My specialty was in architectural design, not business management. But whatever the problem was, it was keeping Dereck from being here on time, and I was nervous.
Not only had I never brought anyone home to meet Jerimiah before, but he also had never had to warn me about anyone.
And how wrong he was about Dereck.
Dereck Anderson might had been a player, but he was devoted to me now. I knew that. I could see it in his eyes. After all, it was me who had spent nearly every night in his bed for the past few weeks. And I just needed to let Jerimiah see all that. I knew once my brother saw how Dereck was with me, he would come to like Dereck as his sister’s boyfriend.
I sat on one of the barstools. Rachel was working tonight, but she had been ignoring me since the moment I walked through the door.
Good.
I didn’t blame Rachel for flirting with Dereck. I knew the effect he had on most women and men everywhere. It didn’t mean I had to like it, because I didn’t.
I hated how I’d felt that night when I saw Rachel shooting a flirtatious smile his way. She was everything I wasn’t, bold, confident, and she owned her sensuality in way I had never done before. Or at least, I had never done until Dereck.
Old insecurities came into play for me at the sight of them together, and I admitted I wasn’t proud of how I’d handled things, but that was over and done with, and now that I had Dereck, I wasn’t giving him back.
Sorry to all womenkind out there, but Dereck Anderson was officially off the market.
I smiled to myself at that. Who knew I could be so possessive over anyone, let alone someone like Dereck? But I soon realized that when it came to him, I wasn’t just possessive, I was downright selfish.
The barstool one seat away from me was pulled out, and a woman sat there. Normally, I wouldn’t pay attention to the other patrons, but I could smell the woman’s strong perfume from where I was sitting, and it was giving me a headache. I sneaked a side glance at her, only to find her already staring at me…
More like glaring.
I frowned. I had never seen this woman before in my life, but she was looking at me like she hated me, and for the life of me, I couldn’t think of why that was. My frown deepened, and I held her gaze. I wouldn’t look away first, and a few seconds later, she did, shifting around a little in her seat.
She would have been beautiful if it wasn’t for her sour disposition. With long chestnut-brown hair, big brown eyes, dark skin, full red lips, and a slender build, she was the exact opposite of me. She looked sophisticated and mature. And mean.
I let out a small huff of annoyance, and almost startled out of my seat when someone placed a glass of what looked like soda in front of me.
I looked up into the bright blue eyes of my older brother.
He smiled. “Hey, kid.”
I gave him a smile back. “Jerimiah! You’re here early. I thought you couldn’t get here until eight?”
“Nah, I got out of the meeting early. I didn’t want to make my baby sister wait in the bar for me. Got keep all the ugly bastards away from you.”
I rolled my eyes at that. Jerimiah had always been overprotective of me. I think it was the result of having lost both of our parents young, and at the same time.
“I’m fine. And what is this?” I asked, pointing to the glass he had placed in front of me.
“Diet Coke. Your favorite.”
I pouted a little. “What if I wanted a mojito?” I didn’t drink at all, but I once saw someone order that on TV and had wanted to try it ever since. “What’s the point of having a brother who owns a bar if I can’t even get a free drink?”
He raised his eyebrows at that. “Sweetheart, you’re not even old enough to order a drink.”
“What?”
I jumped at the exclamation and turned to see Dereck standing there. Oops. I guessed we never got around to telling each other our age.
I knew Dereck was a lot older than me. In his early thirties, at least. I never thought to ask, because then that would bring up my age, and I didn’t want him to think I was too young.
“How old are you?” he asked sharply.
I shot him a disgruntled look at the tone of his voice, and he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. When he opened them again, his green eyes had softened, and there was an apology in them.
I smiled a little at that, and he seemed to relax after that.
“Twenty,” I said, a little bashfully. “I’ll be twenty-one in two months.”
I had skipped the third grade and graduated a semester early from high school. That was why I had graduated at only twenty while most of my classmates were twenty-one and twenty-two.
I hoped he didn’t think that was too young. But by the way his shoulders relaxed, I knew he didn’t care too much about it. After all, it was nothing more than a number.
“How is my little sister’s age any of your fucking business?” Jerimiah asked. I looked back at my brother and found him glaring at Dereck.
This was not good.
It was time to abort the mission. I needed to calm Jerimiah down first before I brought them back together again.
I looked at Dereck and tried to convey with my eyes that he should leave before Jerimiah grabbed his shotgun, but Dereck was unconcerned. And he probably had a death wish, because the next thing I knew, he was moving in closer to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
I looked back at my brother with wide eyes, and Jerimiah’s face changed from mild annoyance to murderous in a fraction of a second.
