The voices are light and airy, friendly, though I’m not interested in making any friends here. This was never my idea to begin with, and the fact that I’m forced to be here pisses me off. Okay, maybe forced is too strong of a word. No one forced me. I’m a big boy. But no one told me it would be this hard to find a job after I graduated college either—especially in technology. It makes no fucking sense after sending out a shitload of resumes and several interviews. Now I wish I’d listened to Julian when he told me to get a part-time job in college to save money—among other things. Why the hell did I assume this whole thing would be easy? I need something to be easy right now.
As I get closer to the stairs, I remain hidden but catch a glimpse of the girls standing next to Julian. One of them is, holy shit, pretty hot; all long legs and big tits, with straight blonde hair and from what I can see, a pretty nice ass. And she seems to know it, too. But it’s the Mickey Mouse t-shirt and red Converse sneakers on the girl standing next to her that catch my attention. I almost laugh because it’s so ridiculous. But she’s cute. Rosy cheeks, wavy brown hair cut to her shoulders, lots of gentle curves—sexy, in a girl next door, unassuming way. She doesn’t appear as happy as the other one to be here. Whoever they are, they look like total opposites.
“So you brought brownies,” Julian’s tone carries, “and you’re sisters. I like it here already.” He chuckles and the blonde laughs. The other one stands there with a half-smile fiddling with what looks like a hair tie between her fingers. Of course they’re charmed. Because Julian has been known to charm a girl—or fifty. He’s charismatic, and from what I hear girls say, pretty good-looking. I’m his brother so I don’t pay much attention to that shit.
He’s definitely imposing though. At nearly six one, he has a solid build from all the sports he plays and one of those toothpaste commercial smiles. I watch him drag a hand through his short brown hair as he eyes the quiet one, gunning for some kind of reaction. She’s not biting, though.
He turns his head and spots me. I’m about to duck around the corner when he calls my name. “Vance, get down here. We have company.”
Shit.
I hesitate a beat, tugging on the hoop in my ear. But his insistent stare causes me to take my ass downstairs even though I’m not in the mood to socialize. “Hey.” I nod my chin at the girls. Again, the blonde chick is all smiles and the other one hardly looks at me—until I get closer. Then her gaze does a quick scan of my face, landing on my eyes—and she appears dazed. She snaps out of it quickly when her sister elbows her. Weird.
Julian clears his throat. “I’m Julian… Davenport, that is. And this is my brother, Vance.”
The blonde is the one who speaks. No surprise there. “I’m Avery Bennett, and this is Ember. We live at the end of the road on the cul-de-sac.” She points out the window. “The blue house with the white shutters and the bushes trimmed in perfect circles.” Her sister giggles and I don’t get the joke, but I do realize it’s the first loud sound out of her since she’s been here.
Let’s see what else I can get out of her. Because I’m in a poking mood.
“Ember? What kind of a name is that?” My brother knocks his shoulder against mine but it doesn’t dissuade me from my line of questioning.
Bubbly laughter is cut short as she raises a brow and deadpans, “Same kind of a name as Vance, I suppose. But then again,” she adds with a flagrant flick of her wrist, “what’s in a name?”
I’m not usually at a loss for words, but that gives me pause. She’s donned in Mickey Mouse attire and quoting Shakespeare. That’s fucking strange.
“Touché,” I counter, for lack of anything snarky as her deep green eyes bore into mine and we have some kind of odd, mental standoff. I don’t know this freaking girl but I find myself becoming increasingly pissed off for no apparent reason. Then again, it doesn’t take much to piss me off these days.
My brother coughs as if he can sense my heightened aggravation. “So who wants a brownie? These smell amazing.”
“This is the best time to eat them. They just came out of the oven a few minutes ago,” Avery offers as they follow Julian into the kitchen. I stay behind Ember and cackle to myself when I notice the embroidered Mickey Mouse on the back pocket of her jeans. She must’ve heard me because I’m on the receiving end of a one-eyed glare over her shoulder.
“What?”
“I didn’t say anything.” Her expression suggests she doesn’t believe me but I really don’t give a shit. I don’t have time for this. “Listen, I need to get back to unpacking. See you guys around.”
“Welcome to the neighborhood,” Avery yells out as I walk up the stairs, and Ember laughs.
I don’t like her.
AVERY LINKS HER elbow with mine and gives me a tug as we make our way back to the house. “Holy shit, those guys are hot. They’ll definitely raise the property value around here, don’t cha think?” I swear my sister has a one-track mind. It’s a wonder she can focus on anything else.
“I guess so. The shorter one seems a bit cocky. Oh, and broody.”
“The shorter one?” She teases. “They were both giants.” She purposefully bumps into my shoulder. “Anyway, I saw you checking him out.”