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“I’m Jules,” she said, completely ignoring her brother and extending her hand to me before realizing it was pointless given my mud-caked state. “And you must be the Shakespeare girl who’s been driving my brother insane.”

“Tempest,” I managed, suddenly very aware of how I looked. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Her smile was genuine but calculating, like she was solving a puzzle. “I’ve heard so much about you that I was beginning to wonder if Flynn had made you up.”

“Jules,” Flynn warned.

“What? It’s true. Gryff, and Isak talked about nothing but ‘Tempest this’ and ‘Tempest that’ at game night at Hayes’s house the other day.” She leaned against the railing. “Though they failed to mention you’re exactly the kind of badass who’d roll around in mud with a donkey and my brother.”

“It wasn’t intentional,” I said, feeling heat creep up my neck.

“The best mud fights never are.” Jules grinned. “Come on, I’ll find you something to wear.” Before I could protest, Jules had linked her arm through mine and was steering me toward the house, mud be damned. “Flynn, deal with your escape artist while we handle the fashion emergency.”

“I don’t want to mess up your floors,” I started.

“Please. This house has survived eight athletes and countless man-child disasters. A little mud is nothing.” She pulled me through a side door that led to a laundry room. “Strip down to whatever you’re comfortable with. I’ll grab you some clothes.”

She disappeared before I could respond. I peeled off my mud-caked jacket and jeans, grateful I’d worn decent underwear. Jules returned with a stack of clothes and a towel.

“The sweats are Flynn’s because, yes, he still does his laundry at home, so they might be big, but they’ll work. The t-shirt is mine.” She handed them over with a critical eye. “So you’re the tutor who doesn’t need to tutor Flynn because he’s secretly a Shakespeare nerd.”

I laughed despite myself. “Pretty much.”

“And you’re the girl with the viral donkey and secret writing sessions in the library.”

My head snapped up. “What?”

Jules’s smile turned knowing. “Flynn mentioned you’re always writing something. Said you slam your notebook shut whenever he gets too close.” She perched on the washing machine. “I do the same thing when I’m writing fanfiction my brothers would be traumatized to read.”

“I’m just... taking notes,” I said lamely.

“Sure.” She nodded, clearly not believing me. “Just like I’m ‘just studying’ when I have six tabs of AO3 open.”

I pulled on the sweats, which were indeed too big but soft and comfortable. As I tugged the t-shirt over my head, I noticed it featured the art from a dragon-shifter paranormal romance novel.

“You like romance?” I asked, gesturing to the shirt.

“Love it. It’s basically all I read.” She sighed happily. “I’m obsessed with this dragon-shifter series right now. I’m a sucker for forced proximity trope. Like... there’s only one bed? Hell, yeah.” Her eyes sparkled mischievously. “Know anything about that trope?”

I swallowed hard. “I might have read a few.”

“Although, I’m a bit distracted by this sports romance series.

” She jumped down from the washing machine and gathered my muddy clothes.

“The author is super secretive about their identity, which of course has everyone freaking out trying to find out who they are. Everyone in my plus-size book club has theories about who it could be.”

My throat went dry. “Really?”

“Mmhmm. The books are based on Shakespeare plays, but with, you know, sexy times.” She winked. “The newest one’s coming out soon. I have it preordered, but also notifications set up for her InstaSnap account and FlipFlop and everything.”

“Sounds... interesting,” I managed.

“You should check it out. I think you’d like it. The heroines are all smart women who don’t take any crap from the heroes.” She started the washing machine. “Speaking of which, my brother isn’t giving you any trouble, is he? Because I can totally take him down if necessary.”

“No,” I said, surprised by the protectiveness in her voice. “Flynn’s been... unexpectedly nice.”

Jules studied me for a long moment. “He’s different with you. Usually he’s all charm and swagger, but with you, he’s more... himself.” She shrugged. “It’s weird. Good weird.”

Before I could process that, Flynn appeared in the doorway, still shirtless but significantly less muddy and a little wet. Looking like that, he wasn’t the only one who was going to be wet.

“Jules, are you interrogating my guest?”

“Of course.” She grinned unrepentantly. “Someone has to vet the first girl you’ve actually liked in... ever.”

“I like plenty of girls,” Flynn protested.

“For exactly two weeks,” Jules shot back. To me, she added, “You’ve already outlasted his usual expiration date, which means you’re special.”

But also... “I’m not, we’re not?—”

“That’s enough,” Flynn said, but there was no heat in it. “Dad called. He’s picking up lunch on his way home and wants to know if you’re staying, Tempest.”

The invitation hung in the air. Jules looked at me expectantly.

“I should probably get back to campus,” I said, though part of me wanted to stay. “I have a deadline for... a paper.”

“Let me drive you back when your clothes are done,” Flynn said, disappointment flashing across his face before his easy smile returned.

“I can take her,” Jules offered. “I’m heading to the library anyway. We can get to know each other better.” She waggled her eyebrows at Flynn, who looked mildly terrified.

“That’s okay,” I said quickly. “I have my own car.”

“Next time, then.” Jules’s smile was determined. “Because there will be a next time.”

I had no doubt about that, and honestly, I was looking forward to coming back to the Kingmans’. Which is not something I ever thought I’d think. It was probably a really bad idea to let Flynn get into my heart. Uh, I mean his family.

One more sister was definitely not what I needed. Even if I really liked her, and her older brother.

Mierda.