"Okay by me," Cam said, his attention shifting to Mina. "How about you? Does the idea of a gingerbread pancake tickle your fancy?"
"Always," she said. "But I can't." She swallowed, feeling weirdly disloyal. "I, um, promised a friend I'd meet him for a drink. Maybe go dancing. You know. Friday night and all that."
"Uh-huh," Darryl said, hoisting himself off the couch and then grabbing the wallet he'd left on one of the side tables. He opened it, then tossed her a condom packet, his mouth curved into a wicked grin. "Wouldn't be a good big brother if I didn't remind you to be responsible."
"You mean you wouldn't be an asshole," she said, and as she tossed it back to him, she realized that her cheeks were burning. Which was stupid. She was a grown woman. If she wanted to go out on a date--hell, if she wanted to have sex with her date--she could totally do that.
But despite her righteous indignation, after Cam had left, and Mina had returned to the apartment, she found herself dialing Jeff's number and canceling, claiming that she was too tired to go out.
"Well, damn, baby. I was looking forward to a tumble."
"Would be nice," she agreed. But the truth was, it wasn't Jeff she wanted to tumble with.
With a sigh, she started to unbutton her jeans, planning to change into her PJ's. But her hand stilled before she'd even pulled down the zipper. Because maybe, just maybe, she was in the mood for pancakes after all.
Chapter Three
Mina leaned against the doorjamb and tapped on her brother's door. "It's me. Can I come in?"
"When have I ever kept you out?"
"A valid point." Growing up, they'd had connecting bedrooms, and they'd only ever shut the door on rare occasions. And since the idea of sneaking a date in under their strict father's roof bordered on insane, they'd never been the kind of siblings who'd kept the other out with a ribbon tied on the doorknob or some other symbol.
She edged inside and found him sitting in his recliner with a book in his hand. She sat on the edge of the bed, then wondered what the hell she was doing there, anyway.
"Bored?" he asked as the silence lingered.
"I canceled Jeff," she said, then added, "My date," as if that wasn't obvious. "But now I'm peckish. I keep thinking about those pancakes Cam suggested."
"Uh-huh," he said, and even though it was a perfectly tame comment, she had to bite her tongue to keep from asking what he meant by that. Instead, she calmly asked if he wanted to go to Magnolia with her.
Not that she needed a chaperone. She just wanted company. After all, it had been years since she and her brother had been able to simply hang out together. This was a perfect opportunity.
"Pancakes," he said, shutting his book and looking at her intently. So intently it seemed as though he was looking straight into her mind. Hell, he probably was. Maybe it was a twin thing, but Darryl always had been able to read her.
Which begged the question of why she'd come here in the first place since Darryl was the last person she wanted to know about her lust-filled Cameron thoughts.
"Look, it's a simple question." She heard the snappishness in her voice, but couldn't seem to dial it back. "Do you want to come or not?"
"If you're looking for company, you know I'll join you."
Of course, he would. She exhaled, feeling both ridiculous and guilty. She knew damn well that he was beat and wanted to stay in and chill. She also knew that all she had to do was snap her fingers and he'd do what she asked. Their father, too.
That's what came of being the sickly second twin. Her father pampered her to make up for not having spawned a perfect pair. And Darryl doted on her because he blamed himself for her rough beginning--as if a twin in utero could be culpable for taking up more than his fair share of their uterine condo and amenities.
And even if he had been intentionally hogging the amniotic fluid, she was fine now. All good. Time to move on.
But that went for her as well as him. If she wanted him to stop babying her, then maybe it was time for her to stop hinting that she needed to be babied.
"You know what? Never mind."
He settled back in the recliner. "Never mind?"
"Yeah, it's fine. Besides, you should crash soon. Aren't you having brunch with the judge and the other clerks tomorrow morning?"
"Not until eleven."
"Still." She shrugged. "Seriously. I'm good. I'll just make some toast, then crawl into bed and read." She flashed a sassy grin. "Just like my big brother."