Sugarlips (Beefcakes Book 2), Katana Collins [ebook smartphone .TXT] 📗

grin that crinkled the bridge of her nose in the smallest, cutest way, and she launched herself at Neil, hugging him around the neck. “Apology accepted.”

I wondered if both Dyker sisters were that quick to forgive… and something told me Neil was wondering the same thing.

9 Liam

After dinner, Addy bolted, heading to her bar to work a late shift. And Finn went home to go to sleep since he was helping us tomorrow at the bakery, taking Mom home on his way. That left Neil, Chloe, and me, doing dishes and tidying up after the dinner.

“You seriously don’t have a dishwasher?” Chloe asked.

I tugged on the stainless-steel door, showing her the dishwasher that hadn’t been working for four months. “I have a dishwasher. It’s just broken.”

I left out the fact that I tried to fix it myself and increased the problem tenfold. What would have been a couple hundred dollars to fix turned into me needing to get a whole new dishwasher after I took my wrench to the damn thing. “Now it’s fancy storage for my pots and pans until I can replace it.”

“They have sales on appliances, like, every couple of months at—”

She didn’t get to finish her thought and instead, as she turned to face me, the wet wine glass slipped from her hand and shattered in the sink. “Shit!” she cried out, and I came rushing over from where I was folding the tablecloth.

“You okay?”

She clicked her tongue and examined her fingers. “Yeah… yeah I think so. Crap, I’m sorry.”

I waved away her concern. “They’re like $3 from Target. You didn’t get cut, did you?”

I took her hand in mine, turning it over, looking for any blood. She pointed to her chipped pinky nail and sighed. “I’m fine, Liam. Unless you count a broken nail as an emergency.”

I grinned and tried not to focus on how soft her skin was as I released my hold on her hand. “A broken nail? Maybe I could call the ambulance?”

She grinned, but quickly shrugged, pretending to be hurt. “I am a single woman now. And I’ve heard EMT guys can be pretty cute.”

Despite my chuckle, my heart bottomed out into my stomach. Chloe was single. Which means, if she and I were only friends, I’d have to watch as she started dating again. That fact hadn’t quite sunk in yet.

I took a step back. “Neil and I have this covered. Why don’t you head home?”

She blinked, seemingly surprised. “Oh. Yeah… sure. My sister’s probably waiting for me, anyway.”

At the mention of her sister, I felt Neil’s awareness of us like an electric charge over my skin. “I’m glad you stayed for dinner though.”

“Me too,” she said, grabbing her purse. Then, with a light nudge of her elbow, she leaned into me. “Even if you didn’t want me staying initially.”

“What? I didn’t say that—”

She rolled her eyes and draped her sweater over her forearm. “Oh, please. The Evans family really needs to learn to talk quieter.” She hitched her thumb over her shoulder down the hall. “Can I use your restroom before I go?”

I nodded and she made her way down the hall. Neil’s palm pressed against my back, nudging me after her. “Go walk her out,” he whispered.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Not you, too. I’ve already got Mom playing matchmaker. And I’m not going to date your ex-girlfriend’s little sister.”

“Jesus, dude. I’m just saying you should walk her to her car. You don’t have to shove your tongue down her throat.”

I gave him a look and shook my head, drying one of the wet plates with a towel. “You’re really not upset by our… friendship?”

Even saying that word regarding Chloe felt weird.

Neil shrugged and packed away the leftovers into Tupperware. “I can’t say I’m not surprised. You two seem so opposite. But she makes you laugh. Which, let’s face it—anyone who can make your sourpuss smile is someone worth being friends with.”

I ignored the pointed way he said friends. In response, I got a huffy sigh from my big brother. “Look, it’s almost nine and dark outside. Your condo parking lot only has one little light in the center. Mom would kick your ass if you didn’t walk her to her car.”

He was right about that. Mom valued chivalry and manners above most things.

I set the dry plate in the cabinet above the stove. “You sure you’re okay with this food truck thing?”

Neil shrugged. “It’s not really my place to be okay with it. I’m just… surprised. You never really mentioned it.”

“I guess the share stick was never passed to me.” And you never asked, I thought, immediately cringing at the accusation in my head. It wasn’t Neil’s fault I didn’t feel comfortable bringing it up. In a family of five, it was sometimes hard to be heard above the noise. Neil was the famous one. Even if he wasn’t home a whole lot, he got the attention, not me. Addy was the loudest—the squeaky wheel of the family, and especially between us twins, she was the boisterous one. And then there was Finny… the baby of the family. He was quirky and fun. Cute. Sporty. Everyone loved him.

Neil smiled—or at least, his mouth turned upwards. It wasn’t quite the smile he’d had these last few months, but it was something. “If it’s your dream, I’m excited for you. Let me know if you want any help baking or prepping before I leave for Budapest.”

“You’d do that?”

He nodded. “Of course. If it’s important to you, it’s important to me. But if you’re going to be spending some of your time outside Beefcakes on the food truck, we should probably start interviewing people to help at the bakery in my absence.”

“And beyond,” I added. “With your stunt facility and the food truck, we’re going to need the help even after you come home.”

The bathroom door shut from down the hall, and Neil jerked his chin in the direction of the sound, whispering,