Been There Done That (Leffersbee #1) - Hope Ellis Page 0,15

change of pace. Of course, I offered use of the house’s unoccupied side until she got acclimated with the town and found a place of her own.

After a while, I started questioning why I had to get rid of either the house or Leigh. She was one of my favorite people, she understood me more than most people ever did, her rent checks deposited just fine, and we had fun when I was home. As for the house, I came to accept its deficiencies as part of its character, like an aging beauty queen who, having retained all of her grace and charm, sometimes required assistance to climb off the couch.

Thank God for my brother, who usually supported my questionable choices with a minimum of fussing.

Usually.

Leigh smirked at Walker and leaned against the counter, chin propped up on her fist. “You know you love me. Don’t think you’re fooling anyone, pretending you’re here for Zora. I know you missed me.” She turned back to the counter to snatch a piece of paper towel from the roll.

Watching the hungry expression move over my brother’s face as his gaze tracked the curve of her backside, I wasn’t sure Leigh was wrong. She wasn’t exactly covert in her appreciation of him either as she turned back, squinting up at him after conducting her own thorough perusal of his tall, solid form. The air grew thick with sexual tension and I rolled my eyes heavenward.

After the day I’d had, after seeing Ni—him, I didn’t have it in me to play audience for my best friend and my brother’s constant will-they-won’t-they (spoiler alert, they never did) flirtation.

“Why are you here again?” I rubbed my forehead.

Walker seemed to rip his eyes from Leigh, his stare softening. “Your sink? Let me help, Z.”

A reluctant rush of affection warmed my bruised heart. As chaotic as my brother’s life was, he took the time to check on his wayward baby sister. He looked so much like my father: same shade of chestnut brown skin, same deep-set dark eyes, same dimpled jaw. But there was enough of my mother there to soften his otherwise rough-cast face. Walker and I shared the same freckle-dotted high cheekbones and fuller bottom lip.

Fortunately, he’d inherited very little of my father’s hard-nosed pragmatism and had more than a decent dose of my mother’s nurturing streak. My sisters and I all agreed he did his damnedest to hide it, though.

“Walker, I’m fine, and I’m sorry you drove all the way over here for nothing. You didn’t have to come over, but I appreciate the sentiment. If I ever think you’re dead in your house, I will return the favor.”

He ambled over, gaze fixed on mine, and roughly palmed my forehead the same way he’d been doing since I was a little kid and he was the older, annoying dictator of a brother tattling on me for every damn thing.

“It’s more likely you’d be dead in your office,” he quipped, wrenching my head back so far my neck threatened to snap. “I thought I’d stop here to gather clues first, just in case.”

I slapped at his hand while Leigh looked on, shaking her head at our antics. She hopped up, resettled Felicia, and went back to the task of my fridge.

“I’ve got enough shit on my plate without having to worry about claiming your corpse.”

“Oh, please.” Leigh turned back to level him with a smirk. “Nobody wants to hear about your so-called hard-knock life, Golden Boy. What, you’re overwhelmed with being photographed for billboard ads? You’ll need to wait your turn to unburden yourself. Zora looks like she just might win this round of Who’s Suffered More.”

Walker scowled at her back. “Debatable. But if the way she looks and smells is any indication—”

“Hey! I was at the gym earlier today! I worked out!”

“We’ll have to see,” he continued, unperturbed by me pinching what little fat I could grab from his side. “Usual terms? Loser buys dinner for all?”

“Might as well.” Disgust sat heavy in Leigh’s voice as she tossed a container of indeterminate contents into the trash. “There’s no chance of salvaging anything from this landfill.”

“Deal. Whatever I want?” Walker sounded hopeful.

Leigh swept the contents of the counters into the open mouth of the trash can, throwing an arched look back at him as she did so. Felicia sniffed the air around the trash can before scurrying away, toenails clattering against the hardwood floor as she headed into the relative comfort of the living room. “Confident, aren’t