Page 192 of The Maxwell Brothers
Right now, though, I was in my office, waiting for my sister. She was unusually late this morning. I sipped my coffee while tapping away at my keyboard. I was organizing a volunteer experience for a high-profile blues singer. It was obviously for PR purposes, but it didn’t matter. At the end of the day, it was going to make a retirement community happy, even if it was just for a day.
I was also busy replacing Tyler as a coach to the kids. I’d had contingency plans in place from the beginning, of course, but I hadn’t anticipated that he’d be back with the team so fast. But this was nothing I couldn’t handle. The only downside of being so busy was that I hadn’t even managed to start working on the house. At this rate, I’d never get to it.
I was smiling like a fool the whole morning as I poured myself a cup of tea and opened my laptop. I even smiled while doing a particularly boring spreadsheet.
At ten o'clock, my sister finally arrived, looking like she hadn't slept all night.
"Party girl, how are you feeling?" I asked her.
"Oh, Kendra, I'm getting too old for this. Please remind me not to accept any party invitations during the week. I feel like I can't even put a sentence together."
"I'll make a black tea. That will whip you back in shape in no time." Emma sometimes preferred tea to coffee.
She yawned while shaking her head. "I doubt anything can get me back in shape today, but you're welcome to try."
I was so jittery that I was looking for an excuse to get up from behind my desk and move around. I prepared her tea at the small appliance table we had in the corner.
"What's up with you?” she asked. “You're a bit jumpy."
Right, so she thought she couldn’t string two sentences together, yet she still picked up on that? That was my sister to a T.
“I don’t know. I just have this nervous energy, but in a positive way. I’m smiling for no reason.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I think I know the reason. Tyler Maxwell.”
I cleared my throat, fiddling with my thumbs, feeling like I was a teenager confiding in my sister about my first kiss. “Yes.”
"Oh my God." Emma sprang to her feet, accidentally spilling the tea all over the table.
"Sis," I said with a grin, hurrying to bring napkins.
"Oh, forget it. I have nothing valuable—oops, except my laptop. Let me put that away."
I returned with a stack of napkins, cleaning up. She helped too, and after throwing them away, Emma sat down and massaged her temples.
"What are you doing?" I inquired.
"I'm trying to determine if I'm fit enough for a spill-it session right now, or if I should ask you to tell me everything later when I'm awake."
I barely held back a laugh. My sister didn't believe in delayed gratification. I would bet anything that she'd ask me to spill the beans right now.
Not a second later, she dropped her hands to her sides, rolling her shoulders and looking straight at me.
"Okay. I think I have enough neurons awake to listen.”
“But you already know everything.” I leaned against the edge of the desk.
"Yeah, but I’ve been missing something.”
"Are we going to get any work done today?" I asked.
“No, I'm declaring this Sisters Day. I don't think I can be of any use anyway, and by the look of your smile, neither are you. You’re falling for him, aren’t you?"
Sighing, I pressed a palm against my chest. Somewhere between spoiling the kids and spoilingme,he got under my skin.
I nodded.
"Wow, wow, wow," my sister exclaimed. "You've been holding out on me."
