The Wrong Man (Alpha Men 3)

“I know. I’ll tell Mom and Daddy soon, too.”

“Well, my news seems like a damp squib compared to yours now,” Daff complained good-naturedly. “But Spence has finally acknowledged that it would be best all round if I moved in with him and Charlie. So you and I won’t be roomies. I never really thought you were interested in moving out, though. You’re such a homebody.”

“I’ll still be a homebody, but in a different home.” Lia could barely contain her excitement. “And I’m so happy for you, Daff. I can’t believe it has taken Spencer this long to give in. You’re like water dripping on rock, absolutely relentless.”

“And I’m really happy you’ll finally be chasing your dream, Lia. Who cares how long it took for you to get to this point? All that matters is that you’re here now.” Lia grinned—Daff could be so sage sometimes.

“So what happened at the PTA meeting last night?” Lia asked after they’d ordered their meals from Suzy.

“Oh my God, the drama,” Daff said with her usual dramatic flair. “The asshole math teacher called Charlie an ill-mannered, ill-tempered, ill-bred . . . That was as far as he got before Spencer hulked out on him. I mean, it was pretty sexy. Spence doesn’t get aggressive, but he was so pissed off that he seemed to expand to almost twice his size, and then he leaned down over the guy, like so . . .” Daff leaned over her wineglass and glared at it, reminding Lia a bit of Snoopy the beagle’s vulture pose. “And said, all quiet like, ‘I dare you to finish that sentence’ . . . Oh my God, I could have jumped his bones right there and then. The teacher practically wet himself before he stuttered an apology and said something about Charlie needing to focus more in class and to stop being disruptive. Spencer just gave him a disgusted look and told him that if Charlie fails math he, Spencer, will hold the teacher personally accountable and that was that. We left. In grand style. I did jump his bones soon after. And he asked me to move in after that. He said that he hates not having me around all the time . . . still no proposal, but this is a step in the right direction.”

“It definitely is.” Lia nodded enthusiastically. Suzy brought the requested bubbly and their food, and there was silence between them as they took a moment to sauce and season their food. After which Daff lifted her glass of sparkling wine and urged the bashful Lia to do the same.

“To my little sister getting her degree!” she said with a grin.

“To my big sister, moving in with her man,” Lia added, and they both giggled like schoolgirls before clinking their glasses together and taking a sip.

“So you saw Sam Brand last night?” Daff asked after the giggling had passed and they were focused on their food again, her voice much too casual. The subject change caught Lia by surprise, and she blinked before clearing her throat and nodding.

“Yes. He looks pretty rough.” She avoided Daff’s keen gaze and dug into her chicken schnitzel and mashed potatoes with what she hoped looked like relish. Quite honestly, the memory of how banged up and bruised Brand was made her lose her enthusiasm for the meal.

“I went around there this morning,” Daff said between greedy bites from her huge burger. Lia waited while her sister took her sweet time before elaborating on her initial statement.

“And?” she finally prompted when it looked like Daff was going to scarf down the entire burger without pausing for breath.

“What?” Daff asked around a huge mouthful of meat and bread. “Oh.” She swallowed and took a sip of water to wash it down. “He’s such a jerk. I definitely don’t like him—we’ll make sure the cabin is stocked until he’s able to get out and do some shopping himself, but I won’t be going around to help him out with food prep or anything. I don’t want to spend any more time around that douchebag than I have to. I don’t care what Spencer says.” The last was said so defiantly that Lia was willing to bet Spencer had already said quite a bit about her decision not to lend a neighborly hand to Brand in his time of need.

“He can’t really do much with his dominant hand incapacitated,” Lia said, recalling his frustration in attempting to get his shirt off the night before, and then she flushed when she recollected his chest once the shirt had actually come off. It took everything she had not to fan her flushed face.

“You okay? You look a little feverish,” Daff asked, and Lia flushed even more.

“It’s rather warm in here, isn’t it?”

“Not noticeably.”

“Anyway, I don’t think I’ll be seeing Gregory again,” Lia said, desperate to change the subject.