Page 12 of Dare Me

“Me? What did I do?”

“Other than not shut up? Jeez! You ask a bunch of questions and never give me a chance to answer them!”

“Oh,” he said with a laugh. “Sorry.” He rested his arms on the bar. “So what’s going on?”

Jamie really wasn’t the right person to share her thoughts with. He was sweet and goofy, but she knew he’d rat her out to her parents in a heartbeat.

So…she went with a lesser issue.

“I guess I’m nervous about where I’ll live when Liam gets back. I don’t think he’ll throw me out right away, but I’m sure he’s not going to want his little sister living with him either.”

“You got that right,” he muttered.

“Hey!”

“What? You know I’m right.”

Sadly, she did. But if things worked out the way she was hoping, it wouldn’t be an issue for long.

“You should just talk to Patrick at dinner. I’m sure he can help you find something,” Jamie went on. “It’s worth a shot.”

“I suppose…” It was the only thing she could say since it really wouldn’t come to that. Hopefully she’d hear back about the job tomorrow and then she could just move forward with her search in Chapel Hill.

“Or,” he interrupted again, “you can just ask Liam at dinner.”

“What?!”

Grinning like a total loon, Jamie reached over and gave her a poke on the tip of her nose. “You should see your face!” He laughed maniacally for a moment before leaning on the bar again. “Yeah, he called earlier and told Mom he’d be home for dinner and to set an extra plate because he’s got a Marine buddy with him.”

Dread pooled deep in her belly. “Should I go back to the apartment and pack a bag or…or…crap!It wouldn’t be such a big deal if it was just Liam, but he’s bringing a friend? What are the odds of that?” Groaning, Arianna let her head gently bang against the bar. “What am I gonna do?”

“First, you need to relax,” her brother said, all signs of amusement gone. “For all we know, the friend is staying at a hotel tonight. So I say just…you know…don’t do anything yet and then just talk to him after dinner.”

“You think?”

He nodded. “And if Liam throws you out, you know we’ve all got couches you can crash on for a few nights.” He paused. “Just know you’ll have to share mine with all my laundry that I refuse to fold.”

Arianna knew it was true but seriously hoped it didn’t come to that.

“I feel weird about this.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a family dinner,” Will replied. “Your family would probably like to have it be just you joining them. I can just drop you off and go to a hotel for the night.”

“Would you stop?” Liam said with a laugh. “Jeez, what’s with you? You were less nervous about going into combat operations than you are about dinner. What’s going on?”

So many responses came to mind, but he went with the most logical.

“Look, I didn’t have a big family growing up and honestly, I kind of feel like I’d like to decompress a bit. No offense or anything, I would really just like to go someplace and relax and not be in the middle of your family reunion.”

It sounded completely plausible and it wasn’t a total lie.

“Okay, I get it,” Liam replied. “But…I already told them you were coming and it’s just dinner and then you can escape to my place. I’ll give you the keys and I swear I won’t say a word about you leaving early. Come on. What do you say?”

“I say that it’s getting really freaking annoying how you constantly have to get your way,” he murmured. “If this is how it’s going to be with the business, we’re doomed.”

And he was only partially kidding.

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