Page 53 of Clueless Romeo

He wandered around the room, running his hand over the new countertops and fingering the Hawthorne Pirates jersey's double-knit mesh fabric. He inspected every inch of the room before turning to face me again. Caleb and I were the spitting images of our father, except for his dark brown assessing eyes that took in my appearance with disapproval. We inherited our blue eyes from our mother.

"I found some free time to drop by." He strode toward me and tossed an arm over my shoulder while ruffling my hair with the other. When I scowled, he chuckled. "It's already a mess. Calm down. So, what are your plans for today?"

My brow furrowed, considering how inconvenient his timing was with the shop only days away from opening, but at least he was back in Dad mode instead of the formidable businessman. "Depends on your visit, I guess. I have a cleaning crew scheduled for this afternoon and need to pick up the flyers I had made. But I didn't realize you'd be coming by…" I trailed off as he suddenly released me and headed toward the back of the shop.

I groaned when he continued down the hall, realizing he had every intention of scrutinizing our apartment as well.

"Is your brother still asleep?" he asked as I followed, frowning at his back.

Shit. I had no idea. I cleared my throat. "Maybe? I was asleep when I heard you knocking on the door, so I rushed down. I'm barely awake and wasn't paying attention."

Some of that was true, at least.

My dad's shiny shoes tapped against the hardwood as he climbed the stairs with me following behind him. Not bothering to hesitate, he twisted the knob, and nothing happened. Locked.

I bit back a groan and tried to come up with an excuse on the fly.

He glanced over his shoulder, eyebrow raised in question. "You locked it to answer the door?"

"It's my new habit of self-preservation. Now I don't walk in on the two of them and see something I can't scrub from my brain." I shrugged, hoping he bought the lie. "Let me get it." While digging my keys out of my pocket, I stepped around him and unlocked the door, holding my breath as I pushed it open.

Caleb and Christa sat at the dining table, sipping coffee and talking. When my twin's gaze landed on me, a cocky smile formed on his lips.Busted.

I gave a subtle shake of my head and his forehead wrinkled in question before Dad stepped in behind me.

Caleb's eyes widened as he rose from the chair. "Dad. Did CJ forget to tell me you were coming?"

"I didn't know." I intercepted the question, glancing at my dad and hoping Caleb would keep his trap shut about my appearance.

Our father's gaze swept over our living room, a slight wrinkle on his forehead. Where the shop was nearly set up, the apartment was still a work in progress with nothing more than bare bone necessities. Something he seemed to agree with, judging by the expression on his face. He looked at Caleb. "Like I told your brother, I just wanted to see how things were progressing. I didn't realize I needed to call every time I decided to visit my sons."

Every time?I should have known he'd do random checks even if we were his sons and not some random owners wanting a piece of his franchise.

"You're always welcome here." Christa beamed a wide smile, apparently speaking for all of us. She stood, wearing one of Caleb's shirts and her sleep shorts, hair piled in a loose bun. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Bradley."

"Lovely as always, Christa." Dad's voice softened, treating her as a daughter. Then he suddenly looked at me, and I saw it coming. I just couldn't stop the question brimming in his eyes. "You ran right by them on your way out and didn't notice them?"

I didn't look at Caleb or Christa to urge them to play along. My dad was far too observant to take that chance.

Nodding, I shrugged. "Yep. I was half asleep and in a hurry, so I must not have noticed them."

"What do you mean you passed us this—" Christa was cut off by a rather obvious hand over her mouth as Caleb tried to stop her. She mumbled something, and Caleb winced as he pulled his hand away, shaking his fingers in pain. "Don't you dare put your hand over my mouth, Caleb Bradley."

"But last night, you didn't mind—" Caleb went silent when Christa did the same, slapping a palm over his mouth, glaring.

Jesus. This was turning into a train wreck, and there was no way Caleb wasn't going to pry into my business. He'd want to know where I was. And why I'd lied about being home this morning.

To my surprise, my dad blew off the entire exchange—or he was just uncomfortable by the direction the conversation had taken, thanks to my idiot twin. I'd never been so grateful in my life that Caleb spoke before he thought things through.

Dad adjusted his collar. "Where's the bathroom?"

I pointed down the hall, and once he had shut the door, I glanced at Caleb, whose eyes were twinkling in delight. "You are such a fucking liar, Corey Joe."

"Shut up," I hissed. Of course Caleb didn't have the first clue how explosive the secrets I'd been keeping were. If he kept up with this line of discussion it would be nothing less than a landmine detonating. "You're about as subtle as an asteroid, you know that?"

"Whatever." Caleb rolled his eyes. "I saved your ass, didn't I? Even if I have no idea what I'm saving it from. Where've you been the last two nights? You weren't here, but your Jeep was. Have you already found some local girl or something? Dad wouldn't care." Caleb eyed my messy hair and disheveled clothes as he rambled on.

Christa cleared her throat. "While you two sort this out, I'm going to put some actual clothes on. Please don't kill each other while I'm gone."

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