“We left it open for you,” Dove says. She’s at the table, putting out plates. Her sister is in the kitchen. I carry the bottle over and pull out my pocket knife to uncork the wine.

“You shouldn’t leave your door open and unlocked ever,” I tell her.

“Even against you?”

“Of course not me, but it could’ve been some weirdo wanting to take advantage of you.”

“You’ll protect me,” she jokes.

“You’re not wrong, but what if I wasn’t here?”

“Then the door would be locked.”

“Better be.” I pull out the cork and set the wine down with more force than necessary.

“Or what?” Dove wonders.

At this point, there’s little I wouldn’t do for her, but I don’t know if she’s ready to hear that. I take a step closer, eliminating the distance between us. Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t back away. “Do you want me to spell it out for you?”

Her tongue comes out to wet her lower lip. My cock pulses to life.

“Spell what?”

I can’t remember what we were talking about. The minute her pink tongue appeared, all rational thought dissipated. My eyes zero in on the way her mouth glistens, how her lips are parted exactly the right distance for me to slip my tongue inside. “Honey, whatever it is that you want, I can give it to you.” I slide an arm around her waist and bend over her, ready to lay a kiss across her lips that will make us both forget our names.

“Um, are we having dinner or should I leave?” intrudes a voice from the kitchen.

Dove nearly leaps out of my grip like I was a big cat about to maul her which, I guess, wasn’t so far off base. She disappears into her bedroom, leaving me to stare at a half mad, half intrigued Avery.

“Where do I send a copy of my balance sheet?” I ask.

Six

Dove

I wash my face concentrating on removing the smudges of makeup from under my eyes. No wonder my hot neighbor was down with only being friends. I look like a hot mess. I run a brush though my hair, coming to the conclusion that this is the best it’s going to look tonight. I ditch my work clothes, pulling on a pair of sleep shorts and shirt before grabbing my fuzzy socks.

When I go back into the living room, I’m surprised to see Avery and Jay laughing it up about something. They are suddenly all chummy.

“I poured you a glass,” Jay says, motioning to the glass on the coffee table. They are both sitting on the floor, and the food is in the center of the coffee table. I sit down, and Jay starts to spoon food onto my plate.

“Thanks.” I give him a smile. Avery’s eyes bounce between us. She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I know what that means. How the hell did she do a complete turnabout? She was grilling him about money two seconds ago, which was embarrassing. And now she’s laughing and breaking bread with him.

It’s not like I have money either. I’m sure as hell not going to judge someone for not being loaded. In fact, every rich man I’ve ever met has been an asshole. I think I’ll stick with the man that lives check to check but treats you right. Jay pulls off a napkin, handing it to me next.

See, that is sweet. Sometimes it’s the small things that matter the most. I’d rather have someone who is kind and considerate to me than someone who would lavish me with gifts and throw me aside when the next best thing comes along.

I don’t know why I’m even thinking about this. I don’t plan on dating Jay, or anyone else for that matter. I do have to admit that he has been sweet since the second I met him, making it really hard for me to stick to that no dating plan. I pick up my glass, taking a healthy swig and trying to get my nerves under control. I pray Avery doesn't say something else to embarrass me.

“So you guys are sisters?” Jay asks, looking between us and obviously recognizing that we look nothing alike.

“We share a dad,” Avery informs him. I take another drink of my wine. I can feel Jay’s eyes on me. I think he can sense the awkwardness that bringing up my dad has caused for me. “Dove hates him. She clams up whenever he’s mentioned.”

I give her a look. “We share the same sperm donor. He’s not my father.”

Avery gives a half smile. “I’m not giving up on the two of you.”

I wish she would. I’ll never forgive him. I’ll never forget how hard he made my mom work because he didn’t want the world to know about his dirty secret. I would always remember how strong my mom was, though. How she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of letting him pay her hush money. She raised me by herself, supporting me on her own.

Even if for some crazy reason I could get over the whole never claiming me as his daughter crap and he wanted to try and have some kind of relationship, it would feel as though I was betraying my mom. Which is something that I would never be willing to do.

“The only great thing my father did for me was give me Avery.” She reaches out and grabs my hand, giving it a squeeze.

“I found out about her three years ago and tracked her down.”

I smile, thinking back to the day. “I was sure she was there to scream at me,” I admit.

“Yeah, I’m older than Dove, and my parents are still married.”

Jay cringes. “How do your parents feel about the two of you hanging out?”

I look to Avery, waiting for her answer.

“My parents are hot and cold. They have been off and on more times than I can count, but they always end up back together, so Mom knows about Dove. She just doesn't mention her, so I kind of do the same. I don’t want to rub it in her face.” I nod in understanding. I get it. I really do, but on some level it still makes me feel like a dirty secret.

I know Avery is doing the best she can with the situation, and I love her for that. I don’t know what I would have done without her when my mom passed away. She’d been my rock. Jay continues to stare at me, and I feel like he can see into me and knows everything I’m thinking.

“Anyone want more wine?” I ask, changing the subject. I try to always avoid it when I can. Avery has this dream in her head that one day we’ll all be a giant family. I top everyone off, including myself. Thankfully, the conversation falls into small talk about Jay doing some work on his place and hoping to have it done soon. That way we can have dinner over there sometime soon.

“Let’s watch a movie.” Avery pops up from the floor, grabbing the remote before I can agree or disagree. It’s getting late, and I have to be up early. Then again, I was enjoying having Jay here.

Jay picks up the food for us while Avery finds a movie for us to watch. I get up, sitting on the sofa. Jay comes back over, sitting right next to me. He’s so close that his leg is pressed up against mine.

“Oh, shoot. I forgot I have a paper I need to finish. Rain check?” she asks, picking up her purse.

“You’re leaving?” I stand. I’m going to murder her.

“Yeah, you two enjoy the movie. Call me tomorrow.” She gives me a hug like I don’t know what she’s up to.

I watch the door fall closed behind her. Jay gets up and locks it before coming back and sitting down on the sofa.