“Why’d you even have a golf cart? You’re only thirty-two. Plus, you live on the beach, not the links. We did you a favor.”
“That favor cost me a shit ton. And is one of the many reasons why you’re not sleeping here again, but you can hang out if you agree to my terms.”
“Whatever you want, Rome. You know me—I’m easygoing.”
I snorted. The last thing Nix was was easygoing. He was drama and attention grabby and so much damn work—I didn’t have the energy for any of it. But I had to protect King and Zoe. “One, you only enter this house when I am home.”
“What? You don’t trust me?” Nix laughed.
“No, I don’t.”
“It was one party. I mean, look at this place—it’s a panty melting palace. Can you really blame me?”
“I blame you for a whole lotta things. But I got shit to do today, so I really don’t have the time to list them all.”
“Ouch. You know, you’re really starting to hurt my feelings here.”
“You’re a big boy—I think you can take it. And two, if I find any drugs or drug paraphernalia in or around my place or King’s place, you’re out. I don’t care if it’s minutes before the service. You’ll be gone.”
“Fine.” Nix blew out an impatient breath and looked anywhere but at me. “Anything else?”
“That’s all I can think of right now. Of course I reserve the right to add rules to the list when and if I want.”
“You’ve been spending too much time with your lawyers, bro. You’re so freaking uptight. The pucker factor is way too strong for this early in the morning.”
I just shook my head and made for the fridge. I had about fifteen minutes before Kevin would be barking at me, and I needed something in my stomach. Grabbing the hard-boiled eggs and a container of fruit salad, I headed for the opposite side of the island from Nix and leaned against the counter. “So what’s new with you?”
Nix snorted. “I take it you aren’t keeping up with the tabloids?”
“You know I don’t read that trash. What’d I miss?” I popped a whole egg in my mouth and chewed.
Most of the tension left Nix’s body as he slouched in his chair. “Nothing much. Got in a fight at some club in New York with some reality show douche. And I got tossed out of my suite at the Plaza.”
“Just a regular weekend for you.” I ate another egg and washed it down with some water. A year ago, I would’ve been worried about Nix, but now it was more of the same, really. I couldn’t count the number of times he was in the tabloids for drunken nights out, fights, and evictions.
I’d always be worried about my brother, but at some point, I’d had to step back. Every time I tried to talk to him about cleaning up his act, he blew up at me and ran away—sometimes all the way to the opposite coast.
The little shit had never been good at listening to either of his older brothers.
Nix snagged one of my eggs and dumped a tablespoon of salt on top. Damn, I missed salt. “I did hook up with this hottie in the bathroom before the fight and you—”
“Rome, are you out here?” Sophia’s voice echoed down the hallway, making Nix stop talking. “I had a question about your Wi-Fi and—oh, I didn’t realize you had company.”
I turned and just about swallowed my tongue. Sophia stood at the edge of the kitchen, holding her open laptop, and not wearing much. Her tiny shorts left miles of toned, tanned leg on display, and her thin shirt peeped a sexy sliver of toned belly. I could tell by the jiggle of her chest that she wasn’t wearing a bra, and her nipples pressed against the soft material. With her heavy brown eyes and hair all down and wild, she looked like I’d spent the night rolling around in bed with her.
I wished.
“Holy shit.” Nix smirked as his eyes crawled all over Sophia’s body. “I totally get the appeal now. I think I need a dogwalker, too.”
“Watch it.” I bit out at my brother before turning to Sophia. “My little brother, Nix, is in town for the funeral. He’ll be staying with King, so you won’t be seeing much of him.”
“Which, can I just say, breaks my heart,” Nix drawled dramatically, his hand over his heart like some lovesick fool.
Annoyance and something else I didn’t want to name boiled under my skin. He always had to needle me. Every. Freaking. Time.
Sophia’s eyes bounced between us before she gave me a bewildered look. She turned back to Nix and frowned. “Uh, okay. Nice to meet you, Nix. Sorry we won’t be able to spend time getting to know each other. I guess. Um, Rome, I’m having a problem connecting to your Wi-Fi this morning. Is there some trick or does the router need to be restarted? And if so, where is your router?”
“Wait, so you come in here looking likethat,and my brother doesn’t even give you a good morning kiss? Or a grope or something?” Nix sends me a what-the-eff-is-wrong-with-you look.