Page 79 of Comeback
“I think it could be something. I’m not just looking to fuck around with her. Trust me, this conversation alone wouldn’t be worth the headache if that’s all I was interested in.”
“Fair enough.”
He reaches over and places a hand on my shoulder, squeezing hard. “This is great. My best friend, no, mybrotherand my sister.”
I wince. I have always considered Brogan more of a brother than a friend but dating my brother’s sister soundssuperweird.
He chuckles. “You’re the one that’s always insisted we’re brothers.”
“Yeah, yeah, we might be brothers, but she isnotmy sister.”
“I’m happy. This is exciting.”
“Are you? Because you’re squeezing kinda hard.”
“I know.” He grins. “I think I really am drunk on the power. You were totally sweating how I’d react. Man, I wish I’d known this was coming. I could have really fucked with you, maybe threatened you a little.” He makes his voice deep. “If you hurt her, I will rip you into pieces and feed you to the coyotes.”
I shrug out of his hold. “All right. All right. You can threaten me later. We’re going to be late for practice.”
23
SABRINA
I’m cleaning out brushes in the back when I hear Brogan call out from the front. “Sabrina?”
“In the back,” I call, then turn off the water and dry my hands.
He’s standing in the middle of the room, taking it all in, when I step out.
“Hey,” I say. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to finally see this place for myself.” He grins.
“Here it is,” I say, holding my hands out at my sides. “What do you think?”
“It’s cool.”
I snort a laugh. “Not the first adjective that comes to most people’s mind when they see it.”
“Eh, most people have no imagination. I can see past the work that needs to be done.”
“Really? Because I’m still even a little overwhelmed by it. I’ve been painting for days and only managed to finish one wall.”
His grin remains. “It’ll all come together.”
“Thanks. So, what brings you by today?” I am fishing. Clearly, I know why he’s here. Archer must have told him we’re…whatever we’re doing. But I can’t tell whether Brogan is upset about it or not.
“I wanted to see you and I knew it’d make Archer sweat more if I told him I was coming to have a little chat with you.”
A surprised laugh slips from my lips. I motion toward the chairs over behind what will one day be the front desk. “I have bottled water in the back or there’s a coffee shop across the street if you want something.”
“No, I’m good,” he says, sitting in one of the chairs and leaning back. Brogan has a way of always making himself at home, but it makes me happy to see him relaxing in the studio. Most people seem on edge when they’re here.
“This place is really cool. And the location is awesome. When do you think you’ll open?”
I blow out a breath. “At this rate, next year.”
“Really?”
