Page 55 of One Hot Moment

Finally, I bow my head and sigh. "You're right. I am a bloody stupid arsehole. Bindy was trying to tell me something, though I was too pigheaded to grasp her meaning. Kendall has always been hard to read, but I've never known him to get sloshed and act like a frat boy on homecoming night. I should have guessed something was wrong."

Tabitha rests her head on my shoulder. "You're a good brother. That means you'll fix the problem as soon as possible."

"What galactic frequency are you on? Mine is here on Earth, where I've been a blind fool. That does not qualify me for 'good brother' status."

"Stop punishing yourself. Bindy didn't call to make you feel bad. She needs your help with Kendall, period."

I fall backward onto the mattress, taking her with me. Now that Tabitha is sprawled over me, I feel much more at ease. "I want to be there for Kendall. But I do have a job, a position I've only been in for a few weeks. I can't ask for ten days off to dry out my brother."

"You know you'll regret it later if you don't leave as soon as possible."

As I stare up at the ceiling, I try to figure out how to mesh my work life with my family life. Damned if I know how to do that. "Monday morning, I'll talk to my boss and see if I can take extra time off this week. Not sure if my excuse that my brother needs me will fly, but it's worth a try."

"That's the spirit." She kisses me. "But first, I want to show you Asheville tomorrow---with my parents and my sister, if you're okay with that."

"I did tell your mum and dad that I wanted to see their antiques shop. I can't renege on that now."

She kisses me again, more passionately.

And within a minute or two at most, she has her mouth wrapped around my cock. After she gives me the best blow job ever, we crawl under the covers and go to sleep. I don't even mind that she snores off and on. It's the sweetest sort of whispering snores I've ever heard. Sabrina knocks on the door at eight o'clock to command us to have breakfast at Connie and Barry's house "or else." When I ask what that means, she makes a zipper motion across her lips. Then she trots back to her parents' house.

I have no idea what that gesture is meant to convey.

"Sabrina loves to be dramatically annoying," Tabitha tells me after her sister has left the vicinity. "I guess she was trying to imply that breakfast will be a surprise because we won't know what the dishes are until we get there."

"Your sister seems to enjoy teasing us. Since you told me she was never like this before yesterday, should I assume her teasing means she approves of me?"

"Oh, yeah, she thinks you're amazing. And I agree."

Tabitha insists on a shower shag before we leave her lovely little abode, so we won't "stink up the place" when we arrive at Connie and Barry's home. What shagging has to do with getting clean, I can't explain. But I must do as Tabby commands. It would be rude to say no when I'm a guest in her home.

Breakfast involves plenty of ribbing---the good-natured sort. I share a few stories about my family including the tale of how my parents, Bindy, and I reacted when we were invited to Sommerleigh House for the first time to see Kendall in his natural environment. It was the day Rachelle's parents had arrived too. Rusty Buckholtz and Paulette Gérard weren't quite what I'd expected. Paulette is French, after all, and Rusty is an American auto mechanic. Their marriage hadn't lasted, but they got Rachelle out of the deal, so in that way, their marriage was a success. They're good mates now.

"Do your parents get along well?" Sabrina asks me. "Tabitha and I lucked out with our mom and dad. They're wonderful people, and we love them so much. Can't imagine them ever splitting up."

"It's the same with my family. Mum and Dad fit together like puzzle pieces. He's good at the things Mum can't manage, and vice versa. Martin and Marjorie Halfenaked will stay together until they die---on the same day, I'd wager."

"Oh, that's so romantic."

Tabitha shakes her head at her sister, though she's smiling. "Death is romantic? You win the award for creepiest compliment, Bree."

After breakfast, it's time to visit Barry and Connie's antiques shop in Asheville. Technically, we are already in Asheville since the Remington homestead is within the city limits. But I don't think of a tiny-house village that lies at the end of a gravel road as urban.

Sabrina insists on riding in Tabitha's car with me. Barry and Connie take their own vehicle, leading the way since even Tabitha isn't sure how to find the antiques shop.

"If you came home more often," Sabrina chides, "then you'd know the route by heart. Maybe now that you've hooked up with Spence, you'll have a good reason to visit your poor, forgotten family."

"You make it sound like I dropped the three of you in a well and sealed it off."

"Well, maybe I'd stop teasing you about it if you invited me to see where you work. Invite Mom and Dad too. We're all super curious about your secret office in Arlington."

"It's no secret. But I don't work at a factory where you guys could take a tour. It's a financial services company."

"Sabrina is right," I pronounce for no particular reason. "We should give your family a tour of the Bramson Feigenbaum Investments offices. The company has a good cafeteria too."

Tabitha gazes at me with an expression I can only describe as grateful. Then she twists around in her seat to look at her sister in the back. "Spencer and I will work something out with the company. But it might not happen until after Kendall's wedding. Spence and I need to go there soon to help the poor, anxious butler."

"And if you're lucky," I say, "maybe Kendall will tell you all the secrets of a male revue show."

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