allowed on the couch.”
“Does he know that?” Sutton asks, flashing me a mischievous grin. “Where’s my bone?”
I toss it on the ground, and Zeus finally breaks free of my sister’s spell. He jumps to the ground after it. “If I’d known you were coming… not that you go in for that kind of thing.”
“Never say never.” Her blue eyes flash as she jumps up to greet me. Before I know it, I’m locked into a Sutton-grade hug. Sutton never lets go first. She squeezes extra tight, and she doesn’t give a shit whether you want a hug or not. I pretend to hate them, but really I just don’t know what to do. I don’t have much experience in the hugging department. Unlike me, Sutton received a permanent placement with a wealthy foster family. She’d been young enough to benefit from their stable family environment. She even called her foster parents Mom and Dad. None of that makes her any less of a Ford, in my mind. “I came to rescue you.”
“I don’t remember needing to be rescued,” I tell her, “but it’s good to see you.”
“Well, you stopped responding to my texts a few days ago,” she says, referencing the now infamous—in my mind—conversation Adair had accidentally read.
“I’ve had my hands full,” I say, moving into the kitchen to put things into the fridge. I leave out the cheese and fruit I bought and begin unloading the rest.
“I know. Jack caught me up.” Sutton snags a grape, flashing her bright purple manicure. “Sounds like you’ve really stepped in it this time, big brother.”
“I have,” I say, trying to sound casual, “which is why you should get your ass back to New York.”
“I can handle myself,” she says defensively.
I shoot her a look. We’ve had this conversation before. Ever since she showed up at my place in Manhattan, I’ve done my best to keep Sutton away from the less savory aspects of my life.
“I did just fine when Noah Porter came looking for you,” she says.
I drop the knife I’m using to chop tomatoes.
“Noah found you.”
“Showed up at my dorm.” She pops another grape, like the FBI showing up at NYU is a daily occurrence.
“Why didn’t you call me?” I ask. The last thing I need is him dragging her into this, even if she thinks she can handle herself.
“It’s not like he was honest with me.” She rolls her eyes, propping her feet on the barstool and hugging her knees to her chest. “He told me he needed to ask me about my family. I figured it had something to do with when we were kids. I told him I’d been in foster care since I was eight. Then he asked me about that and if I had any contact with my family. I thought he meant dad, so I said ‘nah,’ and then he left. He did give me his number.”
I stare at her through the entire rambling account. “He gave you his number? Or his business card?”
“His number,” she says, leaving no room to doubt what she means. “I have it somewhere. Do you want it?”
I’m going to kill him. Of course Noah would hit on my baby sister. Trust Sutton to attract a man like him. She’s too pretty for her own good, and she’s got a pistol for a mouth. It’s just the combination an alpha male like him goes for. If he only knew.
“It’s not like I’m going to call him,” she says, misreading my face. “Not the same team, remember?”
“How did you figure out he was looking for me?” If I spend another second thinking about Noah trying to flirt with Sutton, I’m going to find myself in jail for murder by nightfall.
“Luca told me.” She freezes, grape in hand, then winces.
“Weren’t supposed to tell me that, were you?”
“If you would keep me updated, I wouldn’t have to! But you went radio silent. What was I supposed to do?” Her shoulders square as she gets fired up. In another minute, she’ll be a five-foot-three, one-hundred-and-ten pound fireball.
“You’re not the one who’s in trouble,” I say calmly before she explodes.
“Luca just told me you had your hands full with MacBitchFace.” Sutton screws up her nose to remind me exactly where she stands when it comes to Adair.
I take a deep breath. This isn’t going to go over well. “About that…”
“Yeah,” she stops me. “Jack told me about that, too. What the fuck are you thinking?”
“I’m in love with her.” I might as well face