His Temporary Assistant

That was as good an excuse as any for my current…pants predicament.

“Eyes up here, pal.” She tapped her forehead. “Were you breaking in?”

“Hardly. The door was open. I was shutting it for you. Never know who’s around.”

“Wind did it,” Lucky muttered from behind me.

I glanced back to see him leaning against the wall, gripping his foot. His boot was lying sideways on the floor.

I probably should’ve felt guilty, but he knew better than to pull stunts like that. Nudging a door open wasn’t cool. She didn’t know us. The last thing we wanted to do was scare her or make her feel uncomfortable. And I was her new neighbor, for fuck’s sake. If he made things weird between us, I’d be the one dealing with the fallout.

“Look, we apologize.” I cleared my throat. “The music lured Lucky to your apartment, and the door wasn’t latched, so he made an ill-advised decision to open it. We apologize,” I repeated, glancing back at my best friend, who nodded with a sigh.

“Sorry, ma’am.”

“Ma’am?” She frowned and crossed her arms. “Just how old do you think I am?”

“Barely legal?”

She arched a brow at my quip. “Since I suspect that’s your attempt at flattery, I will say you’re both wrong. I’m not old enough to be called ma’am, though who is? And I’m also not young enough to remember having a fake ID to get drinks. Although I rarely imbibe to excess.” She flushed. “Well, unless bestie service calls.”

“How do I call you through that bestie service?” Lucky pulled on his boot and flashed her a winsome smile. “Truly, you won’t meet a friendlier guy in all of the Cove.”

“She’s new in town. Don’t scare her off already. At least I assume.” I gave her a smile of my own. One f

ar less toothy than Lucky’s.

“I’m fairly new to actually living in town, but I’ve worked here since last year.” She squinted at me. “Are you sure we haven’t met before?”

“Unless I was drugged unconscious, there is literally no way I could forget meeting you.” It was probably the most sincere thing I’d ever said, but Lucky snorted out a laugh just the same.

She just kept squinting. “I’ve seen you before. Are you—” She snapped her fingers. “August.”

I scowled. “I’m definitely not August. If you think I am, I’m leaving.” Not that I could go far.

Across the hallway. Yeah, that would soothe my wounded ego.

“His reputation as the hotter brother is on the line,” Lucky informed her. “Mind you, the only one who ever said he was hotter was Caleb himself, when he was preening in the mirror.”

“Caleb.” She rolled the name around in her mouth as if she was tasting a fine wine. “I definitely can tell the difference between you.”

Was that a subtle dig? Or maybe not so subtle? I threw back my shoulders and puffed out my chest. I didn’t think I was the equivalent of a body-building male model like my best friend, but I cleaned up quite well.

I’d definitely never gotten any complaints.

“August has a picture of you guys on his desk,” she continued. “You two and your sister.”

“How do you know August?” I wasn’t over being compared to him, even if it had happened my entire life.

I wouldn’t have said I suffered from middle sibling syndrome, but I had to admit I got testy sometimes. August was one of those guys who did everything well. He was a supremely talented craftsman, a good friend to practically the whole town, and now he had a perfect little happy family with Kinleigh and their baby.

But that was neither here nor there.

“I work for him. Well, technically, I worked for Kinleigh, before their stores and everything else merged.” She spun a damp curl around her finger. “They’re so happy. It’s lovely to see.”

I grunted. As did Lucky when he picked up the furniture he’d dropped, along with my end tables, and somehow managed to heft them all into my apartment in one trip. Then he banged the door shut.

“What’s his problem?” she asked.