Ben chuckled but did as I asked. Then he turned off the lamp next to him, plunging the room into darkness.
It was intimate and surprisingly comfortable. I could see myself here, doing this, on a daily basis.
And it felt right.
Fuck. Me. I was in so much trouble.
10
I'd mentally prepared myself to sit across from Ben Murphy at the table and pretend that we weren't humping like gorillas.
What I hadn't mentally prepared for was the family drama that developed between Cam and J.J. about five minutes after we walked in the door.
It started out nice and normal with J.J. giving Cam a huge bear hug that lifted her off her feet.
"Cam! How's my favorite little sister?"
She smacked him on the shoulder. "I'm your only little sister," she grunted. Then, she kept smacking him as she said, "Can't. Breathe. You. Jackass."
Seeing them together like that made me both a little jealous but more than a little glad I didn't have siblings. They loved each other but they tortured each other, too.
"You look...different." He frowned down at Cam.
She rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks. That makes me feel special. And you saw me seven days ago! I can't have changed that much."
He released her and tugged her ponytail, deftly evading her hand when she tried to slap his arm again. "I meant it in a good way, sis. You look kinda pretty."
"Kinda?"
His grin was positively evil when he answered. "I can't tell my sister she's pretty. It's weird."
And like the Cam I knew and loved, she obliterated that verbal opening like a wrecking ball.
"It's only weird if you ask her if she comes here often right after you tell her she's pretty."
I laughed as she headed into the dining room and poured a glass of tea. I greeted her brother. "Hey there, J."
He turned to me with that wicked grin still in place despite the fact that Cam had just zinged him a good one. "Sierra," he replied, his smile growing wider until he resembled a shark. "Hey, you're single now, aren't you? What do you think of my friend, Brody?"
Behind him, Cam choked on the tea she was drinking and started coughing her head off. I moved toward her, just to the left of J.J., and suppressed a smile. No way were she and Brody just friends. She might still be fooling herself about it, but she'd have to come to the realization eventually.
J.J. whacked her on the back a few times. "You okay, Cam? Jesus, what happened?"
It was obvious she couldn't speak, so I interrupted by saying, " Thanks so much for the offer to fix me up, J.J., but I'm pretty sure Brody isn't interested in me. And I'm not really interested in him."
He started to say something, but I shook my head at him, giving him my evil eye, and headed into the kitchen to say hello to Colette and Malcolm.
I'd just finished giving them each a hug when J.J. appeared.
"Hey, Sierra, I didn't screw up back there, did I?" he asked, looking chagrined.
Yeah, he had, just not in the way he thought.
"Not exactly. Brody and Cam went to the movies yesterday, so I think she was just surprised you were trying to set him up with me."
J.J. stared at me with wide eyes. "They went to the movies?"
"As friends," I stated, not liking the expression on his face.
Before the conversation could continue, the doorbell rang and my heart leaped in my chest. I knew it was Ben and his brother.
J.J. was out the kitchen door like a shot but I had a feeling that things weren't going to end well. Colette and I followed at a more sedate pace and Malcolm stayed behind to keep an eye on the food. And probably avoid the hugs. He was a sweet guy, but one hug a day, per person, was his limit, and he'd get those when we all left.
I arrived back in the foyer in time to hear J.J. say, "Unhand my sister, you scoundrel!"
I wasn't sure if he was serious or not, but Brody took it as a joke and asked, "What is this, the nineteenth century?"
Before J.J. could reply, Colette came up to Brody and gave him a hug, too.
"And my mother too? Pistols at dawn it is!"
"Have you been watching historical romances again?" Cam asked.
"I would never," J.J. stuttered.
"PBS or BBC?" Cam asked me, sotto voce.
I laughed, but I couldn't tear my gaze away from Ben, who was