It was selfish to indulge myself with her. But I couldn’t seem to say no even if I always left a little emptier than before. Not because she took without giving, but because I remembered all I’d wished for and lost. And yet, I’d go back again and again. Part of me wondered if I was expecting new results. Part of me knew I was. All of me knew I should stop. But none of me would.

I brushed my melancholy away, smiled like the rogue I always pretended to be. “Listen, little brother, it’s not so bad being the king of first dates. I’ve become an excellent conversationalist.”

He snorted a laugh, the tension gone with the sound. “Is that what the kids are calling sex these days?”

I chuckled. “Anyway, it’s not like I can bring chicks here to bone on the bottom bunk, surrounded by posters of Hellboy and Sin City and Queens of the Stone Age.”

“With Mom downstairs.”

“With Mom downstairs. Can you imagine if I brought someone in?”

Luke perked up, screwing his face into a comical impression of our mother. “Why hello, and who are you?” he said in a warbling falsetto, pressing his hand to his chest dramatically. “Kassius is such a good boy, and I hope you’ll consider him. You know, for marriage. He always was my favorite, loves his mother so much.” He pinched his own cheek, glancing angelically at the ceiling. “Give me grandbabies!”

Laughter burst out of me and didn’t stop. He wasn’t far off. “Doesn’t matter. There’s time for all that. I’m only twenty-seven. It’s not like I’ve got an expiration date or something.”

“Maybe Lila’s biological clock is ticking. She and Mom can talk about ovulating and uteruses. Uteri?” His brows quirked.

“She has a boyfriend,” I said. “And again—she’s the opposite of my type.”

“So your type is short, prefers to wear black, has no opinion, and works in public service?”

“Maybe it is,” I answered without answering.

“Right,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “Just admit it so we can move on, Kash.”

“She’s hot, and I’d go on a first date with her. Does that make you feel better?”

He sighed, a content smile on his face as he folded his hands on his belly like he’d just had the meal of his life. “It does. It really does.”

Thumping footfalls grew louder, along with the wail for dinner like an ambulance siren from Laney’s mouth.

Luke snagged the papers off the desk and held them up as he stood. “I’ll get these to Tess. I’m sure she’ll have questions. Want me to send her to Lila or you for the answers?”

“Send her to me. I’ll take care of it,” I said without thinking. I could take them to Lila myself.