Lynn signed off, and Suz tucked her phone away, turning to grab her seat belt right in time to see a familiar face appear beside her driver’s door.
“I’m afraid I have to write you a ticket for loitering.”
They were never going to grow up, but Suz hadn’t been lying when she’d told Pepper she’d learned to appreciate her family. “You put my name down on your little pad, Chase, and I will tell Mom about the time you opened all the Christmas presents early to see what was inside before wrapping them back up.”
Chase frowned. “Stop holding that over me. I was twelve.”
“Never. You know you’d never get another Christmas present from her again if she found out, and if anybody is a Christmas junkie, it’s you.”
It was a standing joke, and Chase accepted her teasing with a smile. “I heard you stopped in at the shop. Everything okay?”
“Peachy keen and twice as sweet.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Got a couple of friends who are moving into The Towers. I’ll introduce you to them sometime. Good kids.”
“Oh, so friends isn’t code for something more explicit.”
Suddenly Suz had an inkling of what Parker was going to feel like having people talk sex and Pepper in the same sentence. “I’ll just pretend you didn’t bring that up.”
All six foot four of annoying sibling stood back from her car, putting his sunglasses back in place. “Introduce us sometime. And take care of yourself, little sis.”
“I always do.”
She made sure she was buckled up before pulling into the traffic, because no matter how close they were, her siblings would have no problem slapping a fine on her and laughing while doing it.
Family. Couldn’t live without them, but sometimes it would be nice to try.
Chapter Seven
Jack let Pepper in later that evening, surprised to find her outside his door at seven o’clock sharp. Punctuality had never been her strong suit, so the fact that she was actually on time startled him.
Though not as much as the flicker of unease in her eyes.
“Hey.” He furrowed his brow. “You okay?”
She brushed past him and dropped her purse on the hall table. “I’m great. Kendra and I signed a lease today, which means I’ll be out of my folks’ house in less than two weeks. Halle-frickin’-lujah.”
Now he frowned, trailing after her as she headed for the living room like she owned the place. “I’m sure it hasn’t been that bad living with them again.”
She sighed, tossing her hair over one shoulder as she flopped onto the couch. She was wearing tiny denim shorts that revealed a helluva lot of firm, golden thigh, and a tank top that was so low cut he was momentarily distracted by the creamy swell of her cleavage.
“It hasn’t been happy fun time central, either,” she answered. “Dad is being his usual overprotective self, and Mom has been bugging me for weeks to consider working at DreamMakers permanently.”
Didn’t sound at all bad to Jack, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to antagonize Pepper right off the bat. But still, he often thought her attitude toward her very loving, very supportive family was a tad…ungrateful, maybe? Insensitive? But she was also young, and she’d never had to experience the other side of the spectrum—a family that didn’t support or protect you at all. A family in which you were totally and utterly invisible.
Pushing aside the bleak memories, Jack joined her on the sofa, sitting right next to her and slinging an arm over her shoulder. When she tensed, the frown returned, deeper than before.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
Pepper shifted, her teeth digging into her perfect pink bottom lip. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit. I’ve known you forever. I can tell when something’s up with you.”
Other women might have voiced another denial, flashed a cheerful smile, and pretended he was imagining things, but Pepper Wilson wasn’t other women. She was notorious for speaking her mind, and after only a brief moment of hesitation, she opened her mouth and did just that.
“I feel weird about this,” she said frankly.
Jack arched a brow. “This?” he echoed.
“Like you said, I’ve known you my whole life. You’ve seen me throwing temper tantrums when my parents wouldn’t let me watch an hour more of TV. I watched you go through your horrible zit-face phase. God, I was hiding under Parker’s bed the day you told him about losing your virginity to that airhead Elaine Tomilson—”
He blinked. “Wait, what?”