She smiles sweetly. “Thank you. Would you like to come back to my office? We can have an impromptu interview?”
“Yes, thank you,” I say, following her back to her office where the baby is asleep.
“Don’t worry, he’s a deep sleeper. You have any kids?”
I shake my head. “No, no kids.”
“Married?” she asks.
“Nope, not that either.” I laugh out.
“Boyfriend?”
I press my lips together. “I hope this isn’t me failing your quiz,” I joke.
She laughs. “Not at all. I was just trying to determine how busy you are. Most people who have kids or are married prefer to work only Monday through Friday only so that they can enjoy a little time with their loved ones on the weekends.”
“I will take anything you have open. I’ll work nights, weekends, it doesn’t matter. I just really need a job.”
She smiles and holds out her hand. “You’re hired.”
I smile wide. “Really?” I ask, lifting my hand to shake.
“Really. Can you start right now? I can walk you through the register.”
“Yes, please,” I say, standing back up to follow after her.
I notice an envelope on her desk that reads: Destiny Slade. I can’t hold back my burning questions. “Are you related to Hudson Slade?”
She nods. “That’s my brother-in-law. How do you know him?” she asks, glancing back at me as she heads toward the register.
“Oh, he and my brother used to be really good friends back in high school. Which one are you with?”
“Wyatt,” she answers.
I nod. “I was so young, I barely remember Hudson,” I lie. “I never met any of his brothers.”
“How old are you?” she asks.
“Eighteen. I just graduated high school in Denver.”
“Any plans for college?”
I shrug. “I still haven’t made up my mind yet. I can’t really afford it right now, and I don’t want to worry about student loans. If anything, I might pick up some online classes or something until I make my decision.”
The rest of the day, Destiny walks me through using the register and how to open and close the store. We talk and get to know one another throughout the day. She’s super nice, friendly, and funny, and I can easily see myself becoming good friends with her. The store closes up at five, and she walks me through everything that needs to be done before giving me a key to open in the morning.
I get back to the apartment around five-thirty. I open the door and rush inside. “I got a job!” I cheer.
Brad is sitting on the couch, a beer in his hand. Another guy, I’m assuming the friend who’s looking at the apartment, is sitting in the chair with his back to me.
Brad’s eyes stretch wide. “What? That’s great news! Where at?” He rushes up to hug me.
“Destiny’s Boutique,” I answer, hugging him back.
When he pulls away, he says, “Dev, this is my friend, Hudson. You remember him, right?” He points toward the man, who turns his upper body around to see me.
I’m face-to-face with Hudson Slade. His blue eyes stretch wide and his jaw drops as he looks over at me. I watch as his eyes take me in from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Finally, he stands and moves to Brad’s side. “This is Deven? Your little sister?” he asks, eyes bouncing back and forth between me and Brad while his index finger stays pointed at me.
Brad smiles. “Yeah, it’s been a while, I know. She’s really grown up, hasn’t she?” Brad puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me to his side. “She just graduated high school and moved here to be with her big brother.”
“High school…” Hudson says, eyebrows skyrocketing. He holds out his hand to shake, a little smirk playing on his lips.
“Good to see you again,” I say with a knowing smile as I reach out and shake his hand.
He shakes his head so lightly that only I see it, and he lets out a little puff of air as the corners of his mouth stay turned up. “Yeah, you too. It’s been a long time. I didn’t even recognize you.”
“Hey, let’s celebrate. How about some pizza and beer?” Brad offers. He nudges my side. “As long as you won’t tell Mom that I’m letting you have a beer.”
I scoff, my eyes never leaving Hudson and his never leaving me. “I don’t even talk to Mom,” I reply.
“Good. I’ll be right back. Hudson, you good?” he asks as he starts to turn for the door.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Hudson says, finally forcing his eyes off of me.
Brad walks out and leaves the two of us alone. You could cut the tension between us with a knife. He watches as I slowly walk around the chair and sit on the couch. Slowly, he sits back down in the chair.
“Danielle, huh?” he asks, brows drawn together in anger or annoyance.
“Deven Danielle,” I say, trying to prove to him that I wasn’t exactly lying.
“Did you know who I was last night?”
This time, I do lie. “I knew you looked familiar, but I couldn’t place you. It wasn’t until later when I connected the dots.”
“And you haven’t told your brother?”
“Tell my brother that his eighteen-year-old sister has a fake ID that I used to get into a bar and then to fuck his friend? No, that must have slipped my mind.” I roll my eyes. How stupid does he think I am?
“Good. He can never know.” His eyes are wide. “Understood?”
I nod once. “Agreed.”
There’s a long silence between us for a couple of minutes. Finally, I feel so awkward, I have to break it. “So, you’re moving in here too?”
“Too?” he asks, eyes bouncing back up to me, surprise filling them. “You live here?” He points at the floor.
I shrug. “Well, I’m staying here for the time being. Just until I have enough money saved up to get my own place. Brad kind of saved me when I got kicked out of our mom’s boyfriend’s house.”
He hangs his head, shaking it as he rubs his eyes. “This is just fucking great,” he says under his breath.
“What is?”
“You. Me. Both of us living here with this huge secret between us.” He balls his hands into fists, causing his knuckles to crack. “He’s going to find out, you know?”
I laugh. “How’s he going to find out? I’m not saying anything. You’re not saying anything.”
“I’m going to have a guilty look on my face every time you walk into the room.”
I shake my head. “Oh, come on. What’s to feel guilty about? I’m legal. It was consensual. Nothing has been broken here. It’s not like you were my first.” I flash him a quick smile. “You were my favorite though. I can’t wait until we do it again.” I’m only teasing him, partly.
He jumps up and paces the floor. “Oh, no! It can never happen again.”
“Why not? Didn’t you enjoy yourself?”
He scoffs. “Of course I enjoyed myself.” He comes to a stop as he slides his hands into his jean pockets. “You’re…I mean, look at you.” He pulls one hand out and gestures toward me. “Any guy would be lucky to have a night alone with you. But me…us, it can’t happen again.” He shakes his head just as Brad walks back in with a box of pizza and a six pack of beer.
“Time to eat,” he says, passing us to head to the kitchen to set everything down.
I get up and walk past Hudson, shaking my ass a little more than necessary. I open the box and grab a slice of pizza. I take a bite and let out a long moan as the cheese pulls into strings from my mouth to the slice in my hand. I look over at Hudson, and his eyes grow in size as he watches me.
I set the pizza down onto a paper plate that Brad hands me and grab a beer. I twist off the top and take a long drink from the bottle. When I look back at Hudson, he’s swallowing something down, his Adam’s apple bobbing in this throat.
“Help yourself, man,” Brad says, stepping past him and taking his plate and beer to the living room.
The three of us all si
t in the living room, watching TV and talking while we eat. Brad and Hudson have a lot to catch up on, and I sit back and listen as they talk about what each of them have been doing since they last saw one another. Hudson tells us about his time in the army, and Brad tells Hudson about living in Denver, finishing school, our dad passing away, and having to stick around to support Mama and me until she ended up with the loser boyfriend she has now—the one that kicked me out.
As their conversation comes to an end, I look up at Hudson. “So, you have a girlfriend?” I ask, putting him on the spot.
He looks like a deer in the headlights. “Oh, um, no. No girlfriend. I haven’t been home long enough for all that.”
“Shit, man. All you gotta do is say the word and I can hook you up. There’s plenty of single women that work at the brewery with me,” Brad states.
I watch Hudson closely. He looks at me, then back at Brad. “Nah, I’m good, man. Thanks. I think, right now, I need to get my life in order before I bring anyone else into it.”
Brad nods. “Alright. Just say the word when you’re ready. I can have them lined up outside the door.”
I stand up. “Think I’m going to call it a night. Gotta open the store tomorrow.” I dispose of my trash in the kitchen before heading for the bathroom to shower. Now that the guest bedroom is going to be occupied, I’ll have to sleep on the couch. I hope that they clear out of the living room soon. I really do need some sleep. I haven’t had to get up early since I lived back at Mama’s. I have a feeling my life is about to change in more ways than one.
3
Hudson
Fuck. She’s beautiful. I knew she was beautiful last night when I took her out to my truck, but seeing her with sober eyes, she’s even more beautiful than I remembered. Her long, dark hair, rich chocolate eyes, and olive skin is enough to make any woman jealous. It’s enough to bring any man to his knees, even men like me who like to do the right thing by women. Last night, I did not do the right thing. I took her out to my truck and bent her pretty ass over the seat while I fucked her like a porn star. I guess this is what I get for making that terrible decision. Karma is paying me back. Now I have to look at her every day, but I’m not allowed to touch her.
Brad has always been the overprotective brother. Hell, when we were teenagers, he scared off little boys that didn’t do anything but chase her on the playground. I can’t imagine how he is now that’s she’s old enough to date and have guys sniffing around her. And I don’t want to find out. I’m going to keep my distance. I’ll ignore her. It can’t be that hard.
“I’m sorry about my sister, man. I really needed a roommate and she won’t be here long. She can crash on the couch while she saves up and finds her own place.”
I wish I hadn’t already agreed to move in. When I did, I didn’t realize the girl from last night was his sister and that she was living here. “Don’t worry about it,” I tell him, tipping back my beer and taking another swig.
He shakes his head. “I couldn’t turn her away, you know? She was kicked out of my mom’s and didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Your mom kicked her out?” I ask, surprised. From what I remember of Mrs. Olsen, she was always a good mom who loved her kids. Hell, she couldn’t even ground them without it breaking her own heart.
He nods. “Yeah, things really changed after our dad died. We’d only been living in Denver for about a year before he passed. It was up to me to help support the two of them. Mom was working three part-time jobs to try and stay afloat, but it wasn’t enough. I dropped out of school and started working at a tire factory. Then a few years later, Mom started dating the guy she’s with now. He’s a total asshole, but he got hurt on the job and got a huge settlement. He was at least able to provide money, a home, and put food on the table. But he and I, we clashed big time. I was used to being the man of the house. He didn’t like the way I did things and I didn’t like the way he was doing things, so I left the day I turned eighteen.”
“And what lead to Deven being kicked out?”
He shrugs. “Who really knows. Deven”—he shakes his head disapprovingly—“I guess she really went off the rails after I left. She turned thirteen and without any real supervision, she started getting into a lot of trouble: going to parties, drinking, doing drugs, getting arrested for stealing. Mom said she was sneaking out her window and running around with local drug dealers and gang members. She’s a bit wild, but I think she’s starting to settle down now that she’s here. Just be patient with her. She’s had a rough life. I was pretty much the only real parent she had after Dad. And after I left, I think she was left to fend for herself in every aspect of the word. It’s hard to do right when there’s nobody there to show you, you know?”
I nod and press my lips together. Deven doesn’t seem like she’s all that troubled. She seems to mostly have a good head on her shoulders. However, using a fake ID to get into a bar doesn’t exactly scream responsible. Neither does going outside with a guy you don’t know for a quick fuck.
It’s hard for me to believe that their family ended up the way it did. I always pictured them as any normal family. Brad’s dad worked hard at a local farm. Mrs. Olsen stayed home with the kids until they were in school, then she got a job as a cook at the grade school. She volunteered for all the school events and donated her time and baked goods. She was the head of the PTA, for crying out loud. And Brad, he was always at the top of our class. I guess all this answers my first question about why he’s back here covered in tattoos instead of running some big corporate business.
“I’m sorry to hear all this, man. Sounds like things have been rocky for your family since you left here.”
He nods. “It has. Things totally went to shit. But that’s also the reason I decided to come back. I have good memories here. Memories of my dad, our family when everything was good, us and all the trouble we used to cause.” He laughs out.
I nod along with him. “Yeah, we did have some good times.” I finish off my beer and stand. “Well, I guess I’m going to get going. I’ll pack all my things and head back over tomorrow with my half of the rent.”
He stands and walks me over to the door. “Sounds good, man. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He holds out his hand and we shake before I leave the apartment.
As I head down the stairs, I can’t help but think about everything Brad told me about Deven. When I look at her, I don’t see some troublemaking kid. She seems grown and mature, but I’m sure that’s because she’s been taking care of herself since she was a kid. More than anything, I can’t help but imagine the time we spent together. Her plump lips tease me. One look from those dark eyes causes goosebumps to race up my spine. And those long-as-fuck legs felt good wrapped around my hips. Why couldn’t she have been anyone else? All the women in this town, and I have to go and fall for her, my best friend’s little sister?
Being in the military and traveling the world, I’ve been with my fair share of women. But none of them had the lasting effects that Deven has had on me. Just thinking about sliding into her causes my pulse to spike. Just from seeing her again, there’s a yearning in my gut that’s pushing me to reach out and touch her, take her, make her mine.
I’ve never had to fight with myself over anything. I either wanted it and took it, or I didn’t want it and I had no problem leaving it alone. But now, now I want something I can’t have. My brain is fighting between right and wrong, taking what I want or doing the right thing and leaving her be. I have no idea which side will win out, but I know one thing for sure. This won’t be easy for me, but I’m ready to fight my hardest if it means doing the right thing and keeping my distance.
I pull back into Drake’s driveway and find him in the barn with a power saw going. I park the truck and climb out, heading inside. When the door opens, he looks up and shuts off the saw.
“Hey, what are you working on so late out here?” I ask, leaning against the work bench.
He sets the saw down and removes his safety glasses. “Oh
, just fixing up the loft. What have you been up to?”
“I found me a place to live.”
“Oh yeah? That was fast.” He takes off his gloves and grabs a beer out of the cooler.
“Yeah, I ran into one of my old buddies from high school. He’s looking for a roommate. He actually works at the brewery. Brad Olsen?”
“Oh yeah, right. He’s a good worker. I didn’t know you two used to be friends. It was my understanding that he moved here from Denver.”
I nod. “Before he and his family moved to Denver, they lived here. He just came back.”
“Well, good for you. So, what’s the plan?”
I shrug my shoulders as I fall into a chair. Drake comes to sit next to me. “I was going to focus on finding a job, but my head isn’t in it right now. I kinda fucked up last night.”
“You? No!” he teases. He knows that I’m a perfectionist who’s always trying to do what’s right. I don’t make any decisions until I’ve thoroughly thought them through. I don’t do anything on impulse—until last night, that is.
I nod. “I was having a few at the bar here in town, and this gorgeous woman comes walking in. She has legs a mile long, olive skin, chocolate-colored eyes, and smooth raven-colored hair. I couldn’t resist—it’s been so long.”
He laughs and shrugs. “Well, you are a man. How did you fuck up though?” His brows pull together as he watches me, trying to figure me out.
“Well, she seemed into me, so after a drink and a dance, I took her outside and we went at it in your truck.”
He laughs, his dark eyes lighting up. “Okay, but I’m still not understanding how you fucked up.”
“Well, I went to check out the apartment today. He showed me the place and I agreed to move in. Then his sister comes home…”
“Ohhhhh,” he says like he already knows the punchline to the joke.
“Turns out the woman from last night is his kid sister. She just turned eighteen and moved in with him when she got kicked out of her mom’s house back in Denver.”
Best Friend's Sister (Slade Brothers Book 5) Page 3