Page 24 of My Brother's Roommate (Frisky Business 2)
While the men head outside to dig our cars out of the winter wonderland, I focus on the most important chore of all—breakfast. I get the coffeepot humming and gurgling, then head for the pantry, where I manage to scrounge up an unopened box of pancake mix. Fortunately, it’s the just add water kind. If there were any eggs or milk here, they’d definitely be long expired. By the time the boys return to the house, I’ve got three short stacks piled up on plates and a full mug of coffee poured for each of us.
“Oh, hey there, Little Suzy Homemaker,” my brother teases, kicking off his snowy boots and shrugging out of his coat. “It smells fucking amazing in here.”
“I figured you’d both worked up an appetite this morning.” I shoot Wolfie a coy grin, hoping he knows I’m referring to the appetite he worked up under the blankets this morning, but he can hardly force a strained half smile before dodging my gaze.
Ohhh-kay then.
Hello, awkward morning after. I was wondering if I’d see you here.
We settle in at the table, the guys on one side and me on the other, and make quick work of our pancakes as we divvy up the rest of the winterizing chores. As much as Connor’s arrival was unexpected, many hands do make light work, and he’s going to make things go a whole lot faster this morning.
With full bellies and the power of caffeine, we manage to get everything on the checklist taken care of in under two hours. Even Wolfie is impressed, although you wouldn’t know it by the permanent frown he’s had plastered on his face since my brother walked through the door.
Jeez, this is uncomfortable.
The second Connor showed up, vulnerable Wolfie was long gone, leaving his cold, grumpy self. Great.
With the chores mostly completed and the dishes washed, it’s as good a time as any for me to make my way back to the city. Connor powers down the vacuum long enough to give me a hug good-bye and a quick lecture on driving in icy conditions.
“Wolfie’s scraping off his car, by the way. If you wanna say good-bye on your way out.”
I nod, gulping down the nerves clogging my throat.
There’s a lot more than good-bye that I’d like to say to Wolfie, but I’m not about to risk Connor watching us through the window. Especially not with how wooden Wolfie has been acting toward me since his roommate arrived. I don’t want to put him in a position that would make him uncomfortable.
Once I’m bundled up, I head out to the driveway, where Wolfie has finished scraping off his own car and has moved on to mine. A grin pulls at the corner of my lips. The man is sour one second, and then he’s sweet. So confusing.
“Thanks for that.”
He startles a little at the sound of my voice, then glances toward the window for signs of Connor before allowing the slightest smile to spread across his lips. “No problem.”
“And thanks for, well, for everything. You know what I mean.”
His head dips in a small nod, giving nothing away. Even his eyes have a vacant, detached look. “You too. Drive safe, Penelope.”
A long, awkward silence stretches between us, the kind of silence meant to be filled with one of those sweet, easy kisses he treated me to this morning. But I know better than to do anything so risky.
Instead, I give him a two-fingered wave and climb into my car, praying for salted roads and effective four-wheel drive. Because even with my eyes on the road and my grip on the steering wheel, I’m in for a long, distracted trip home, courtesy of the enigma that is Wolfie Cox.9* * *WOLFIEOur storefront is packed.
No, not just packed. Slammed. There’s been a line running from the register all the way to the front door for over an hour.
Couples and solo visitors buzz up and down the aisles, stacking luxury vibrators and pink-labeled tubes of vegan lubricant in their arms. It’s mayhem out there. But the best kind of mayhem is mayhem that makes you money.
I’m not too humble to take credit for the crowd. After all, it was my idea to start our Black Friday sale a few weeks early for in-store shoppers only. It’s a win-win—we get to clear out old inventory before the Christmas stock comes in, and customers certainly seem happy with the lower prices.
“Ooh, what does this do?”
One customer’s voice cuts through the noise so sharply, I can hear it all the way from the back office. Not a half second later, there’s a furious buzzing sound, followed by someone else shrieking, “How do you turn this damn thing off?”
I smirk at my laptop. Sounds like a couple buying their first vibrator. Good for them.
Lucky for me, the only chaos I have to deal with today is in the form of a spreadsheet. With Q4 coming to a close next month, I’ve got books to balance, which means I’ll be glued to my laptop all day instead of interacting with customers.
