Page 5 of Just a Little White Lie

It was hard not to start drooling on the spot.

I wipe the edge of my mouth as Luke’s steps approach. Icannotbe thinking of my best friend’s little sister this way. Sitting up a little higher on the couch, I clear my throat and force a grin.

“Tough drive home?” I ask, muting the TV before throwing the remote down next to me.

Luke folds himself into a chair, slumping forward with a heavy sigh. “She was kind of quiet actually, which was unnerving in a whole new way. I’m used to her snapping or barking at me.”

I snicker. She is a bit of a pit bull when it comes to her older brother. I always found it hilarious. And if she wasn’t being pissy, she was laughing or singing or dancing around the room. I grin at the memories, then swallow, trying to shut them down.

Luke’s looking at me too closely, and it’s not like I can give anything away. No guy ever wants to hear that his sister is a hottie. It’s like a bro-code you just can’t break.

“So…” I clear my throat. “What are your big plans for her, then?”

“Well, she needs to get a job. Immediately. She doesn’t have time to mess around. Thirty grand, man? That’s huge.”

I nod, shooting him a sympathetic smile. I would offer to help him out, but I kind of don’t want to get caught in the middle of this mess. I couldn’t believe it when Luke told me what had happened. He got off the phone with his parents, all pale, and just gaped at the wall for a few minutes.

It took a little hand waving from me and an offer of a whiskey shot before he finally blinked and came to.

“I hate whiskey.”

“I know.” I raised my eyebrows at him. “How else was I supposed to get your attention?”

He snorted, then shook his head, his face crumpling.

“What’s going on, man?”

“Lauren.” He croaked her name, and my insides sizzled with a mix of fear and curiosity.

Is she okay?A flash of panic spiked through me until he started talking.

“She’s in debt. Like huge debt. Like, so. Much. Money.” He breathed out the words, and I had to fight the urge to laugh.

That was all?

No problem. Their parents were loaded.

“Okay, so…”What’s the big deal?

That was what I wanted to say, but I knew Luke would get all huffy.“What’s the big deal? What’s the big deal!”He’d say it at least twice, maybe even three times, his voice getting louder with each repetition.

“Our parents are flying her home, and they’ve asked me to take care of her. They don’t want to talk to her right now.”

“What? Why?” I couldn’t believe that. My parents would never cut me off, no matter what I’d done.

“She lied. She…” He closed his eyes, looking exhausted. “She owes them over thirty grand, and they want me to get her back on track.”

We just sat there in silence after that. I could tell the task was weighing him down, and I really didn’t have much I could say to make him feel better.

Lauren has always been a free spirit. Growing up with wealth, she didn’t have to budget or make careful decisions with her money. She’d obviously carried that right through into adulthood.

And now she’s living with me.

And knowing Luke, he’s gonna take his Mr. Fix-It role very seriously.

Oh man, Lauren’s going to hate it.

I bite back a snicker. It’s not that I want her to suffer or anything, but snappy Lauren has always been entertaining. As is funny Lauren, laughing Lauren, and singing Lauren. Studious Lauren is a rare sight, and thrifty Lauren… yeah, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t exist.

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