Page 10 of Holiday Power Play

Vance rounds his SUV all smiles. He was always the early bird between the two of us.

"Can I help you, Lani Banani?" He reaches for the heavy pile of white fabric hiding under a black garment bag.

I let him take it. "There are two boxes by the door if you wanna grab those, too."

"Sheesh, you weren't kidding when you said you needed to bring a few things."

"Yeah, well mom said she has a friend whose daughter is having a shotgun wedding and will be so pleased to get a wedding in a box. Her words."

He pops the trunk open and the first thing I see is twice the luggage I expected for my brother.

"I thought you said it was just a four day trip—why are you packing like you're gone until New Years?"

The sound of a voice clearing draws my attention to the front seat, occupied by the last person I'd expect to see sitting there, considering myveryvocal rebukes of the player. Rebukes that I have not withheld from my brother.

"Hi," Trevor Sincaid says with a crooked smile and gentle wave.

I slam the trunk shut and turn abruptly to my brother.

"Why the hell ishehere?"

Vance just looks at me. His eyes trying to tell me all the things his mouth won't say.

Don't be like this, Lana.

He was lonely, Lana.

Be nice, Lana.

"Absolutely not," I say to his wordless expressions.

"Look…" he starts.

"Absolutelynot!" I grab my luggage and start rolling it back to my front door.

"And just how do you plan on getting to Breck then?"

I turn to look at him. "Oh, I'm a smart woman, V. I'm sure I can figure it out. But this…" I point to the guy in the front seat. "It's not happening."

The passenger door opens and Trevor steps out of the waiting vehicle. "I-is there a problem here?"

"No," Vance says, at the same time I say, "Hell yes, there's a problem!"

"Let me guess," Trevor says, leaning against the car and sliding his hands into his pocket. "Mick didn't tell you about me coming, did he?" He shoots my brother a glare.

Vance pops open the trunk again. "Fine, you caught me. I knew that if I told either one of you, you wouldn't want to come, okay? But look, we're all up and it's a beautiful day."

"How would you know? Sun's not even up yet," I murmur.

"That's what I said," Trevor adds.

"And we are all grown-ups," my brother continues. "Who can share a small space temporarily for the sake of having a great Christmas, right?"

Trevor and I stare at each other as I stand near the front door of my townhome, ready to just call it. I'm not doing this. His eyes are a soft brown, and even wearing a hoodie, I can see the sun-bleached brown of his hair poking out like he just ran a hand through it after waking up.

"I, for one, have no problem with any of that," Trevor says, grinning. His cheeks reveal two dimples that do nothing but further irritate me.

"Well,Iwould rather collect loose change from the streets to pay for a flight."

---