I was more embarrassed I’d dated him than concerned about my physical safety.
“I can handle myself.” I pulled Josh’s arm off my shoulder. “Call the moving company and cancel,” I told Alex, who’d been ignoring us and scrolling through his phone this whole time. “You do not need to move here. Don’t you have…stuff to do in D.C.?”
“D.C. is a twenty-minute drive,” he said without looking up.
“For the record, I am totally in favor of you moving in next door,” Jules piped up. Traitor. “Do you mow the lawn shirtless? If not, I highly recommend it.”
Alex and Josh frowned at the same time.
“You.” Josh pointed at her. “Do not pull any of your shenanigans while I’m gone.”
“It’s cute how you think you have a say in my life.”
“I don’t give a shit what you do with your life. It’s when you drag Ava into your harebrained schemes I’m concerned.”
“Newsflash: you don’t have a say in Ava’s life either. She’s her own person.”
“She’s my sister—”
“She’s my best friend—”
“Remember when you almost got her arrested—”
“You have to let that go. That was three years ago—”
“People!” I pressed my fingers to my temple. Dealing with Josh and Jules was like dealing with children. “Stop arguing. Josh, stop trying to control my life. Jules, stop provoking him.”
Josh crossed his arms over his chest. “As your big brother, it’s my job to protect you and to appoint someone to fill in for me when I’m not here.”
I grew up with him; I recognized that look on his face. He wasn’t budging.
“I assume Alex is the fill-in?” I asked in a resigned tone.
“I’m not a ‘fill-in’ anything,” Alex said icily. “Don’t do anything stupid, and we’ll be fine.”
I groaned and covered my face with my hands.
This was going to be a long year.