Page 44 of Breaking the Habit

That word made the record screech. Now she got it. Outed to the little brother brought along a whole host of assumptions, which would require even more explanations. Her mouth parted, unsure how to respond, but Levi jumped in.

“Bro, you hungry?” He ruffled Gage’s hair as he headed for the kitchen, jerking his chin for Riley to follow. “What do you want, Ri? Eggs sound good?”

She wasn’t sure what to address first—the surprise nickname or the fact that he was about to become Mr. Domestic. “Uh, yeah, actually.”

“Leviloveseggs,” Gage said. “I always thought he was going to marry an egg, but now that I’ve met you, I guess I was wrong.”

Riley laughed, scratching at the back of her head. “Well, I mean…we’re not going to—”

“Don’t listen to him,” Levi warned. “Unless he tells you a knock-knock joke. You can listen to that.”

She lifted a brow. “You got some good knock-knock jokes?”

Gage huffed, using the joystick on his wheelchair to maneuver toward the kitchen. “Why would you bring that up right now?”

Levi had a mysterious smile on his face as he laid out a carton of eggs on the kitchen island. “Tell her your jokes.”

Gage frowned, but he looked like he was considering it. He stopped his chair on the far side of the kitchen, sighing dramatically. Riley eased onto the stool facing the island, right across from Levi.

“I wanna hear one,” she encouraged, her gaze bouncing between Gage and Levi. This whole scenario was so trippy. She’d almost think Levi was lying, but his similarity to Gage was uncanny. They both had the same alive, sparkling brown eyes, long dark lashes, square jaws that could make heads turn.

Their dad must be a looker too. She was dying to see the three of them together.

“Fine.” Gage huffed one last time. “Knock knock.”

“Who’s there?” Riley asked.

“I eat mop.”

“I eat mop who?”

Gage tutted, giving her a fake look of horror. “That’s gross, how could you do that?”

Both Gage and Levi got still and watched her, waiting for the joke to click. She replayed the words in her head and then laughed into her hands.

“See, it was dumb. That’s not a joke you tell a lady.” Gage glared at his brother.

“Ladies like all types of jokes,” Levi affirmed, bringing out a mixing bowl.

“And any lady that knows Levi has heard about a thousand of them,” Riley added.

Gage leaned on his arm rest toward Riley, almost conspiratorially. “My brother’s not that funny, is he?”

Levi scoffed, but Riley saw the trace of a smile on his face.

“Actually, he’s pretty hilarious,” Riley said, loving this strange brotherly competition between them. This was thelastthing she’d expected to wake up to this morning. To find out that all along, Levi had been harboring a teenaged brother. That this living arrangement was what he woke up to and went to sleep with.

“Aww, do you really think that, Riley?” Levi batted his eyelashes at her, flicking on the stovetop so the cast iron skillet could warm.

“Yes, I do.” Riley couldn’t stop the grin from overtaking her face. Like she was a teenager, going gaga for her crush. When she glanced at Gage, she caught the naked look of him taking the two of them in, absorbing each detail of their interaction.

Absolutely fascinated.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, pushing off the stool. “I have to go to the little girl’s room.”

“What does that mean?” Gage crunched up his nose.

“It means she has to go take a piss,” Levi explained. “Or go eat her mop, or whatever.”

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