Page 78 of Fool Me

“She was always mature beyond her years. The twins were . . . not,” Harlowe remarks.

Vivi groans. “Does this mean we are getting old?”

Harlowe loops an arm over her neck, pulling her in for a side hug. “Never.”

Xavier perches himself on the arm of the couch. “My knees beg to differ.”

“Selectively—your knees ache selectively,husband. I can think of plenty of times when they work just fine.”

Xavier’s eyes narrow in on Vivi.

Harlowe loops her arm around her friend. “Careful, wielding that word. He’s giving you the look.”

Vivi looks pleased with herself. “Uh-huh. But I like it.”

Harlowe bumps against her to get her attention. “Um . . . Holy shit. Your boobs are like rocks.”

“Yeah.” She glances down at them and I look anywhere but where she and Harlowe are staring. “I should really go pump before I spring a leak.”

“Go. I’ll see you at lunch soon.” Harlowe gives her one more squeeze. “And if Haze wakes up before then, come get me. I can’t wait to meet him.”

Xavier leads Vivi back out of the apartment toward the stairs with a hand on her lower back.

With them gone, I look around the space again as Harlowe walks to the window opposite us that overlooks the vines.

Disappointment creeps in when my eyes land on the stack of sheets that Vivienne pulled out for us. The bed is already made up. Leaving the sheets for the couch. It’s not that I plannedon sharing a bed—I hadn’t considered sleeping arrangements at all. I’ve been too focused on Harlowe’s other needs as of late—everything else has taken a backseat. But the beaming smile on her face brings me back to how things were between us before her world got rocked.

Movement at the window drags me from the past and back to the present where Harlowe is leaning against the wall, her hand on her cheek as she watches something out the window. There’s a softness about her as she looks on quietly.

I prop my hand on the wall above her head, following her line of sight. There’s two men looking suspiciously like Vivienne unloading wine barrels from the back of a pickup.

“Exactly how many brothers does she have again?”

“Five. That’s Leo and Luca—the oldest.”

“That many brothers . . . did you . . . um.” I clear my throat rethinking my question, not sure I want the answer to that.

“Did I what?” Mischief lights her eyes.

I think better of it. Because it doesn’t matter—or it shouldn’t matter. “Nothing. It’s not important,” I say without conviction becausefuck,my head can’t let it go. And I know that’s not fair, but it’s how my brain works.

“Did I date one of my best friend’s brothers?” She turns from the window to face me, a wrinkle on her brow, like she can tell this is bugging me.

Her fingers dance up my chest. We’ve touched plenty since Morgan, but not like this. My body reacts immediately and I have to tamp it down, because I’m still hung on hearing her answer. And one flirty touch is not a green light to throw her down on this bed and finish what we started, especially with the folded sheets looming and pointing to a weekend in separate beds.

I have to consider that she might not be ready and that whatever was blossoming between us might have been snuffed out by circumstances and bad timing.

My hand wraps around her fingers, bringing them to my lips where I brush a kiss across her knuckles. “None of my business,” I say, trying to convince myself as much as her.

She sucks on her cheek, tilting her chin up at me. “I think we are well beyond pretending not to care.” There’s an understanding in her voice. She gets it. She gets me.

A knock on the screen door has both of us stepping from the wall. Someone, I presume another Cardoza brother, if his dark hair and olive skin are anything to go by, stands at the top of the landing. He wears a crooked smile that has those questions I just quieted screaming back to the forefront of my mind. It’s possessive and stupid, but I can’t help it. The voice inside my head won’t stop claiming her as mine.

Harlowe crosses the space with just a few steps and pulls open the door. I think they’re about to hug when he puts her in a headlock and ruffles her hair.

“Levi.” She laughs, pushing him away and combing through her hair, her eyes flicking to me. “God. You’re still a fucking menace.”

“Your parents didn’t give you any siblings. It’s only fair that the universe gave you me as a pseudo big brother.”

---