a big project for a docuseries. I volunteered to come and Mum even packed you a big care package.” His gaze flicked to me. “Besides, I’d like to get to know my new brother-in-law and see a bit of sunny California.”
With every bit of news he delivered to Kat, she seemed to grow even tenser.
I stepped forward, glancing at their bags. “It’s late to get a room somewhere. You’re welcome to stay here. Fair warning, I don’t have a spare room set up but we have some air mattresses.”
Perhaps I did it to be nice and cut the tension. Perhaps I did it to get her back for tying me down to that crappy family reunion my mother was so obsessed with. Or perhaps I did it because having other people in the house would be safer. This one fact decreased the likelihood of us repeating last night’s shenanigans. In that moment, I wasn’t exactly sure which was the real reason.
Kat’s eyes went ginormous and before she could speak, Derek moved up beside her and slipped an arm around her shoulders. “C’mon sis, truce? Please? I come in peace bearing Aero bars and Mackintosh’s toffee. Also all-dressed chips, Smarties and Swedish berries. I heard you can’t get any of those in the States.”
Kat’s jaw bulged where she clenched it. “You’re the one who likes the toffee, not me.”
“Then I’ll help you eat those… or maybe Lucas will like them. Share a bit of your culture with him, eh? But you can pig out on all the Aeros and the chips and other stuff. Lots of fun junk food. Sorry I couldn’t bring you fresh Timmy’s donuts but they wouldn’t keep.”
Kat’s skin appeared even paler, and she looked at the floor in front of her. I’d never seen her like this, like she had no idea what to even say. Derek must have noticed, too, a concerned frown on his auburn brow.
He glanced up at me. “Thanks for the invite, Lucas. Very kind of you and we’re happy to accept your hospitality.”
Kat gently extricated herself from her brother’s grasp and he dropped his arm. Wow, this was so bizarre. Not only the obvious tension between them but the complete change in her demeanor.
“No offense, but I’m not quite understanding how you were even allowed to leave the country,” she ground out.
Huh, this reference and the one about the lawyer had me thinking about those legal envelopes. Another one had shown up today. Did they have something to do with her brother? Or some trouble they were both in? Or maybe it was a lawsuit of some kind? Were Canadians as litigious as Americans? I had no idea.
“We got in a car and drove. It wasn’t hard.” He bent his head as if to catch her gaze while smiling up at her. “C’mon sis, are we cool? Because if so I was told to snap a selfie with you the minute I saw you and send it to Mum.”
She blew out a breath and rolled her eyes while Derek sidled up to her again and held a camera up to their faces. Kat tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled tightly for the selfie.
While Derek fiddled with his phone, presumably to send the photo to their mother, Kat turned to me, motioning toward my bedroom. “Babe, can I speak to you in private for a minute?”
I nodded and followed her down the hall to my room, shooting a look back at our strange new guests. They were each fiddling with their phones and not paying us any attention.
After shutting the door, I waited.
Kat’s shoulders slumped immediately, and she ran a hand through her thick, long hair pushing it back from where it hung over her shoulder. Like a dog tracking his favorite treat waved in front of his nose, I followed the movements. As usual, the powerful urge to touch that hair came with it. I shoved the longing aside and concentrated on the situation at hand.
“What on earth were you thinking, inviting them to stay here?” she finally asked.
I blinked. “I was trying to be nice to a member of your family. Besides, your brother seems like an all right guy. His buddy is a bit of a dick but…” I shrugged. Her gaze on me hardened, and I frowned. “What? You actually wanted me to turn your brother away?”
She shook her head absently and looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t know. I just… I think it’s