“When are you coming home?”
“Hello to you, too, little sister.”
“Seriously, Cal. Come home.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Everyone says Jordy and Jessie are having sex in every room in the house.”
Callie’s laugh bubbles up through the phone and I smile. I’ve missed my middle sister. She’s supposed to be coming back home for at least a few weeks this summer but so far she’s still in Los Angeles, where she works as a wardrobe supervisor.
“Also, why didn’t you tell me Jordan asked you permission to marry Jessie?” I demand.
“Because your squeal of joy would have tipped Jessie off,” Callie explains.
“She was in Seattle.”
“She would have heard you from there,” Callie retorts, and I can’t help but smile at her snark as I lie on the porch swing Jordan had installed. I used to beg Grandma Lily to get one but she never did.
“So have you caught them in the act yet? I’m hoping to catch them and maybe make some cash selling the pictures to TMZ Sports. I owe Big Bird since he walked in on me and Devin when we were kids,” Callie explains, calling Jordan by the nickname she invented for him because she says he’s big, tall and his hair is yellow like Big Bird. “He messed up what could have been completely hot, amazing sex.”
“Oh my God, please shut up,” I beg and my brain involuntarily pictures Callie and Devin naked together. I’m still traumatized by the fact that they fooled around as teenagers. I groan and my eyes snap shut.
“Aw, does Rosie feel left out?” Callie coos sarcastically. “If you want to know what sex with a professional hockey player is like, there is still one left. You can find out.”
“No, there isn’t,” I snap back quickly. “Luc is off the market.”
“Why? Is he back with America’s Next Top Train Wreck?”
“She’s Swedish, not American,” I correct because I’m an idiot who has read everything there is to read on Nessa Carlsson. “But no. He’s single but he’s become a monk. He’s sworn off all women.”
“What the hell is wrong with him?” my sister asks me, finally dropping her teasing and snark.
“No idea. But whatever.” I sit up and stare out at the yard in front of me. Jessie went to yoga and Jordan and Luc went off to the indoor rink to train. I’m alone except for the contractor, who is upstairs working on the renovations to the master bedroom, so I can talk freely. “It doesn’t matter anyway. He doesn’t see me like he does real women.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because he told me. I’m different. I’m little Rosie. I’m exempt from his carnal thoughts,” I explain and sigh in frustration.
“I’m a little surprised,” Callie admits to me. “Luc’s never really done the abstinence thing. Before Nessa, Luc recruited bed buddies the way Uncle Sam recruited soldiers.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” I reply, trying to keep the melancholy out of my voice.
“So then what are you going to do about it?”
“What?”
“Luc is a hot piece of ass,” Callie announces firmly. “Hot pieces of ass should not be celibate. It’s like a direct insult to women everywhere. He needs to be someone’s plaything. I think he should be yours.”
“You’re insane. As usual.”
“And you’re scared and timid, as usual.”
“Thanks!” I bark and suddenly regret calling her. I shouldn’t, though, because I know what she’s like. Callie has never been anything but blunt and honest her whole life. If I wanted someone to baby me, I would be having this conversation with Jessie.
“When I worked as a waitress in Silver Bay I had at least three guys try to pick me up every single night,” Callie tells me bluntly. “The boys must be falling all over you, too.”
She’s right. Working at the most popular bar in town is good for the ego. There hasn’t been a night some guy hasn’t asked for my phone number or told me I was gorgeous or whatever.
“They’re all drunk, slobbery college boys who just want one-night stands.”
“So? Still counts. They think you’re hot.”
“So I don’t want that.”
“Even if it’s with Luc?”
I open my mouth to tell her “not even with Luc” but the words don’t seem to want to come out. I hear her laugh lightly through the phone. “You need to loosen up. Throw caution to the wind just once. Stop waiting for Prince Charming to sweep you off your feet and instead do something that forces him to rip your clothes off instead.”
“What do you mean?” I have to ask because I can’t even begin to wrap my head around her words.
“If Luc doesn’t see you as the sexy, totally bangable adult woman you’ve become, then make him see it,” she explains. “Flirt with him. Wear sexy clothes. Tease him like it’s your job. Make him see what those drunken college boys see. It might not get you your PG-13 fairy-tale romance but it will get you some NC-17 action from the one boy you’ve always wanted to see naked.”
I laugh. “You’re telling your little sister, the one you raised, to have a one-night stand?”
“Yes. Or maybe two. Possibly three.”
“Callie!”
“There is something to be said for getting your rocks off, Rose. Not everything has to be a Disney movie. And remember, Cinderella didn’t ask for a prince. All she wanted was—”
“A night out and a dress.” I laugh, pushing off the railing in front of me so the swing starts rocking. “You’ve been saying that for years.”
“You’re twenty-one, Rosie. Live a little,” Callie tells me firmly.
“I’m just… it’s not my thing.” I confess what I know she already knows. I’m not like her. I don’t know how to be like her. I don’t know if it’s even possible to pretend.
“Your thing isn’t getting you what you want, is it?” she questions and when I don’t respond, because she’s right, she continues. “Time to try something new, sweet sister of mine.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I roll my eyes as Dave Cooper, the contractor renovating the house, wanders onto the porch.
Coop, as he likes to be called, is wearing jeans and a white tank top. He’s sweaty and his brown hair is slightly askew. His blue eyes twinkle and he smiles warmly when he notices me. I smile back. He’s been here every day since I got back from Vermont. He’s a really nice guy and his work is amazing.
“Got to go, Callie.”
“Go where? Go get laid? Because that’s what you should be doing!”
“I love you, whore.”
“I love you too, prude.”
I hang up. Cooper laughs. I stand up and make my way back inside, motioning for him to follow me. I put my cell phone down on the kitchen table and walk over to the fridge, pulling out a pitcher of sweet tea.
“You look like you need a drink,” I offer and he nods.
As I pour him a big glass he asks, “Who is this whore you love?”
“My sister Callie,” I reply.
“Ah, Callie Caplan.” He smiles and nods.
“You know Callie?” I ask, suddenly a little nervous about how he might know Callie.
“No. Not personally,” he replies. “But I remember when she worked at Last Call before Cole Garrison bought it. She used to flirt with my buddies endlessly. Most of them would end up giving her their paychecks in tips.”
I nod. “I should ask her for pointers.”
He levels his blue eyes on me as he takes a long sip of tea. When he pulls the glass from his mouth he’s wearing a small, devious-looking smile. I suddenly feel a little warm under his gaze. He’s been really easy to have around the house. He tries not to get in my way and we’ve kind of become friends. But lately, the last couple of days, he also seems a little flirty.
“I’ve seen you at work in your little shorts and cowboy boots,” he says softly in his deep melodious voice. “I’ve been tempted to tip you an entire paycheck, so I’d say you’re doing just fine, Rose. Thank you for the drink.”
And then he’s gone—into the living room and back up the stairs to work on the master bedroom again. Wow. He was totally, not even subtly, flirting with me. Why can’t Luc see me the way Coop seems to? Maybe Callie’s right… maybe I need to make him see.