Page 88 of Desperate Pucker
“No problem. Your brother did most of the work.”
Nick pats Ryker on the shoulder. “Thanks, big bro.”
Ryker nods. “Be more careful with your car.”
Nick sighs like he’s mildly annoyed. “I will.”
“This model of car is notorious for having a crummy battery life.”
Nick groans. “I know, Ryker.”
“You just had to get something flashy.”
Nick rolls his eyes. “You’re never gonna let me live that down, will you?”
“Never.”
“Live what down?” I ask.
“Ryker bought me and our sister new cars when we graduated high school. He let us choose the kind of car we wanted.”
Warmth hits the center of my chest at how generous that was.
I look at Ryker. “That’s so sweet of you,” I say.
His bearded cheeks flush. He looks at his brother. “This guy wanted a G-Wagon.”
I burst out laughing. Nick grins. “Can’t blame me for trying to get you to buy me the most badass car ever.” He looks at me. “Unsurprisingly, my brother had a few rules on the kind of cars he’d buy us.
“The only rule I had was that they had to be safe,” Ryker says.
“Safe cars are so lame,” Nick mutters. I hold back a laugh.
“Anna didn’t have a problem with a safe car,” Ryker says.
“Because Anna doesn’t care about cars the way I do,” Nick says before turning to me. “I needed something that looked good, you know?”
“Well, your good-looking car ended up having a shitty battery,” Ryker says.
Nick smirks and rolls his eyes. He hugs Ryker. After a second, Ryker hugs him back.
“Thanks for saving my ass again, big brother.”
“Drive carefully, okay?”
“I will.”
I smile as I watch them. I can tell that underneath all the ribbing and teasing, they care about each other a lot.
Nick turns to me and pulls me in a hug. I chuckle, surprised.
“Thanks a lot, Maddy. It was awesome meeting you.”
“You too.”
“You should come over to my parents’ house for brunch sometime,” Nick says. “Ryker, Anna, and I go over there once a month for family brunch. They’d love to have you.”
“Oh, um…” I look at Ryker.
