Page 64 of Flirty Thirty

The girl at the front desk has a gorgeous smile as I pass, and I make a mental note to talk to her on my way out. The few months in mountain city may have been successful for him when it came to dating, but it left me pretty high and dry. I’m anxious to get back on the horse now that the Cozy King deal is done and I’m back in the hustle and bustle of the city.

I take the elevator up to the top suites, slapping the thick manila folder against my palm and whistling along with the numbers as they climb and climb. The doors open to a silent hallway, and my footfalls echo around me as I make my way to room 810.

“It’shuge, Cooper,” I hear Maya’s voice through the door, and I pause halfway into knocking. “How in the world did you fit that in your mouth?”

“Determination,” my brother answers. “And a craving for meat.”

My eyes bulge, and I rap a knuckle against the wood, holding back a smile for when I get some context around their conversation.

Maya opens the door, her mouth splitting wide when she sees me. “Hey Robbie,” she says, circling her arms around my shoulders in greeting. Ain’t gonna lie, that took me some getting used to. Coop and I were never a hugging type of family, but as soon as he locked Maya down for the long haul, she became extremely relaxed around me. Her eyes don’t even travel to my scar anymore.

“Babe, your brother’s here,” she calls over her shoulder.

“Send him away! My vacation started when I left the office.”

She makes a face, her nose scrunching up and her tongue slightly poking out as she waves me inside. I like her more and more every time I see her.

“He’s in a mood, huh?”

“Oh he’s grumpy because I’m making fun of him.” She brings up a maroon book, our high school name embossed on the cover. “If he didn’t want to laugh, then he shouldn’t have shown me this.”

A chuckle rumbles in the back of my throat and I swap the paperwork Coop’s gotta sign for the yearbook. “You checking out the hot dog eating contest pictures?”

“It was the only picture there was of him aside from the class pictures.”

I follow her into the suite, flipping through the pages for that particular section. Coop was known for his big mouth and his math scores; high school isn’t anyone’s finest hour, but for him, itespeciallywasn’t. I’m surprised he’s letting Maya look through it at all. He must really love her.

“Did you get to the class picture yet?”

“No, she hasn’t,” Cooper says as he comes out of the bedroom, his eyes begging me to keep my trap shut, but he should know by now that it’s my job as a younger brother to screw with him.

“He had theworsthaircut. You gotta see this one, Maya.”

“It is not as bad as your emo phase.”

Maya giggles at us, sidling up to me and looking over my shoulder as she hands off the paperwork to Cooper. The moment I find his pic and slap my finger to it, she presses her lips together.

“It’s okay, you can laugh,” I tell her, flicking my gaze up to Coop just in time to see him flip me the bird.

But she doesn’t laugh, only lifts her puppy-dog-like eyes to my brother. “You were so cute.”

“Cute?” I counter, ignoring the look of arrogance Coop is now giving me. “He looks like a Backstreet Boy.”

“Don’t you dare knock BSB,” Maya scolds, and I shake my head. Teasing him isn’t going to be easy when he’s got a sexy woman here to stroke his ego. He better realize how lucky he is.

“You hold onto her,” I tell him, closing the book and dropping it on the coffee table. There’s a weird, heavy weight that’s settling in my gut, and I run a hand over my stomach to alleviate the pressure. It’s not that I’m not happy for my brother that he’s found his other half. It’s more like I’m reminded that things are going to be different, and I’ll be honest, life gets lonely as hell when you go from being the main wheel to the third.

I gotta find myself a life outside of work.

“Oh!” Maya says suddenly, jerking me out of my thoughts. “I think my phone charger is in the bag I left in the car.” A tinkle of metal reaches my ears as she stretches across the kitchen bar for the car keys. “I’ll be right back.”

Cooper looks up from the forms in his hands. “Coming with you.”

“I’ll be quick.”

“It’s late, and you’re heading into a parking garage. It’s non-negotiable.”

She laughs and slips on her flip flops even though it’s pretty cold out there. Coop sets the papers next to the yearbook and puts his own shoes on.

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