Page 72 of Easy Steal

“So,” I said while scanning the menu, trying to lift the awkward silence. “Did you have a good day at work?”

“Yeah,” Larissa shrugged. “Zarina wasn’t too happy that I had to leave early though,” she chuckled.

“Why did you have to leave early?”

“To get ready for tonight.”

I nodded slowly but still didn’t quite understand.

My sister Zarina was not one to get cranky often, nor did much piss her off at all. She was pretty much the opposite of the rest of my siblings.

Antoni was grumpy and brooding.

Valerie was grumpy and sarcastic.

And Zarina was a perky little shit.

“How’s the shop been?” she asked, breaking me out of my train of thought.

“Good actually,” I took a sip of water. “Liv has been really helping us streamline things.”

Larissa scoffed, “what does she know about cars?”

I shrugged, “it’s more the tech side of things she’s good at.”

She nodded and looked away, but I still noticed her roll her eyes.

Maybe it was a mistake to bring up Liv.

After all, Larissa had just caught me fucking her.

Shit.

This is why I tried to keep my mouth shut.

Luckily, the waitress came to take our orders.

We each worked hard to keep up the small talk while we waited for our food, but it wasn’t easy. Realistically, we had nothing in common. And even though I had always known that, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.

Opposites attract, right?

I put it down to nerves, and my total lack of social abilities.

With every break in conversation, my mind wandered back to Livie.

Why was it so easy with her, and yet so hard with Larissa?

A girl I had known my entire life.

Maybe that was the reason we each had nothing to say - we already knew each other. The thought made me feel a little better. The waitress brought our food, and we both ate in silence, only interrupting to comment on how great the meal was.

“How’s everything going with the Redliners?”

I shrugged, “not great, honestly.”

She sighed, putting down her fork, “I wish Ren could come home.”

I reached out and touched her hand, giving her a smile, “your brother is safe, Larissa. We’re gonna figure this out and then he’ll be back before you know it.”

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