Page 34 of Ella Gets the D
“Ow!”
“What are you doing here?” The question comes out in a screech.
“I heard Ella scream.”
“So you sprint in here with a sword?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Are you okay?” With Morgan now a few inches taller than him on her stilts, he has to peek around her shoulder to ask me.
“Of course she’s not!” Morgan’s bracelets hula hoop around her wrist when she spins to face me. “The poor thing can’t talk since you barreled in here with a katana sword.” She points a finger in my direction. “Look at her!”
Please don’t. Not when I’m imagining your brother reenacting a Jodeci video with baby oil.
“Ella.”
Morgan and Julian favor each other with their rich chocolate hue and flawless skin. He might be the baby brother, but he clearly towers over her when she’s not in heels.
“Ella.”
“Huh?”
Julian’s stare eases to match his tone. “You okay?”
Not with you standing here shirtless for me to ogle in front of your sister.
The care and attention Julian has provided in less than twenty-four hours is more than I ever received from my pendingex-husband. The man ran up from the basement with a sword, ready to attack whatever entity threatened my safety.
“Yup, never better.” Morgan’s gaze shifts between us. “Just…” My eyes drop to the front of Julian’s sweatpants before I blink my inner thot away. “Tired.”
His smirk says I’m neither fast nor smooth.
Focus on your friend.
“I didn’t expect to see Morgan this early,” I add.
She crosses her arms and turns to her brother. “And I didn’t expect you back in the States until next year. Why are you here?”
His brow rises. “Do I need a permission slip to be in my own house?”
Morgan rolls her eyes and reaches for her pocketbook. “I hope you called our mother.”
“Relax, I’m swinging by later. It was too late by the time I got in.”
Her eyes narrow. “Where did you sleep last night?”
Shit.
Morgan has yet to meet a mystery she couldn’t solve and will piece together the sequence of last night’s events like a game of Clue.
This is new territory—her protective big sister energy, not the sleuthing. Morgan the nosy friend is a person I know well. Morgan the sibling is a different story. She acts like I handed myself keys to the townhouse and waited in bed for her brother to fly home.
Forget the fact that I’m still married and have zero interest in dating right now. The only thing I am guilty of is climaxing in a dream that turned out to be real. She doesn’t need to know that, though.
The headshake I give Julian is subtle enough for Morgan to miss. “Crashed on the couch.” His eyes are still on me beforethey shift to his sister when I clear my throat. “Stopped by Swigs before I came home and couldn’t make it up the stairs.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” She lets out a nervous laugh. “I don’t mean to—” She laughs again and motions between us. “What are the odds you’d come home early and find someone living in your home?” She winces. “Shit, I should’ve asked you first.”
“You think?” There’s no heat in Julian’s stare. Only love.
