Page 3 of The Off-Limits Rule: Extended Edition

I glance down at my child and then up at his grandparents standing at attention behind him, mischief written all over their faces. “This is a surprise drop-by…you know, to make sure everyone’s following the rules,” I say, drawling out the last word like I’m a detective tilting her aviators down, completely on to their tricks.

Both grandparents make a show of gulping nervously, and I abruptly drop down to get eye level with Levi. I reach out and run a finger across his top lip, bringing the powdered sugar close to my eye for inspection. “Mm-hmm…just what I thought. Donut residue.” He giggles and licks his lip nearly up to his nose to get every particle of sugar he can.I taught him well.

My mom puts her hand on Levi’s shoulder and squeezes. “Stay strong, buddy.”

I narrow my eyes up at my mother (also my favorite person in the world) and shoot to my feet, getting in her face like a drill sergeant. “How many?” My voice growls menacingly. Levi giggles again, and I glance down at him. “Do you think this is funny, little man?”

“Mom, you’re so silly.”

“How many?” I repeat to my mom, undeterred by the adorable chunky-cheeked boy. She lifts her chin and makes a show of pressing her lips closed. “I see…that’s how it’s going to be? Fine. I know who to go to when I want the truth.”

“Luce, come on, we gotta go,” Drew says, sounding a little impatient behind me.Someone has lost his funny bone.

I hold up my finger behind me in his direction and shush him before taking a slow step directly in front of my dad. His eyes widen, and I know he’ll be an easy crack. “So, Mr. Marshall, are you going to talk, or are we going to have to do this the hard way—”

“Three!” he blurts, and my mom shoots him the stink eye.

I grin and push my imaginary glasses back up the bridge of my nose. “Thought so. Sir, ma’am, do you happen to know the effects too much sugar have on—”

I don’t get to finish my sentence because Drew picks me up, tosses me over his shoulder, and starts carrying me away. “Bye,guys,” he says with a smile and wave. “We’ll have our phones if you need us.”

“Wait!Let me at least kiss my child goodbye, you oaf.”

He pauses and backs up a few steps, bending down so I’m lowered to lip level with Levi. He laughs and laughs at the sight of me on “Uncle Drew’s” shoulder, so much so that I’m barely able to plant a kiss on his sugary cheek from all his giggling.

“Love you, baby. Be good for Grammy and Grandad,” I tell him, feeling my heart squeeze a little painfully at the thought of leaving him again. Other than the times I had to work, Levi and I haven’t spent much time apart this last year. Although I’m happy to see him reunited with family, I also have this strong desire to stay close to him. Plus, stuffing my face with donuts sounds infinitely better than going out with Drew and his buddy on the boat.

“Have fun, you two,” say my parents, breaking character to wrap an arm around each other and wave as Drew walks us away and deposits me in the front seat of his car.

After our twenty-minute drive, we pull into the marina, and I take my sweet time getting out of the car. Maybe if I move slow enough, he’ll leave me behind and just let me curl up in a depressed ball under a tree somewhere.

He can see right through my shenanigans. “Dammit, Lucy, do I have to drag you onto the boat too? You’re going on the lake, because you need this whether you can see it or not. Quit being a pain in the butt and get moving.”

“What happened to Mr. Congeniality from the car ride?” I ask, getting out and slamming my door shut.

He pulls a cooler from the trunk and grins at me—his eyes a darker blue than mine, filled with sibling exasperation. “I was hoping you’d get it all out of your system so Johnny Raincloud wouldn’t follow us out on the water.”

“You didn’t have to bring me, you know. If you wanted a happy companion, you could have just invited some of those fun women who love you.”

“I didn’t want to bring a fun woman. I wanted to bring you. My annoying little sister.”

I narrow my eyes and cross my arms.

He jerks his head toward the back seat. “Grab the towels and let’s get on the water.”

“One hour,” I say, following behind him with the towels like a stubborn puppy that doesn’t want to walk on a leash but knows it doesn’t have a choice. “I’m staying for one hour and that’s it. Then I’m going back to my candy bar babies.”

“Just get in the boat, Eeyore,” says Drew, fighting a smile as he extends his hand to help me over the railing.

Once in the boat, I run my palms along the bright-white upholstery. It’s hot to the touch, and I can’t help but smile at my brother’s dream come true. He’s always wanted a boat, and he finally made it happen. He’s been working his butt off the past several years, completing medical school and then enduring his residency and whatever else doctors have to go through. Now he is an ob-gyn in a small private practice, and this was his official “doctor” present to himself.

Other than a partner feeling slightly uncomfortable with him working closely with women’s bodies all day, I can’t help but wonder why he’s still single. He’s good-looking, funny, and outgoing. Most women love him, yet he won’t have it. He dates (a lot) but has never been interested in settling down.

Taking my towel, I lay it across the boiling-hot leather before sitting so I don’t sear my butt cheeks. I settle in, begrudgingly feeling like Drew was right; it really does feel good to be outsidewith the sun tickling my skin. “So, which buddy is coming out with us? Farty Marty or Sweaty Steven?” Oddly, all of Drew’s friends have terrible flaws, so much so that I’m beginning to wonder if he has a beauty complex and refuses to associate with anyone prettier than him.

“Cooper,” he says while shoving the cooler into a little side compartment.

Ah, yes, the recently moved-out roommate. I haven’t met this one yet. He moved in with Drew about a year ago, right after I left town, and they apparently became besties right away. Drew won’t let me refer to them as that, though, so I make sure to do it as often as I can.

---