Page 117 of Stepbrothers

“Mmm?”

“You look comfy.”

“I am.” She glanced up.

Trig stood there, jeans and a white t-shirt now, his hair freshly cut it seemed, and a rucksack hanging from his arm.

The deep frown line between his eyebrows had her belly rolling with nerves.

“Come join me,” she said as jovially as she could manage.

“How was the gym?” He took in her lounging clothes and hair hanging loose around her shoulders.

“It was okay.”

“Just okay?”

She shrugged.

“You didn’t go, did you?”

She hit pause and turned to him. “No. I didn’t.”

“Why not?”

“I didn’t want to.” She shrugged.

“But I told you to.”

“Perhaps I didn’t want to do what I was told either.” She tilted her chin.

He gnawed on his bottom lip. Didn’t speak. And then he dropped his rucksack to the floor with a clunk and stomped to the fridge. He pulled it open. “The salad is still here. The one I got for you.”

“I wasn’t hungry.”

“But hungry enough for crisps.” His jaw tensed, and he swept his gaze to the other side of the counter. “For fuck’s sake, you haven’t even taken your vitamin.”

“Lighten up, Trig.” She stood, swiped up her can of cola, and marched to the counter. She popped in the tablet and knocked it down with a swig of drink. “Happy now?”

“Not by a long shot.”

“You’re unhappy because I haven’t carried out all of your bloody instructions. You need to get a life, Trig.”

A frown plowed over his forehead, and his nostrils flared. “I’ve got a damn life. I’m trying to help you straighten out yours.”

She had a sudden realization that she was playing with fire. And if she wasn’t careful, she was going to get burned.

“You haven’t taken care of yourself,” he said in a low, distinctly dangerous voice. “And you’ve wasted an entire day.”

“That’s maybe what you think, but it was my time to waste. It’s my body to feed.”

He jerked his head at her laptop sitting closed on the dining table. “I don’t even need to ask if you did any of your reading.”

She clamped her lips together.

“’Cause it’s plain to see you’ve spent the entire day staring at the TV.”

“It’s the first day I haven’t had to work in a long time.” She turned away from his steely glare.

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