Page 31 of Until Bax

“Jesus.” He laughs. “You say it like she’s in high school. How old is she?”

“Twenty-six, twenty-seven, I think?” I shake my head.

“She’s not young.” He rolls his eyes, motioning for me to hand him another piece of trim.

“She'syearsyounger than I am.”

“And?” he prompts.

And… I don’t fucking know. Because her age doesn’t really bother me. I just feel like it should. Maybe it would if she was immature, but she’s not. She’s smart, and she has a career and goals for herself. And honestly, now that I really think about it, she’s not that young.

“Just admit it’s the fact that she’s Liam’s little sister that is throwing you off.”

“Hey, guys.”

He and I turn toward the door, where Olivia stands now dressed in a pair of leggings and a long-sleeved top that crosses in the front and is so short I can see a strip of her stomach that I’d like to be better acquainted with. When her gaze pings between my brother and me, and then her brows drag together slightly, I wonder if I have the same look on my face that I saw on hers when I walked into the house earlier while she and Amy were talking quietly. Like I just got caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing. Which now makes me incredibly curious about what she and her mom were discussing. “I ordered pizza. It just got here, if you want to take a break and come eat.”

“Thanks, doll,” Talon says, and her eyes come to me.

“We’ll be out in a couple of minutes,” I tell her.

“Okay.” She looks from me to the window. “It almost looks like nothing ever happened.”

“Once we finish, you won't even be able to tell it was broken,” I assure her. Then ask, “Did Kourtney ever return your call?” She tried to call her earlier but never got a hold of her, so she just left a message asking her to call back when she had time.

“Yeah, but we only spoke for a couple of minutes. She was on her way to work. She was worried but relieved that no one actually broke in. She’s going to have a couple of security companies come out to give her some quotes when she gets back to town.”

“That would be good. In the meantime, the new outside lights will help,” Talon tells her, then adds, “And if you get scared, I’m sure Bax won’t mind you staying with him next door.”

Fucker.

Her eyes come to me, and she shifts on her feet.

“You’re always welcome at my place,” I say, wanting her to know what he said was true, even if having her under my roof is its own kind of torture.

“Thanks.” Her tongue runs across her bottom lip, and she glances over her shoulder. “Food is in the kitchen whenever you guys are ready to eat.”

I jerk up my chin and don’t know what Talon does because I don’t take my eyes off her until she disappears out of sight.

“Thanks,” I grumble at my brother.

“You’re welcome.” He grins. “Just helping you out.”

With a shake of my head, I let out a breath and then focus on the task at hand. Once we finish the trim, we head down the hall to the kitchen, where Liam and Olivia’s dad are standing, holding a plate of pizza. Olivia and Amy sit at the small dining table that is tucked up against the wall.

“There are sodas in the fridge,” Olivia calls out to us as I pick up a plate and grab two slices of pepperoni pizza.

“Thanks.” I go to the fridge and grab a Coke for myself and one for Talon before I lean back against the counter and start to eat. Talon makes his way across the room to sit with the girls, who immediately launch into questions about his wife and kids. And, of course, he’s all too happy to pull out his phone and share pictures with them.

“Did you check the camera at your place to see if you could see anything from last night?” Liam asks quietly, and I focus on him.

“I checked. I only have the one camera on my door, and it didn’t pick anything up. I asked the neighbors if they had anything, but none of them have cameras.”

“Olivia said you think it was the guys who were supposed to drop off her stuff,” her dad says, and I nod as I chew. Then I swallow before I answer.

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. I’ve never heard of anything like that happening around here, not inthisneighborhood. Then, the day after the run-in with those guys, the window is broken in the middle of the night?” I cock a brow.

“Makes sense to me, too,” he agrees with a nod.

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