Page 86 of The Rogue

Pepper and I continue to glare.

“She got upset, said he’s not the one who’s going to walk in there every day and look at something they didn’t envision because some lazy contractor took the easy and practical route.”

“And?”Pepper pressed.

“And I…said she was overreacting.”

“I believe the words weredrama queen,” I correct.

He sighs. “Anyway, she went allCharlieon me and rambled until I kissed her to shut her up—then she slapped me—again.”

Levi snickers.

“Sounds like you didn’t support her. You didn’t have her back. That makes you a jerk and you need to apologize.”

“You don’t think I did? I hate fighting with her. When we both calmed down, I said'I’m sorry if I upset you'.”

Pepper and I groan simultaneously.

“What?”

Pepper holds up her hand, her fingers spread. I point to each one as I go through the list. One, never use the wordifwhen apologizing. Two, always recite specific occurrences where you went wrong. Three, tell her she was right andwhy. Four, repeat step two. Five, give her one hell of an orgasm to make up for being a dick.”

Pepper drops her hand.

Noah’s eyes shift from me to his new sister-in-law. “That’s not a thing. How is that a thing?”

I take a step closer. “I’ll bet you my summer salary if you do all those things, you’ll be her hero again.”

He considers it. “What about the contractor?”

“Oh, you’re handling the contractor regardless.” Levi jumps in, handing me a fresh glass of wine. “That bookstore is part of mine and Chase’s investment and we did it for Charlie, not for some disrespectful jackass.”

Noah rises off the couch, scratching his chin. “What was three again?”

Levi laughs, slapping his brother’s shoulder. “When in doubt, bro, skip to number five and repeat.”

“Sorry,” I mumble when I collide with him for the third time in the kitchen as we clean up.

He grabs my waist, holding me in place. “You’re impossible.”

“What did I do now?” I ask playfully.

“You’re tempting me to leave evidence that we had a party without Jackson and take you upstairs right now.”

I giggle and wrangle myself free, missing his warmth around me. “Come on, there’s not much left.”

I feel him grinning at me. “You handled my brother like a badass.”

“I cringed when he said ‘if’ because that's basically calling your woman crazy and trying to settle her. It factually implies you have no fucking clue what you did to upset her, and therefore, your apology doesn’t count.”

He whistles. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

I spin, narrowing my eyes. “You wouldn’t grovel.”

He cocks his head. “You’re right. I don’t grovel. I’d be on my knees.” He winks.

Heat floods my cheeks.

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