One Night Stand-In (Boyfriend Material #3) - Lauren Blakely Page 0,6

said he didn’t know what kind and it was too confusing and he was just wandering the aisles not knowing what to buy.”

I scrub my hand across my chin, looking away.

“And what did you do?” he continues like a prosecutor.

I glance at the headbanger, who’s now air drumming. I wish I had massive headphones on right now. I wish my hearing were noise-canceling.

“I called the store and told the store manager what kind to put aside for him,” I grumble.

Reid’s lips twitch in a victory grin. “But that’s not all.” He wiggles his fingers. “Serve it up. Every detail.”

“I paid for it for him,” I blurt out. “There. Are you happy?”

He crosses his arms, grinning. “A little bit. Now, tell me again why you said yes to this new request?”

I heave a frustrated sigh. “It’s fine. It’ll be easy. How long can it possibly take to gather his things? He hasn’t forwarded me the email from his landlord with all the details yet, but it’ll take maybe a day, tops.”

“A day you don’t entirely have to spare.”

“Then I’ll make a deal with the landlord and buy him off.”

He arches a dubious brow. “Do you hear what you’re saying?”

“I do.”

“And you realize you’re thinking of paying off a landlord to help your twenty-five-year-old brother?”

I wave a hand dismissively. Reid doesn’t know the half of it. Helping Rowan is what I do. It’s what I’ve always done. Because somebody has to. “It’s not a big deal,” I insist.

“Maybe not this time. But perhaps next time he asks you for a favor, consider saying no. You do it so well with strangers. Try it with family.” He demonstrates, nodding at an imaginary person. “Thanks, but no thanks.” Then another. “Appreciate the offer, but I have to decline.” Then one more. “No fucking way. I will not pick up your stuff all over Brooklyn, and if you’d have asked me to watch your laptop, that would have been a ‘hell no’ too, complete with a spank for being stupid.”

I roll my eyes. “And on that note, I’m going back to work, since tonight I’ll have to collect his things.”

But before I can wake up my laptop, the redhead exits the restroom and marches straight over to me.

“You’re not only an asshole—you’re an arrogant asshole.” Then she leans in close to Reid, getting in his face. “And for the record, I was going to give you my number.”

Reid blinks, called on his bullshit.

Then she adds, “Fake digits. I was going to give you fake digits. I heard you singing along to Taylor Swift, so I figured you were harmless.”

He scoffs. “There is nothing wrong with Taylor Swift. Also, I didn’t want your digits,” he shouts as she storms out the door, laptop tucked under her arm.

I hold my hands up in surrender. “See? It all worked out for the best.”

We return to work. But a few seconds later, my phone bleats loudly.

My brother. What does he want now?

I hit mute so it doesn’t ring again, then tell Reid I’ll take the call outside.

“Who’s going to watch your laptop?” Reid asks innocently. “Taylor Swift?”

“You are, because I saved you from that woman,” I say, then dart outside and answer the call. “What’s going on?”

“Not much,” Rowan says, with a laugh that sounds forced. “Everything is great.”

My hackles go up. “Let me ask again. What’s going on now?”

Rowan clears his throat. “Listen, it’s no biggie. Everything is cool. I mean, it will be when we get our stuff back, plus the security deposit, which we’re totally going to need. Anyway, I just sent you the email with the details. But there’s one little thing I forgot to tell you, and I need to let you know now before we board this cruise.”

I groan. “Your stuff isn’t in Brooklyn?”

“No. It probably is. I mean, that’d make sense. I’d have to look at the email more closely to know for sure, and I didn’t read it yet because it was super long and annoying and messing with my mojo. But that’s not the point.”

A ship’s horn cuts through his voice, and I can’t hear a word he’s saying. When the horn ends, he says, “So, you don’t mind, do you?”

“Mind what?” I ask, my jaw ticking as the May sunshine dares to peek out from behind a cloud. It should be raining. It should be fucking pouring right now.

“You don’t mind that Luna asked for help too?”

I let out a sigh of relief. “No, that’s fine, of course. It’ll