Page 7 of Eye Candy

Lyssa came out of the bathroom in a fluffy robe, her long hair tucked in a microfiber towel. “You’re back, Care Bear! How did it go?”

I’d told her a million times I hated being called that and I didn’t have the energy to do it again now.

“Well,” I said slowly, “you know how we couldn’t find any pics of Joe’s siblings online? No social posts, no accounts, nothing?”

“Yes,” she said warily.

“The older half brother was at the gallery tonight. And he’s…” words failed me.

Lyssa’s brows went up.

“A lot,” I finished.

“Tell me everything.” She flopped back on my bunk and Root Beer jumped up beside her. He began circling, pretending he wasn’t going to settle into the same worn-out groove he always did. “Start with what he was wearing.”

Lyssa was a fashion girl.

Obligingly, I recalled, “A caramel sweater that was as luxurious as it looked—I know because I touched it. The cashmere was soft, but his chest was firm in that way that makes you think about resting your head there, you know?”

“Pillow pecs.” Lyssa nodded. “Yes, go on.”

“Underneath he had a white dress shirt, and the collar was peeking out. His neck and jaw were all stubbly, not on purpose, just like he hadn’t gotten around to shaving for a few days. And he’s blond so it kind of looked like glitter? Neck glitter. Am I making any sense?”

“None,” she said cheerfully.

“He was dressed way more casually than anyone else there even though they’re all rich.”

“Like a tech bro?”

I thought about it. “More like he doesn’t need to dress to impress; heisthe impress. But he’s super uptight. Stiff. Even his hair was perfectly swept back, like no strand would dare break rank and tumble down onto his forehead. So, of course?—”

“You wanted to mess up his hair and make it tumble down onto his forehead,” she finished. “This tracks with your hot professor kink.”

“He had glasses, Lyssa.” I flopped down next to her on the bed. “Glasses.”

“On a related note, you haven’t had any sleepovers with men in eyeliner for months.”

She was right on both counts. Sexually, men who looked like they didn’t have a 401k could deliver it the way I liked; and it had been a while.

“I was surprised, that’s all. Chase looks nothing like Joe. Or...Joe looks nothing like him. Whichever way you’re supposed to say that.”

“They’re half brothers. Chase was born in Canada, Joe here in New York. I’m not sure about their stepbrother.”

After I said yes to Gerard’s scam, Lyssa had helped me research the Sanfords. We found a trove of stories about Teddy and a few about Joe, but not much about the rest of his family. Before tonight, I hadn’t cared—I wasn’t getting paid to razz them.

I sent Gerard a quick text saying the deed was done and he could Venmo me the rest of the sum he’d promised, which was acool ten thousand. He didn’t respond, but I didn’t expect him to. The Dragonfly would be in full swing at this hour and he always took ages to reply.

Chase and his slightly Canadian vowels were nothing to do with me. I’d done what Gerard had asked, and now I was going to get mine.

There was no reason to expect I would see either Sanford brother ever again.

CAROLINE

The next day,I’d cleaned away our dinner stuff—veggie nachos—and Lyssa and I were on her bed watching our favorite show when the intercom buzzed.

Root Beer yowled as I climbed over him and several baskets of Lyssa’s yarn to reach the panel.

“Teddy Bircher?” a familiar voice asked through the intercom.

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