopped down onto my bed and poked my belly.

“Ouch! Stop that!” I growled, grabbing a hold of her offending digit. “And I already told you,” I groaned, “I have a meeting first thing in the morning and then––“

“Then nothing!” Jackie cut me off. The brat. “I’ll buy and deliver you Starbucks every hour on the hour if you need me to.” This made the granite-like exterior of my face crack. My lips twitched. Not because of how ridiculous my sister sounded but because I knew she would do it.

Jackie and I were not only sisters but best friends. Or I should say, Jackie, Liz, and I were sisters and besties.

We fought like cats and dogs but had each other’s backs through and through.

My baby sister’s suggestion was en example of that. Though, there was no way Liz would ever waste money that way. Not ever, not my frugal-as-hell older sister who knew the value of a dollar and how to make it stretch in a way no one else did. Nope, she needed a crowbar to pry her wallet open.

“Do you have any idea how much that would cost?” Liz shouted from my bathroom, where she was finishing getting ready. I had to cough away my laughter.

Yup, my older sister was all about saving a nickel.

Especially regarding coffee. She hated spending money on that when she knew just how much better the stuff she made at home was.

In her eyes, it was sacrilege to spend money on things you could make yourself.

But then again, she’d taught herself how to brew some of the best coffee I’d ever had, so it wasn’t a loss when Liz made everyone coffee instead of us doing a run to Starbies or our favorite local coffee shop, Pine and Grind.

“Who cares?” Jackie rolled her soft green eyes. “That’s what I work so hard for.” Now I pressed my lips together to not literally laugh out loud like some kind of hyena.

I loved Jackie. She was the creative, free spirit of the three of us, but she hardly worked. Well, I shouldn’t say that. She worked, just not in the conventional way. Don’t get me wrong, she made money, more than I did, in fact, but her line of work wasn’t your… typical nine to five.

Liz came into view, stepping into the doorway and looking like a runway model in her black, long-sleeved sequined mini-dress that made her long legs look never ending. She looked like a super model instead of a nurse.

I glanced down at myself and fought from frowning. Comparison is the thief of joy, I reminded myself. I wouldn’t gain anything from it. As the middle Verdusco daughter, I was used to others comparing us. I’d had a lifetime of it since we were all so close in age.

Liz was the beautiful, smart one.

Jackie was the beautiful, creative one.

And me? I was… the middle sister. The plain, reliable one. The one they could always count on to do… well, their taxes, literally, or be their designated driver.

Let’s be honest, I was the boring one.

“Jack might be crazy“—she stirred her fingers sideways by her ear—“but she’s not wrong. You should come with us.” She leaned against the doorway looking like she should be posing for Vogue or something.

Her long sleek straight hair was up in a high ponytail, making her already incredible bone structure look even better.

“Please?” she pleaded. That soft please wormed its way under my skin. I pressed my lips together.

I was tempted to go out.

To go dance and have fun with my sisters, who were genuinely my best friends and wanted to spend time with me.

But even if I wanted to go, I had nothing to wear.

Nothing fun at least. My eyes skirted to my closet, one that Jackie had rummaged through just forty minutes ago.

No. I had nothing sparkly like Liz or colorful like Jack.

All my clothes were sensible. Functional.

Neutral-colored pieces for the office that got the job done.

“I’m okay,” I answered, hating the sound of it coming out of my mouth. “I have a new book and an early meeting.” Somehow, the idea of a new book didn’t do it for me tonight. I couldn’t get the slight ache of wanting to go with them out of me. To go and have fun.

“Fine, you party pooper.” Jackie sighed with a dramatic eye roll, something she had perfected by the time she was seven. She leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Don’t stay up too late if this meeting is as important as you say it is.”

She rolled out of my bed and shook out her pretty, brightly colored tropical-printed mini-dress that fit her perfectly since she was about my height. That was all we shared in common. Her short pink-haired bob brightened any space she walked into.

“I’m going to go steal a water bottle, is that cool?”

“It’s not stealing if you ask for it.” I sighed. “Get one for Liz, too!” I yelled, and my eyes connected with my older sister.

Liz, I noticed, was looking around the small space of my one-bedroom apartment. “You should move out of here,” she muttered. “It cannot be safe to live here.”

“What do you––“ I stopped myself from lying. I knew it, and so did she.

My place sucked.

The building was old, and the landlord had no intentions of fixing it up.

Plus, the area was not the greatest. Not that our little town had a bad area per se, but it wasn’t the safest. And there was no way Mr. Chambers would fix anything more than a lightbulb without raising the rent.

Old wires popped out of one corner, and water damage stained the ceiling. It wasn’t much, but it was mine.

“What would you rather I do? Move back in with Mom and Dad?” I asked with horror showing on my face. I loved my parents, but there was no way I’d move back in with them. I was a grown woman.

“No,” she gasped. “Imagine.” She made a face, the two of us burst into a fit of giggles, and I noticed her shoulders relax a little.

We had the kind of parents who made you want to gag from how disgustingly happy they were together.

It was cute but gross at the same time. And now that they were empty nesters, they were always out and about on dates and whatnot.

There was no way I would want to interrupt that.

Not when they had done everything they could to raise and give us anything we could have wanted.

And that included sometimes working two to three jobs to make sure that when we all graduated college, we wouldn’t be buried under a mountain of debt.

“I was thinking…” she started to say. I pressed my lips together.

“That’s never good.” The words slipped past my lips dryly, and she shot me a look that said, Really?

“I was thinking, what if you moved in with me?”

“Move in… with you?” My eyes widened. That was the last thing I would have thought she’d say.

But Liz shrugged like she could care one way or another.

“My place isn’t that bad.” I shook my head and got out of bed.

My feelings were a little hurt. Both of my sisters did very well, and it wasn’t a secret they made more money than me, but I couldn’t help but feel a little defensive.

My apartment wasn’t the Ritz, but it wasn’t terrible.

I was done with this little sister visit.

“I didn’t mean anything by it.” She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. Something flickered in her eyes. Something I couldn’t read. “I was just thinking… I’m hardly ever home, and it would be nice to know that… that someone is at the house.”

“To take care of your plants?” I guessed, but she shook her head.

“No, smartass.” She made a face. “My plants are on a watering system.” I rolled my eyes. I didn’t even want to know how much something like that even cost. “I just… I just mean it would be nice not to be home alone when I’m home,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically soft.

My older sister was a tough nut. One who hardly ever cracked.

“But I get wanting your own space. It’s why I moved out, too.”

“You bought a mansion.”

“It’s hardly… it’s a house. That’s it. I mean, I guess”—she sniffed her nose as she looked around my room—"compared to this place, I can see why you would think my place is a mansion,” she smarted off, but I could see the humor in her eyes sparkle. I gasped my mouth open before I laughed.

“Go away!” I got up and shooed her towards the kitchen. But the moment I was close enough, her cool, smooth hand took mine and my eyes locked with hers.

“Will you think about it?” she asked quickly. I felt my brows narrow.

“You okay?” I watched as my stoic sister opened and shut her mouth. I knew she had changed her mind about whatever she was going to say.

“I’m fine.” She shook it off, letting go of my hand. Just like that, that bored, unamused mask slipped over her pretty features. “I just thought maybe being sorta roommates would be fun. I’m usually only home half the year anyhow.” Something about her offer stuck with me.

“Text me how much my rent would be and what utilities look like, and I’ll think about it,” I said, obviously surprising the two of us.

I wasn’t sure if I was serious or not. Her place was huge, but not only did I work from home, I was a homebody.

Her place was nice, great, but would I want to spend all my time there?

“Okay. I’ll do that. But really… really think about it.” Her hand took mine again and squeezed.

It wasn’t that Liz was emotionally stunted or anything; she just wasn’t the touchy-feely type. Not like my other one, who came close and tossed her body on top of mine.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go with us? I have a dress that would look great on you,” Jackie pleaded her case one more time.

“You do?” I snorted. “Jack, if it’s your dress, I’m going to look like a chorizo mal amarado!” A badly tied-up sausage.

“Don’t say that,” Liz stepped in, heat hit her eyes.

“You’re beautiful,” my younger sister said, tipping her head against mine, but I scoffed. The sentiment bounced off me. “You just… you don’t dress up your features.”

“That’s because there are none,” I argued back.

This wasn’t the first time we’d gone through this, but that’s how family was.

Always seeing you through rose-colored lenses, like a real-life filter they couldn’t seem to shake off.

It was their job to tell me I was pretty.

I stepped out of my sister’s hold and walked towards the door, silently making it very clear that their night just might be starting up, while mine was coming to an end.

“You’re beautiful,” Jackie repeated with more force, standing in front of me.

“You’re the prettiest of the three of us, but you don’t see it.

And if you don’t see it, you won’t let other people see it.

” It was sweet because I could see she really believed it, and maybe later, I would tell her to say that very sentence to her followers because people should have a person like Jackie on their side no matter how crazy and messy and chaotic she could be.

“Oh? What other people?” I said instead, trying to act like her words didn’t affect me. It was mean. She meant no harm, but it wasn’t like I had a line of suitors at my door. Suitors? Who even said that anymore? That alone shows you how lame I am.

“I don’t know… guys?”

“Guys,” I repeated and chuckled, all while fighting the excruciating temptation to push her out. “What guys, Jackie? Trust me, no one is pounding down my door or making my phone ring off the hook. Trust me, no one is interested in me.” My voice sounded a little too sarcastic and rough.

“Guys look at you all the time,” Liz argued, but I snorted. Again. Our Tita, what we called our maternal grandmother, would have been horrified. Senoritas no hacen esos ruidos. Proper young women don’t make those noises.

“Sure they do.” I shook my head. “If one shows up, I promise you I’ll let him sweep me off my feet.”

“He’d have to be a fireman or something,” Liz teased me, and I took the bait.

“Why’s that?”

“Because you never go out other than to the bookstore or work. And living here,”—Liz pointed at the place—“I wouldn’t be surprised if the place self-combusted and a fireman had to come save you out of it.”

“Jesus. Aren’t you just full of sunshine,” I huffed.

“Yeah, Liz, that was kinda dark. It’s not good to put that kind of stuff out in the world,” Jackie chastised.

“You know what I mean!” She blushed. “I wasn’t saying I want that to happen, but maybe if you come out to dance with us, have a drink, let your hair down, and try to meet new people, the universe would help you meet someone new? Someone who…”

“Who what?” Jackie and I asked at the same time.

“Someone who values you and sees what an incredibly beautiful person you are inside and out,” Liz said, leaving us speechless.

Like I’d mentioned, she wasn’t the sweet touchy-feely one.

Something was definitely up with her. Before we could say anything, like are you feeling okay , she continued.

“But you know, go ahead and be an aburdia for all I care.” She looked away from us and at her nails.

Jack and I looked at one another like what was that about and there is our sister , for a moment, we thought she’d been abducted by aliens.

“Boring isn’t terrible,” I muttered, “and my books aren’t boring, so…” I stuck my tongue out at her, and she rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Have fun and drink a shot for me.”

“If you came with us, you could have a shot with us,” Jackie said, still pushing me to go out. I shook my head and smirked.

“No thanks. Maybe I’ll have some hot sexy fireman take me away like Liz said instead.”

“Oh! He could show you his hose!” My little sister wagged her brows.

“That’s not what I meant!” Liz shouted as she walked out of my place after hugging me.

I watched from my doorway as my sisters walked down the hall and down one flight of stairs. Longing hit my chest to go with them. Part of me was tempted to rush inside, toss on a dress, no matter how boring it might look, and join them.

But I didn’t.

They’d have a better time without me anyhow.

Instead, I shut and locked the door behind me and made my way back to my room.

After cleaning up the mess my little hurricane of a sister had left, I slipped into bed with a book.

It wasn’t the one I had planned on reading.

The fae kings would have to wait. I picked up a fireman romance and got comfy.