Chapter Sixteen
The chalet Edison rented sat right on Lake Tahoe. Sammy hated to admit it, but Edison had done a bang-up job choosing the place. It was huge—two stories, with seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a vaulted living area, as well as an attached rear unit with two additional bedrooms. There was more than enough space to house the entire Yu clan and their plus-ones. But the best feature wasn’t the massive fireplace or the tricked-out kitchen—it was the extra-large hot tub in the backyard.
Sammy had been itching to check out the tub all day, but now that he was here, he’d rather drown himself in the lake.
Because guess who was in the tub with him? Olivia, dressed in a bikini that made him glad no one could see what was happening south of the border, so to speak; his twin horndog cousins Kyle and Lyle (yes, the rhyming was on purpose), who couldn’t stop drooling over her; Kevin and Lydia, who kept shooting shit-eating grins in Sammy’s direction for no discernible reason, and fucking Edison.
Sammy would have more fun at an execution party with Attila the Hun and Vlad the Impaler.
“Are you sure you’re twenty-nine? You don’tlooktwenty-nine.” Kyle stared at Olivia’s chest. “Do you like younger men?”
Sammy groaned while Olivia stifled a laugh. Kyle and Lyle were juniors in college but well on their way to becoming the biggest players in the family. It didn’t help that they were both athletes at the University of Michigan—football for Kyle, hockey for Lyle—ensuring they had a steady stream of girls throwing themselves at them. They were so cocky they made Kanye look humble.
“Thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment.” Olivia didn’t touch the “younger men” question.
“Are you and Sammy dating?” Lyle asked. “He’s never brought a plus one to a family outing before.”
“No.” Olivia snuck a glance at Sammy, who was too busy fighting the urge to strangle his cousins—all three present—to notice the flash of uncertainty in her eyes. “We’re old, uh, friends and current roommates.”
“Roommates?” Kyle and Lyle chorused, eyes wide.
“How the hell did that happen?” Kyle pointed an accusing finger at Sammy. “You never told us you had a roommate.”
“Because it’s none of your business.”
“Screw that. Tell us,” Kyle pleaded, turning to Olivia.
She laughed and gave a quick rundown of what happened to her apartment. Even Kevin and Lydia got into the story, making sympathetic noises when she told them how half her belongings got ruined and how her landlord offered her a measly $500 as compensation.
“How nice of you to let her stay with you, Sammy-poo.” Kevin’s grin grew as he used the childhood nickname Sammy despised. “You’re a stand-up guy.”
“Sammy’s always been a gentleman,” Lydia piped up. “Don’t you agree, Olivia?”
“So, since you’re roommates, do you bang every night?” Lyle asked before Olivia could respond. “What?” His tone turned defensive beneath his older cousins’ glares. “Isn’t that the point of having a roommate of the opposite sex?”
“No, dumbass. Stop making Olivia uncomfortable or I’m kicking you out of the tub,” Sammy threatened.
Lyle scowled. “You can’t kick me out. It’s not your tub.”
“Anyway.”Edison’s loud voice interrupted their bickering. He wore an annoyed frown, clearly irritated that their attention wasn’t focused onhim.“We all know Sammy’s great, yadda yadda. But you should’ve come to me, Olivia.” He slicked a hand over his hair. “I’m a lawyer. I could’ve sued the hell out of your landlord and gotten you a huge settlement. I’mthatgood. Did I tell you I made partner?”
“You made partner?” Kyle’s eyes widened, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”
Edison had, of course, seized any and all opportunities to brag about his new partner status throughout the day. There was a running bet among some of the Yu’s as to how many times he would utter the P-word that weekend. Sammy had bet ten bucks on thirty to forty. Hell, they were already at thirteen, and it was only the first day.
He covered up his laugh with a cough as Edison glared at the football player. He took it back—the twins weren’t that bad.
“That’s all right.” Discomfort filled Olivia’s face. “I didn’t want to sue anyone. I just wanted a clean place to live.”
Sammy had been nervous as fuck about seeing Edison and Olivia in the same room before the trip. Memories of their kiss still haunted him, and he’d had no clue what to expect. But the two had mostly ignored each other—which Sammy was more than fine with—until now.
If Edison didn’t stop leering at her, he was going to rip off his cousin’s arms and beat him to death with them.
In any other circumstance, Sammy’s violent thoughts would’ve alarmed him, but this was Edison they were talking about. He would’ve been alarmed if hedidn’thave violent thoughts toward the jerk.
“Well, you know you can reach out at any time.” Edison smirked. “You have my number.”
What the fuck?