Page 14 of Family Bonds: Coy & Angel

If his buddy knew that Coy had a fleeting moment of noticing how sexy and attractive Angel was, Spencer would pack his baby sister up in the bubble wrap he always said he wanted to keep her in, and fly her to some remote Alaskan town.

“If you say so,” he said, smirking. It was the best answer he could come up with.

“I do,” Spencer said. “You know why I am the way I am with her.”

He sighed. “I get it. If I had a younger sister I’d be the same way. You know I almost did.”

Spencer was one of the few people that he’d told his mother lost her fourth child. It was a little girl. There’d been no more after that. It’d been too painful.

Coy was four years younger than Drew and it’d taken longer for his mother to get pregnant then. Even longer for her to conceive what would have been his little sister.

“I know,” Spencer said. “And you would have treated her the same if you were in my situation.”

“I would have,” he agreed, “but remember Bode and Drew would have been worse than me. I would have ended up being her best friend. Have you ever given your sister a chance to see you as her friend and not the protective older brother?”

Spencer frowned. “She’s got friends, she doesn’t need another one.”

“I’m not saying she doesn’t. I’m saying that maybe as adults you two can have a different relationship than what you’ve had prior.”

Spencer shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. Depends on the first dickhead guy she tries to introduce me to. But I expect you to give me the lowdown on them first.”

Coy laughed. “You know she’s had boyfriends. You’ve complained about it for years.”

“I don’t think they were anything serious. I mean, I know they existed. I heard their names, but no one who came home for the holidays or that she went to their places for holidays. My parents or I only met them when we visited her in college if she even had a boyfriend at that time.”

“And were they all dickheads?” he asked, grinning. Spencer was always laid back and funny. But when it came to Angel, he was just a different person.

He supposed knowing how Angel looked now and that she’d caught his eye, it might be harder.

“No,” Spencer said. “Just not for her either.”

“How do you know what your sister needs or wants or is a good match?” he asked. “It’s not as if you’ve gotten to know her as a friend.”

“Asshole,” Spencer said, laughing. “Good point. But I still expect you to watch out for her. I want to know of any guy she dates and your thoughts on him.”

He snorted. “First, I’m not liable to even know if she goes on a date. And second of all, how the hell am I going to meet them? Ask them to come into the practice so I can give them the honorary big brother once over?”

“Exactly,” Spencer said. “You’re a Bond. On this island, they will be intimidated by you.”

Not what he wanted to hear.

He wasn’t one for throwing his weight around. He hated that his name did that without him even trying half the time.

“Whatever works,” he said.

No reason to keep up this conversation right now. He’d do what his best friend asked of him because they’d always had each other’s back. But he wasn’t going to be a jerk about it either.

Angel was his employee first. His best friend’s baby sister second.

She wouldn’t want to be treated any differently for their history than he wanted to be for his name.

End of story.

Or so he was telling himself.

5

INVADE HIS PRIVACY

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