Page 84 of Lucky Mother Pucker

He clears his throat. “Yeah. I’m day trading.”

“What is that?” I don’t bother to disguise the irritation in my tone. That doesn’t sound like a real job.

He frowns, like he’s pissed at my question, but I don’t care. This guy has been unemployed for months, living for free off of my sister. I have a right to ask him about what he does for a living.

“It’s basically buying and selling stocks day to day.”

“Huh. That sounds pretty volatile. And unstable,” I say.

My sister gives me a pointed look, silently scolding me.

Jeff purses his lips. “Well, it’s working out pretty well so far for me, so I guess that’s all that matters.”

He tugs at the lapel of his tux. The tux that my sister probably rented for him. That annoyance inside of me seeps into anger.

“You couldn’t get a normal office job?” I ask, the curtness in my tone crystal clear.

“Leo.” My sister says my name in that firm, warning tone.

Jeff slides his arm around her again, pulling her close. He flashes a smug smile, dialing it back when he looks at her. “It’s okay, babe. He’s just being a protective brother.” He looks at me. “All you know is hockey, so it’s probably difficult for you to understand what work life is like for the rest of us.”

I grit my teeth at his passive-aggressive dig at me.

“You’ve never had a job, have you, Leo?”

“Hockey’s my job,” I say sharply. “When I graduate, my job will be playing it professionally. But you wouldn’t know anything about that.”

That smug smile disappears. “You’re right. I’m not a hockey player. I’m also not the kid of a retired hockey pro. I haven’t had everything handed to me. I’ve had to work for what I want in life.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Weren’t you unemployed for like six months?”

He glares at me.

“Aren’t you living in my sister’s house, letting her take care of everything? The housework, the expenses, all that?” I don’t let him answer. “It sounds like you’re getting stuff handed to you too.”

“Guys, come on,” Zoey says. “Let’s not do this here.”

I feel Lucy tug on my hand. “Listen to your sister,” she says quietly.

That anger swirling through me fades.

“I’m gonna make another work call,” Jeff mutters as he walks off.

Zoey grabs his hand, but he pulls away. She turns to me. “Could you maybe lay off of him, just for one night?”

I tug a hand through my hair. “Zoey, come on. Do you really expect me to just stand here and say nothing while your boyfriend gloats about his new BS job?”

She exhales sharply and reaches up to tuck her long, dark hair behind her ear. That’s when I see a dark spot on her arm.

“What happened there?”

She looks down at the small bruise and shakes her head. “What? Oh, that. It’s nothing. I was reaching up to grab my phone from the nightstand and hit my arm on it.”

She glances at where Jeff walked off. “I should go after him.” She turns back to me. “You were a jerk.”

“Zoey, I’m just trying to look out for you.”

She purses her lips. “I’m your older sister, Leo. I don’t need you to do anything for me. Back off.”