Love Next Door (Lakeside #1) by Helena Hunting

She ends the call before I can fire off a snarky comeback.





CHAPTER 20

BROTHERLY NO LOVE

Van

Bradley and Teagan don’t arrive until almost five. I’m guessing my brother is the reason for the delay. They’re also driving his lemon-yellow Porsche convertible. Bradley always likes to make a statement, and his car certainly does that. It screams rich, entitled, and ostentatious. At least my BMW is black and less in your face. Subdued pretention, if you will.

“Wow, this place is . . . more of a heap than I remember.” Bradley slams his car door shut and looks around, cringing when he eyes the pile of trash bags I have yet to take to the dump. They’re leaning against Billy’s car graveyard. Apparently, he has plans to fix them all up. I’m not sure there will actually be anything left of them by the time he gets around to it other than rust and dust, but they’re not on my property, and I honestly don’t care either way.

Teagan gets out of the passenger side. I smile at her outfit. It’s definitely her version of dressed down. She’s wearing a pair of high-top rhinestone-encrusted running shoes—likely bought as a gift from my dad because she said they were fun—camo-print capris, an artfully torn tank top that probably cost a small fortune, and Gucci sunglasses. Her hair is pulled up in her definition of a messy ponytail.

She runs over and throws her arms around me. “Don’t listen to him. He’s in a mood because he had to drive on a dirt road, and he’s worried about chips in his paint. I’ve missed you. I miss Sunday brunch and cocktail hours and sane conversations.”

I return the embrace, inhaling the familiar scent of Chanel No. 5, her favorite perfume, which also happened to be what our mother wore. Which means in two minutes or less she’s going to be swarmed by mosquitos and a whole host of other bugs that will find her amazingly delicious.

“Why don’t I grab your bag, and you can come inside. We can start with cocktail hour.”

“You have no idea how badly I need a drink.”

I grab my sister’s hot-pink metallic cheetah-print suitcase from the trunk and leave my brother to manage his own bag. It’s funny to watch him struggle with dragging it across the pebbled driveway.

“The deck looks new.”

“It is. Leveled it all and rebuilt it myself. Figured I had the time, and it wasn’t in very good shape.”

She threads her arm through mine. “Look at you being all handy! It looks great.”

“I don’t know why you’d bother to replace anything. Looks like a bonfire waiting to happen,” Bradley grumbles from behind us.

“Bradley, don’t be such a grump.” She squeezes my biceps. “I love this place. It’s so . . . rustic and cozy. I can’t believe I haven’t been here since I was a teenager.” She opens the door for me. “Oh wow. I don’t think it’s changed one bit.”

“That’s a pity,” Bradley sighs.

I arch a brow. “Dude, are you trying out for the morose emo teenager role in some community production, because if you are, you have it nailed. Rest assured you’ll get the part.”

He gives me an unimpressed look. “Ha-ha.”

“Seriously, go take a nap and hit your reset button. No one is forcing you to be here or wants to listen to you bitch about the lack of five-star accommodations. If it bothers you so much, you can take a drive to the other side of the lake and knock on some doors. Maybe someone will adopt you for a couple of days.”

“Oh, now that’s an idea. I heard there’s all kinds of retired hockey players with places out here now. Do you think any of them have college-aged daughters who are looking for a mature, employed date this weekend? Or just a hookup.” I’d laugh, but by the look on my brother’s face, I think he’s being serious.

“Do you think hooking up with the daughter of a former professional athlete is a good idea? Also, this seems premeditated, which means you’ve actually thought about this. Probably in more detail than is reasonable.”

“Of course I’ve thought about it.” My brother drops his bag on the floor and doesn’t bother to take off his shoes as he walks across the carpet, surveying the cottage with mild disgust. “Have you seen the cribs these guys have? Top-of-the-line everything. And I’m a good catch. I have a job; I have a nice car; I’m nice to look at. What more could a woman want?”

“Someone with an ego that isn’t the size of Canada.”

“I’m just stating facts, Van. It has nothing to do with ego. Don’t be sore because you’re unemployed and I’m better looking than you. Imagine marrying into a family like that. The wedding present would probably be a house. Maybe one on this lake.” He grins, likely enjoying my irritation. Bradley is very good at pushing my buttons.

Teagan rolls her eyes. “You’re not better looking than Van.” She turns to me. “He talked about this the entire time we were in the car. He tried to rent a party barge on the way here so he could hatch his master plan, but since he doesn’t have a boater’s license and there’s no trailer hitch on the Porsche, he couldn’t.”

“You can’t tell me it wasn’t a good idea. Party barges are all the rage. Everyone has one. When you have a job again, you should definitely get one.”