Page 66 of Cupcake of the Month
“One of yours?” Jordan pointed her chin to the TV.
“No, I’m beta testing for a friend. You want to try it?” He held up the controller.
“Not even in my best nightmare.”
Nathan tossed it onto the sofa. “How did your afternoon go? I mean, not the abridged ‘everything’s fine’ version you gave Mom and Dad.”
Jordan scooched next to him on the floor, her back against the sofa, and relayed more details about what had brought her back home. “So now the box is off to Bippen and Howe, and I wait.”
“With all the stress in your life, make sure you’re taking care of you. If you need a break, come with me and Micah on our trip.”
Their idea of a fun vacation probably involved video games and fantasy movies. “Where are you going?”
“New Zealand.” Nathan took out his phone. “We’re doing a Lord of the Rings tour. I mean, this scenery alone. How can you not want to go?” He showed her the web page of the guide company.
Called it. “I’ll pass, thanks.”
He put his phone down. “You know, we can pay for you if money is an issue.”
She grit her teeth. He meant well, she knew, but she didn’t need to be taken care of. “Life is the issue.”
“Okay. You haven’t asked us for anything, but you know we’re here if you need us.”
“I know. You and your million-dollar forty-under-forty magazine spot.” She gave him a smile. He was only trying to help. “If I need anything, I’ll call you.”
He nudged her with his shoulder. “Text.”
“Whatever.” Her phone gave another ding, and she held it up. “It’s a picture of you and Micah, drinking champagne and surrounded by a bunch of people I don’t know.”
Jordan held the phone out to him and he took it, grinning. “This is when we finished the prototype for our app. We’re celebrating.”
“Didn’t someone sue you or something?” Her world at the time had revolved around her high school grades and softball, not her brothers’ lives.
“Hey, it must run in our family!” He snorted. “Yeah, my girlfriend at the time claimed she helped create our game. She did not. She lost.” Jordan’s phone beeped again and Nate frowned. “Who’s Josh?”
She wrested the phone from her brother. “No one.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do I need to get all big brotherly?”
“About what?”
“Some southern gent sweep you off your feet?” He tapped her phone. “You got a new man.”
Not even close. “I’ve got something.” She checked the clock. “Is Micah planning on coming to see me at all? I texted, but he hasn’t answered.”
Nathan drew down his eyebrows. “How do you know I’m notMicah?”
“He’s much better looking. And smarter.”
“Mooooooooom!” he called out, even though there was no chance their parents would hear. “Jordan called me stupid.”
“And ugly. Don’t forget ugly.”
Her brother threw a pillow at her. It flew over her head and landed on the floor.
“You can’t throw worth shit,” she said.
Nate grunted and started playing another game.
