Page 77 of Cuffed By Love

Mira turns and jumps when she sees us both watching her. “Jesus.” She utters, pressing her hand to her chest. “How long you been there?”

Levi chuckles, licking his lips. “Well, I don’t know about Jesus, but we’ve been here a good few minutes. Please don’t stop on our account, little Tinks.” The fuck?

My head snaps over to Levi when I hear him use my nickname for her. It seems Mira was just as surprised because her eyes flicker to me before she wrinkles her nose in distaste and shakes her head. “Oh god, please don’t call me that…ever.” She warns, pointing the wooden spoon at him threateningly. “It’s bad enough your brother still calls me Tinks. I don’t need you both doing it.”

I smirk inwardly. You tell him, baby. Only I call her Tinks—no one else can. Levi chuckles and holds his hands up in mock surrender. “Fair enough. I’m sure I can find a more fitting nickname for you. Baby girl, perhaps?” Mira pins him with a po-faced look.

Baby girl? Why the fuck would he call her that? I roll my eyes, “How original.” I mutter acidly, and Levi laughs.

“Mira will do just fine, thank you.” She tells him evenly, and I smile. That’s my girl. “Anyway, I hope you knuckleheads brought your appetite because I made a frittata.”

Levi walks over to the stove and peers over her shoulder at said frittata, and pokes her sides playfully, making her jump. “You better believe it, Princesa. Smells scrumptious…” Levi expresses and proceeds to murmur something else to her that I couldn’t work out. Given how red Mira goes, I’m assuming it’s not about the food.

Fucking hell, here we go again. Growing up, Levi has made it his mission to shamelessly flirt with Mira to piss me off. We’ve always butted heads when it came to her, and nine years later, it seems nothing has changed. I love my brother, but my resentment for him when it comes to Mira still burns deep. Do I blame him? No, how can I? Mira’s special, she’s a catch, and any guy would be lucky to have her and deserving of my envy because he gets to have her in a way I never could. Not physically but emotionally. Yes, we’ve had sex, but I never got the one thing that mattered, I never got her heart, and the man she chooses to give it to will be one lucky bastard.

“Levi! You son of a bald hamster. Can you not wait till I plate up?” Levi almost chokes on his mouthful of frittata when he laughs at her insult.

“It’s so good.” He garbles with a mouthful of food and winces when she swats him with the cloth in her hand. I chuckle and join them to eat. Mira rolls her eyes when I grab a fork and join my brother to eat right out of the pan. The food was amazing as per usual. So much so that Levi and I fight over the last piece. “Oi stick to your side, you little shit,” Levi grumbles, pushing my fork away with his own. “That’s my terrority.”

“You took the first bite from my side, so this piece rightfully belongs to me.” I carp, pushing his fork.

“You should have claimed it then, idiot. Get lost.”

“Why would I claim something that’s already mine, dickhead. You get lost.” Mira watches us in bewilderment while we squabble over the last piece of food.

“Jeezus, you’re like a bunch of five-year-olds still fighting over your toys. You realise you’re both grown men, right?” Mira states and cuts the piece down the middle into two parts. “See, it's not hard to share.” She adds with a roll of her eyes. Levi and I exchange glances and scarf down the last of the frittata. That little spat wasn’t about the food; it was about her just as it always was, but she didn’t know it then, and she still doesn’t now.

As I said, we’ve been butting heads for years.

* * *

After we finishour food and help Mira clean up, Mira and I sat at my glass table in the den to go over our pitch for our meeting with Samantha Wickham in the morning.

“What do you think?” She questions, biting her lip while she looks down at the iPad in front of us.

“I think it looks great, Tinks. We’ve covered everything from marketing to international production. If she doesn’t go for this, then I don’t think we’ve got a chance. We’re pulling out all the stops for this woman when seven other publishers rejected her. What’s the factor most indie authors struggle with when publishing a book?”

“Marketing.” Mira states, and I nod.

“Exactly, while other publishers expect the authors to do the work to market and promote their books, we’re taking that burden from her and still offering a substantial royalty share,” I explain, leaning back in my chair, and she places her elbows on the table and drops her head in her hands.

“I know, but I just feel we’re missing something.” Mira sighs, swiping through the presentation. I can sense her unease, so I take her hand into mine and brush my thumb over her knuckles.

“We’re not,” I assure her tentatively. “We’ve covered everything.” Mira lifts her gaze from the iPad and looks at me. I hold her gaze steadily, and she does the same.

“Bro, why didn’t you mention Megs was coming?” Levi queries, walking over to us. Mira tears her eyes from mine and draws her hand back, and rests it in her lap.

“Oh, she is?” Mira questions also, and I inwardly curse my brother’s idiocy. I was just about to tell her, and he beat me to it.

“Yes, she is,” I reply and look back at Mira. “She’s managed to free up a week, so she’s coming to see me and check in on dad, too. She should be here tomorrow evening.”

Mira smiles and nods, rubbing the back of her neck. “That’s great. I can only imagine how much you’ve missed one another. Fingers crossed we nail this meeting, and we get these handcuffs off, or you may not live to see Tuesday morning.” Mira jokes, but her smile doesn’t reach her eyes.

“And if you do, I might have to make myself scarce for a day or two and give you some privacy. I don’t fancy listening to you humping like rabid bunnies.” Levi chuckles, slapping and squeezing my shoulder in a brotherly manner. Mira, who was taking a sip of her coffee, almost chokes and coughs a little.

“Thanks for that imagery, Levi.” Mira gripes with a shudder and slides out of her chair. Thank you very much for putting that image in her head, you absolute dickwaffle.

“They’ve not seen each other in almost three weeks. I’ve got a feeling you won’t be walking straight for a few days, brother. You lucky ducky.”

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