A n hour into the dance, and Perci was ready to go home. She used to enjoy events like this until Jay Gunderson had attacked her sister .
Now it was just tedious. If Phoebe hadn’t needed her there, Perci would have just stayed home with the boys and some popcorn. She’d rather watch Disney then deal with the idiot flirtations the men of Masterson County were pushing in her direction .
She had some fun talking with her cousins Nicole, Maggie, Augie, Junie, and Em, and watching Pip be pursued by Matt. Perci was grateful for the time with her family, who were also her friends .
But Pip was the one who would always worry her the most .
Matt caused her quite a bit of concern. The last thing on earth she ever wanted was for Pip to get hurt. Of all of her sisters, Pip was her world, her absolute world. If something would happen to her again...well Perci just couldn't think about that .
Not that she thought Matt would hurt her sister. Matt was a good man; all of the Mastersons were, even that prick Nate. It was just with Perci that he was a real jerk. Nate had been absolutely wonderful, almost kind, with her sisters .
Pip being pursued by Matt was going to change things again. For all of them. Even Perci. She was mulling over one of those small problems when she finally caught up with Phoebe and Pan near the refreshments—after a particularly annoying question from a rancher who’d been on the make and pissed she’d turned down his offer to go out back to his truck for a beer .
"If one more person asks me which Masterson brother I belong to, I'm going to scream," she said to her sisters .
"I know exactly what you’re feeling," Pan said. She practically growled the words, and Perci looked at her. Pan sighed before continuing. "Apparently Levi has told several of his friends that I'm off the market . And to keep their hands to themselves. Not that I want their hands on me, but I would like to at least have the choice myself. The jerk. I don't know what he was thinking. I don't need him to play big brother. I’m perfectly capable of deciding who to date or not. If I want to even date at all. But he’s got this weird idea that I need him to protect me from every penis in Masterson County ."
Perci snickered. She didn't think it was big brother that Levi wanted to play with Pan. Far from it. More like Naked Wrestling .
Of all of her sisters, Pandora was the most innocent, naive. Even Pip wasn't a virgin, like Pan. The youngest sister hadn't even been kissed. She had no clue about how men actually were .
Living with the Masterson brothers probably wasn’t helping—they weren’t exactly normal men, after all .
If Levi Masterson was sending out those type of clues, Pandora would totally miss it. Perci's eyes met Phoebe's, and they shared silent laughter .
Still, what was Levi Masterson planning for her sister? And what did that mean for the rest of them ?
Phoebe and Joel, Pip and Matt, Pan and Levi, they were all pairing off and quickly—was it any wonder people were assuming she and Nate had arrived together? That they were a done deal or something ?
No, it wasn't. Damn it .
And it wasn't going to happen .
Perci distracted herself by studying the crowd; looking for her twin, as always. She’d kept one eye open and on Pip from the moment they’d been born .
And there she was on the dance floor, wrapped up in Matt’s arms. Again .
A hell of a lot closer than they had been the first time they had danced. As if something had shifted between them, deepened .
Oh hell, things were about to change for the Tylers again, weren't they ?