Page 77 of Don't Leave Me Behind
“It kind of is, isn’t it?”
“Dammit,” Miya whines. “Do I have to move back home to have hot sex?”
“Hell no!” I wag my finger at my phone. “The only single guys worth dating out here are my brothers, and I love you, Mimi, but you can’t.”
She gives me an evil smirk that makes me narrow my eyes. “Jeez, I’m kidding. Leni, your brothers are hot, but I don’t want to bang them.”
“I do.” Pepper sticks a sucker in her mouth before tapping her chin like she’s thinking. “Which one is the one who never smiles in any of your photos?”
“Brooks!” I squeal, pretty sure I’m sick to my stomach now. “No, take it back, please.”
“What? He’s got flannel daddy vibes written all over him.”
“Oh my God, please.”
“Help me out, Mimi…”
“Sorry, I’m definitely not into Brooks. Once you meet him, I think you’ll understand. The guy could look at crops and have them shriveling up because he’s so intense.”
“Okay, but you said her brothers are hot, plural. So if Daddy Brooks doesn’t do it for you, then who does?”
“Please, for the love of God, stop.” I rub my hands over my eyes, trying to scrub the vision of Brooks and Pepper out of my mind before it can fully take form. The girls become suspiciously quiet. I peek around my fingers and catch Miya mouthing Adler’s name. “Jesus Christ, Mimi, leave my baby brother out of this.”
“What? He has that bad boy thing to him, and Ethan…in a suit. God.” Her shoulders shimmy like a shiver worked its way down her spine.
“Like, business suit, or swimsuit?” Pepper pops the sucker out of her mouth with a loud noise. With anyone else, the gesture would almost be vulgar, but it’s just Pepper being Pepper.
“Take your pick there, hon. Shit, maybe I should come back to visit this summer.”
“Stop fantasizing about my brothers!”
“Fine.” Pepper pouts. “I thought you’d want me to be happy, Leni.”
“You can be happy without fucking one of my brothers. Plus, unless you want to be called mommy, you definitely want to take Brooks off that list.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Miya spews her drink across the table while Pepper shrugs. “He could call me mommy any day.”
“Pepper Cinnamon Basil, keep it in your pants for five Goddamn seconds. What do you mean, Leni?” Miya triple-naming Pepper gets the younger woman to shut up, leaving me with the perfect opening.
“First, I have no details because he isn’t talking, buuut...Thursday morning, he was just Brooks, and then this morning, he texts us a picture of him with a baby, and tells us she’s the newest addition to the family.”
“Oh my God.” Miya sits back in her chair, lookingabsolutely horrified by this revelation. “He barely takes time to sleep. When the hell did he knock anyone up?”
“I don’t think he did,” I say, because I honestly don’t think that’s what happened. “I won’t know for sure until he tells us, but I’m not entirely sure she’s his. Biologically, at least.”
“Color me intrigued.” Pepper sits up, propping her phone against something on her coffee table as she adjusts her camisole.
“That’s where my idea comes in, Pep. He’s looking for a nanny.”
Miya snorts, but Pepper sits up straighter, her eyes brightening. “Wait, really?”
“Yeah! So, you should totally come to the ranch this weekend. You can meet him, and we’ll convince him to hire you. Then you can live here with me, and I wouldn’t have to miss you.”
“Stop,” Miya whines. “What do you mean, live there with you? I thought that was just talk? I thought you were delirious because Clay is good with his tongue.”
“That’s not the only thing he’s good with…” I hide my face again, barely holding back a smile as Pepper giggles in the background. “I haven’t decided yet, but Pepper could come for the summer. I’m probably stuck here until fall anyway.”
Miya grumbles something under her breath, then flips me the bird.
