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“No, he just,” I huff, rubbing a hand against my temple. “He freaked me out.”
I’ve never heard my brother sound as serious as he does when he asks, “How?”
“He started acting weird. At first, it was little things, like going through my phone while I was asleep and asking my friends to verify my time with them, but then he started following me. He tried to play it off like it was just a series of coincidences, but it was too often to be accidental. I quit answering his calls and even stopped inviting him over, but…” I take a breath, not wanting to think about the next part much less say it out loud. I go with the amended version; Dane doesn’t need to know the whole truth. “He broke into my apartment and refused to leave.”
“So, you ran.”
“I didn’t run, you ass.”
“You did. You always do. But at least this time, you ran straight into your baby brother’s arms.” Dane throws his arms wide, reaching for me with grabby hands that I have to slap away.
“No, shitstick, I ran straight to Peaks. You were an afterthought.”
Dane’s loud and bright laugh reminds me of the only other man I’ve spoken to today. “Why Peaks? You don’t even like sports.”
“I, uh,” clearing my throat, I try to shake the image of Theo leaning over me from my mind. “I needed a drink after the terrible drive.”
“What was that?”
“What?”
“You’re hiding something.”
My eyeballs couldn’t handle the level of eye roll that statement requires. “I am not.”
“You are!” Dane kicks one of the feet wedged beneath my thigh, nearly toppling me over the far side of the couch. “Who is he?”
“No one important.”
I want to take the words back the moment I’ve said them. Dane immediately sits up, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “So, it is a guy!”
“No! I just ran into someone I know—knew—a long time ago. It doesn’t matter.”
A dark smile spreads across Dane’s face, and I have to hold back an exasperated groan. “Ohmygod, you’re being so evasive right now! Do you have a crush on this mystery man?”
“You’re ruining my moment of personal growth, asshole. I finally came home! That’s a big deal.”
“Yeah, Mom is going to lose her shit, but I’m not Mom,” he waves a dismissive hand as if he’s physically swiping the conversation out of the air between us. “Tell me about the mystery guy.”
“There is no guy!”
“Oh, no. Is he ugly?” Dane sounds so sympathetic to my plight of crushing on an ugly man that I want to smother him with one of the decorative throw pillows.
“He is definitely not ugly.”
“I knew it!” His triumphant shout is accompanied by his hands shoving excitedly at my shoulder. “How hot is he? Like, wreck your life, hot? Or just come home twice a year for a fun time, hot?”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I try to hold back the laugh bubbling up in my chest as I slap his hands away, leaning across the couch so he can’t reach me anymore. “I just spent twenty minutes telling you about how disastrous my last relationship was, and all you care about is some guy I ran into at Peaks?”
“Yes.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll be forced to ask Theo.”
My heartbeat picks up at the name coming from my brother’s mouth. “Theo?”
“Grady, yeah. He was working at Peaks tonight. Some shit went down earlier, and he got called in to cover for Merrick. Which I only know because your baby brother got called in to cover for Theo.” He looks unusually proud of himself, but before I can come up with some half-assed congratulations, his phone lights up on the coffee table, an alarm blaring through the speakers. “And there’s my cue. I gotta get ready for work.”
