I let out a harsh breath and pulled my head out of the fridge, glancing at my brother and the woman holding his hand.
“Hey, Madison.” Artie’s greeting came out awkwardly.
Which was unsurprising, considering we had definitely never been close.
“Hi.” I didn’t aim forsuper friendly. I just waved with my free hand as I carried my rag the whole two steps over to the sink.
“This is Emily. My mate.” Artie’s voice was still awkward when he gestured to her.
She was pretty, with big brown eyes, a slight build, and dark skin. The dress she had on from the wedding looked more punk rock than black tie, which I liked.
She smiled.
I waved at her too.
Yeah, that was awkward.
“Help me grab the couch first,” Bo told Artie. “We’ll need to stop at a thrift store to donate Madi’s furniture. It reeks.”
“It’s not that bad,” I grumbled.
“I don’t smell anything,” Emily agreed.
“Grizzlies have better noses than the rest of us,” Artie told his mate, flashing her a smile. It was more genuine than any look he’d ever given me. Except maybe annoyance.
How the hell had I ended up mated to my older brother’s best friend?
Neither of them had ever treated me well.
Maybe running away was still the best option after all…
“What can I do?” Emily asked me, crossing the apartment as the guys picked up the couch. I was fairly confident Bo could’ve carried the whole thing himself, but I wasn’t about to bring that up. If I did, I could end up trapped in a conversation with Artie. Yikes.
“We’re almost done. Don’t worry about it.” I tried to keep my voice light as I went over to the microwave, grabbing the rag Bo had left there so I could finish the job for him.
Emily made a noise of disagreement.
I glanced over my shoulder when she walked away, and my forehead creased as she grabbed the old, crappy broom that was leaning against the wall. Its bristles stuck out in every direction, and it was genuinely awful at doing the job it was created for. Bo had cursed at it twenty minutes earlier.
I eyed her as I worked on the microwave.
She used the awful broom to sweep beneath the couch the guys had just moved.
It was hard to imagine anyone choosing to marry my brother. Artie was a complete asshole, and not in a charming way. Or at least he always had been.
I guess I didn’t really know him anymore.
Considering how much things had changed between me and Bo, it wasn’t completely accurate to say Artie was still the person he had been the last time I saw him.
But it was still impossible to imagine someone wanting him.
Especially the pretty, spunky woman who was currently sweeping my shitty apartment’s floor with the world’s most useless broom.
Artie and Bo came back for another piece of furniture, so I quickly turned back to the microwave before I was caught staring.
Artie had never liked me. Creeping out his mate by watching her too closely wasn’t going to make him like memore.
Not that I needed him to like me.
