Page 42 of Heart Strings & Hotlines
“Jenni.” I swat at my friend’s shoulder.
“What? The kid’s thirteen. Has anyone had the birds and the bees talk with her yet?”
“Woman. Enough.”
“Kara?”
“Jenni!” I hiss, wanting to strangle her.
“Yeah?” Kara is enjoying my discomfort, or maybe she just enjoys being part of the girl group. I’d have given anything to have this conversation with anyone other than my brother.
“Pause. Stop. Give me two minutes before you say one more thing.”
Jenni raises her brow, but smirks as if she knows exactly what I’m about to do.
And she’s probably right, as I duck outside with my phone to call Thane.
“Lottie.”
“Hello to you to, Thane.”
Silence. “H—Hello.”
“This is all kinds of weird, I’m sorry. Never mind.”
“Lottie.” Oh, I like the command he wields much more than I have a right to. “What is it? Is Kara all right?”
“Oh, yes. She’s getting her hair fixed, and she’ll be beautiful. I’m about to overstep a line that’s not meant for me to cross, and I don’t know how to prevent it.”
“Do you want to?” If I didn’t know better, I’d almost believe he was smiling on the other end of the phone.
“It’s…complicated.”
“Explain.”
I pull the phone away from my ear and glare at the screen. He really doesn’t have phone etiquette down either.
“Well, there are some, um, conversations I would have shaved my head for if it meant I didn’t have to have them with my brother.”
More silence.
“Well, and somehow the salon has fallen onto a topic that is in no way my place to discuss with your sister, but then I remember how my conversations went, and I would have loved to have someone, anyone, that wasn’t my brother explainingthingsto me.”
“What things, Lottie?” His voice is strained. Is he mad?
I swallow audibly. The gulp can probably even be heard through the phone. “Okay, well you said you wanted me to help you with Kara, right?”
“Yes. Whatthings, Lottie?” His husky voice is hypnotizing.
“Ah, Jesus. Um, girl things. And sex things, and?—”
“Come again? What things?” His tone has dropped to a decibel so low it vibrates through my chest.
“Girl things. Sex things.”
“Sex. Things.”
I should not be turned on by two words, but said in that voice, as though he’s struggling to hold on to his composure, has me hotter than I’ve been in years.
