Page 10

ELLIETTE

I was shaking like a tambourine by the time I reached my vehicle. Daniel’s vehicle. The vehicle. Whatever.

I could not believe I’d talked Oisín O’Rourke out of more money. Now, I’d be able to afford an apartment and a new car. I’d be giving the SUV back to Daniel as soon as financially possible.

My problems were over— hallelujah —except for one tiny, insignificant little hiccup.

I strapped in behind the wheel, pulled out of my parking spot, and called my brother.

He answered with, “Good news, right?”

Evan. Such a good guy. Such a good big brother. It had been the two of us against the world, even before Dad died. Evan was one of the few people who reminded me that I wasn’t actually invisible.

“It’s good news,” I said, my palms slick against the steering wheel. “Really good news. I got the job.” Holy shit, I got the job.

“Congratulations! Though I’m not surprised. I knew you could do it. ”

See? Brother of the year, every year.

I pulled onto the service road that led to the adjacent highway and turned on my wipers as a light rain began to fall. “He originally offered me thirty-two hundred a month, but I got him up to nearly six thousand.”

There were several seconds of dead air, then… “You’re shitting me.”

“Nope.”

“O’Rourke is stingy as fuck. He’s known for it. You must have impressed the shit out of him.”

“There’s only one problem.”

“Here we go,” Evan said, the excitement in his voice deflating. “I knew there’d be a catch. What is it?”

“I have to build up Lukas’s good reputation in the community.” I idled at the red light, then drove up the ramp and merged onto the highway.

“Okay. And? ”

“That’s it.”

More dead air, then… “I don’t understand. What’s the problem? Lukas will be an entertaining subject. You won’t be hurting for something to write about.”

“He’s a dick, Ev.”

Evan chuckled. “He’s Lukas. Roll with it.”

“You don’t understand.” I cranked up my wipers to maximum speed as the rain came down harder.

“Sure, I do.”

“He’s not a dick to you like he’s a dick to me.”

“Come on,” Evan cajoled. He didn’t know shit, so he was free to be glib. “You’re like a little sister to him.”

I made a pfft sound. “If that’s true, he’s got one dysfunctional family.”

“Well…there’s some truth to that,” Evan murmured.

“Lukas doesn’t have any siblings, does he?” I didn’t think he did. He never mentioned any. Then again, Lukas never said much whenever I was around.

“No. But he’s got a dad, and…let’s just say, Lukas’s dad makes ours seem like Mother Theresa.”

“Hard to imagine.”

“I only met him once,” Evan said, “but he looked at me like I’d stepped in dog shit.”

Now I knew where Lukas learned it.

“Your Lukas assignment will go great,” Evan said with every confidence.

But I hedged. “I don’t know. He likes you. You’re his bro. He tolerates me at best, and that’s on a good day.”

“Correction,” Evan said, “he loves me. And he loves you, too. I meant what I said. He always thought of us like family. But the good kind of family. The kind that’s not blood related.”

I swallowed the acerbic laugh that threatened to burst free. My brother wasn’t aware of my short but painful history with Lukas. And, thankfully, he never would be. I wouldn’t want to be the cause of any awkwardness between them.

“Have you told Daniel about the job yet?” Evan asked.

At the mention of Daniel’s name, my face went hot. “No.”

“He’s gonna flip.”

“Yeah.”

“We should all go out and celebrate.” Evan’s voice rose with enthusiasm. “Not tonight. I’ve got plans tonight. But soon, yeah?”

“Yeah, sure, Ev. But I should go. The rain’s picking up, and the traffic’s getting heavy.” That last part was a lie. I just didn’t want to talk about Daniel anymore. Obviously, I’d have to tell Evan we broke up, but not right now .

“Ten and two,” he said.

“What?”

“Hands on the wheel. Drive safe.”

Such a good big brother. “I was thinking of going no-handed. Talk to you later.”

We hung up. Fifteen minutes later, I was back in my for-now apartment. It looked so…normal…just like it had since the day I moved in. And yet, everything had changed.

Daniel was probably having lunch with Adrienne. Maybe in her office. Or in his. And I couldn’t understand why I didn’t care more about that. Or maybe life had changed so drastically, so quickly, there was no room in my brain for Daniel.

While my personal life had gone to shit. Professionally, I’d scored big time, and I was not going to waste the opportunity. This was the stepping stone I’d prayed for.

Maybe Dad had never believed in me, but I’d never lost faith in myself. Neither had Evan. And now I was making it happen.

In five years, I’d have a ton of experience doing marketing and PR for a professional sports team, and I’d be ready to tackle Hollywood. I could soon be living the life I’d always imagined for myself.

I dropped my bag on the couch, went to the bedroom, and flopped onto the mattress. Even the ceiling, which I’d stared up at plenty of times before, seemed unrecognizable.

A loud thud came from the other side of the wall directly behind my head, as if someone—presumably Lukas—had dropped something heavy on the floor.

Arching my neck, I glanced back at the wall. If he was home, maybe I should bite the bullet and take the opportunity to clear the air. I could be professional. We could work together. Lots of people didn’t like their clients. They didn’t whine and carry on about it.

In fact, it would give me the upper hand if I initiated contact and didn’t wait for him to come to me. He probably wouldn’t anyway. He made it clear he wasn’t excited about working together. At least he was staying on brand.

I hopped off the bed and walked next door. I hesitated for half a second, then knocked.

Lukas answered, wearing only a towel.

“ Jesus .” I did not need this kind of distraction. I wouldn’t— couldn’t —let Lukas ruin this for me. It was my turn to shine. If only Dad were alive to see me do it.

Lukas arched an eyebrow. “Did you need something?”

“Do you always answer the door in a towel?”

His skin was golden and glistening, and those oddly enticing indents that angled down between his hips and his abs were a lot deeper than when he was younger. A dark line of hair ran from beneath his navel, over his lower abs, and under the edge of his white loin cloth.

“I was naked when I heard the knock, but I thought, how better to ‘build curiosity’ than to throw on a towel?”

He gestured at his crotch, which—let’s just say—could have used another two layers of terry cloth to completely conceal what I did not need to see.

“What do you think?” he asked. “Doesn’t this outfit just scream ‘desirable and legitimately available second cousin’?”

I bowed my head and prayed for patience.

“And if we’re starting already,” he added, “it’s the perfect interview attire. Remember. You’re supposed to get the ‘real Lukas Bakken.’”

“I already know the real you,” I said wearily but lifting my head. “What I need to sell is an appealing version of you to the local market, which means we’ll need to make shit up. Nice shit. Shit that raises your stock value.”

“I’ve never had trouble raising my stock value, but even if I did, they’ve got a little blue pill for that.”

“Oh my god.” I closed my eyes but opened them quickly enough to catch his wolfish grin. “You know what? Forget it. We can start tomorrow. Lunch. In public. Fully clothed.”

He pretended to pout, which was not a good look, then asked, “Has anyone ever told you you’re boring?”

Hearing the echo of Daniel’s words, a flood of renewed embarrassment made my heart squeeze and my scalp prickle. I clenched my teeth to keep the tears at bay.

Had Lukas been listening through the wall? With his wolf ears, he’d probably heard me and Daniel arguing in our living room.

“What’s wrong?” Lukas’s posture stiffened, and the tips of claws protruded from the ends of his fingers.

I had to believe he was reacting to the intense rush of heat in my face. It felt beet red.

“Did someone insult you? Who?”

He reached out and touched my arm, sending a tingle across my skin.

It would have felt nice if I wasn’t so confused by the serious change in his demeanor, and since I was already in self-defense mode, I snapped at him in response. “ You did. You insulted me. Just now.”

“Oh.” He blinked once, then his shoulders slowly relaxed, and he dropped his hand from my arm. “Elliette, that was a joke.”

I could still feel the exact outline of his hand against my skin. “Cool. Super funny. So, tomorrow? Lunch?”

He didn’t respond, merely leaned nonchalantly against the door frame and folded his arms over his broad, enticingly solid pecs. The towel miraculously stayed in place.

“There’s a little French themed bistro around the corner,” I said, trying to keep my eyes locked on his and not his bare chest. “Le Coq Gourmand.”

“Sure. Why not?” His surrender sounded like I’d just threatened waterboarding to a man who’d already been drawn and quartered.

“You know,” I said with a sigh, “you don’t have to make this harder than it already is.”

He laughed. “Are you setting me up for a punchline? Like, that’s what he said?”

I stared at him for a few seconds, at first trying to get the joke, then trying to make sense of his ever-changing moods. Was he pissed about my assignment? Conceding to the inevitable? Amused and teasing? I’d nearly forgotten how much his quicksilver temperament could jerk me around.

“Lukas, this job is really important to me. I know you hate me?—”

“I don’t hate you.”

I lurched back from the speed of his words; they came at me like a slap shot. “Fine. I know you don’t like me?—”

He frowned.

“—but it would still be nice if you didn’t try to sabotage me.”

He looked away, toward the elevator at the end of the hall, then slowly—almost unwillingly—pulled his focus back to me. His gaze was watchful in a way that wasn’t aggressive but still made my skin tingle with apprehension.

“Let’s make a deal,” he said, “because my job—getting the Spriggans into the playoffs—is important to me. I won’t sabotage your efforts, if you don’t sabotage mine. ”

“How could I sabotage you?” I asked, legitimately confused. “And why would I? It’s my job to make you better , not worse.”

He scoffed. “Sure it is. See you tomorrow, Elliette.” Then he closed the door in my face. Nice.

“It’s Elli!” I yelled at the door, and I swore I heard that bastard laugh.