Page 66 of Show Off

“Okay, here goes.” Ji-Hoon rubs his hands together, delighted by the chance to annoy me. “Do you like my brother?”

“Dal?” She considers me like I’m a stranger and not the guy with a hand up her shirt less than twelve hours ago. “He’s all right.”

Ji-Hoon hoots with laughter. “Just all right, huh?”

I fold my arms and frown at them both. “Are you two having fun?”

They clearly are, since they both ignore me. “If you were feeling desperate,” Ji-Hoon continues. “Like maybe you hadn’t been kissed for a while. Let’s say years.”

“Years?” She shudders like that’s a fate worse than death. “Okay.”

“Right, so, under those circumstances, and let’s just pretend you’re on a desert island and dumbass Dal is the last man on earth, would you consider sleeping with him?”

“Hmm.” She tucks a hand under her chin and pretends to study me. “He’s kinda grumpy.”

“Right?” Ji-Hoon shakes his head sadly. “We’re working on that.”

“He’s a little bossy, too.” She folds her arms and studies me. “And he swears a lot.”

He shakes his head like he’s scolding me. “We’ve talked about this, Dal.”

I flip him the bird, but he pretends not to see me. “Anything else, Lana?”

She’s trying so hard not to smile, but it isn’t working. “He has this terrible habit of blurting whatever springs into his mind.”

“Everything, huh?” Ji-Hoon looks at me. “Is that true?”

I look at Lana, wanting her more than I ever have. Loving her even more. “No,” I say, feeling my heart spring to life. “Not true. Not everything.”

“Huh.” He turns back to her. “Sounds like you two have some talking to do.”

“Talking, huh?” She gives me a flirty smile. “Is that what the kids call it these days?”

Ji-Hoon clears his throat. “Since we’re on the subject of blurting things, I should go ahead and put it out there that I’ll be out of town for a couple nights.”

“Oh?” Her blue eyes go wide as she looks between him and me. “Everything’s okay, I hope?”

“I’ve got a date.” Ji-Hoon sounds so proud that I have to smile. “And my uncle’s traveling, too, which means this asshole will have a house to himself for two nights.”

“Is that so?” Her expression’s unreadable as she looks at me.Almostunreadable. I don’t miss the spark in her eyes. “I hope you don’t get lonely.”

God, she’s sexy. And funny and smart and gorgeous and— “I’ll manage,” I tell her, doing my best to keep a straight face. “But if you want to swing by and check on me, that might be a good idea.”

“I might just do that.” She smiles and gets to her feet, taking her sunshine with her. “Now if you guys will excuse me, I’m here to grab a cake for my nephew’s birthday.”

“Gabe and Gretchen’s little guy?” Because of course my brother knows everyone. “Give baby Taylor a high five for me.”

“I will.” Lana looks at me and her smile melts the heat in my core. “I’ll see you around, Dal.”

“I hope so.” My heart rings in my ears, along with my brother’s laughter.

The instant she’s gone, he punches me in the shoulder. “You’ve got it bad, brother.”

For once in my life, I don’t try denying it. “Yeah,” I admit, watching her sail out the door. “I guess I might.”

Maybe it’s time to do something about that.

CHAPTER9

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