She looked like apple pie and homemade cookies – assuming the pie was poison, and the cookies were filled with sand.
She was trouble.
Even the way she moved was getting under my skin.
From the sidelines, Roy and his video camera captured her movements in one long, candid shot. When Arden gave the camera a worried glance, I had to stop myself from jumping between her and the guy wielding it.
Not my problem.
And yet, I was still looking.
I watched in silence as she turned and disappeared behind the house. When Roy turned away, seeking another target, my shoulders relaxed, and I let out a long, unsteady breath.
Chase said, "Nice ass, too."
I felt my fingers clench.Arden's ass was none of my brother's business.
A dumber guy would've told him so.But me? I knew better.
I knew what Chase was doing. He was trying to get a rise out of me.
I wasn't biting.Without turning to face him, I replied, "If you want her, go ahead."
But even as the words left my mouth, I knew that if he put the moves on her, I wouldn't like it.I wouldn't stand for it either.
And I wasn't the only one.
If Chase hooked up with her, Mason would lose his shit long before I did. He wasn't a forgiving guy, and Arden had committed the ultimate sin. She'd messed with something important to him – and I didn't mean the truck.
Chase laughed. "Nice to have your permission."
He didn't need it.He didn't evenwantit. He was just stirring the pot, as usual.
I looked to him and said, "Don't you have a hammer to swing or something?"
"Sure," he said, glancing at his watch. "But not for ten minutes."
As part of the show, we'd already restored nearly forty houses now. We had a system, and it worked well enough, even on days like today, when my brothers were sticking their noses where they didn't belong.
On the upside, they'd be gone by noon.
I'd done the schedule myself. Mason and Chase would spend the morning ripping down drywall or taking a hammer to something or other.
And then, when the crews broke for lunch, my brothers would go back to their primary gigs – Mason running the company and Chase making sure that our products kept on selling.
And me?I'd be staying here to get the job done.
I wasn't complaining. The show made our company a shit-ton of money, and the job was important. I liked what I did, and wouldn't trade places with anyone. This included my two brothers.
Next to me, Chase said, "She's not as crazy as I hoped."
I stiffened. "Who?"As if I didn't know.
"Arden," he said. "I figured she'd be giving off that crazy vibe, like a freak in the sheets, you know?"
If he meant his own sheets, I didn't want to hear it.
But I still wasn't biting. "Trust me," I said. "She's crazy enough." I frowned. "But notthatcrazy. I mean, she's no freak, if you know what I mean."
