LITMIR.BIZ

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worth the wait.

      Even the little bit she could see was amazing. She’d never seen anything like the intricately carved stair rail, and she’d been in plenty of million-dollar-plus mansions. Old photographs lined the stairway wall, and she caught glimpses of black-and-white pictures of multiple generations of men who looked nearly as handsome as Zane.

      At the top of the stairs, the landing led both left and right. Chase went right and stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall.

      “You’re in Maya’s old room,” he said. “There are two beds. Normally you wouldn’t have to share, but with everyone else arriving, we’re a little tight on space.”

      For the second time since she’d met him, Phoebe saw the humor fade from Chase’s eyes. His mouth twisted slightly.

      “I don’t mind if Maya doesn’t,” she said. “Plus, I’m here first, so I get to pick the good bed, right?”

      Chase’s smile returned. “Right.”

      He pushed open the door and carried her suitcases inside. Phoebe followed. The room was large and bright, done in various shades of lavender. A pansy-print wallpaper decorated the walls from the white chair rail up, with lavender paint on the bottom half. Two beds sat on either side of a big window covered with crisp white curtains. There was a dresser topped with a TV against one wall, two doors on another and a second window on a third.

      “There’s a bathroom in there,” Chase said, setting her luggage on one of the beds. “The other door is the closet.”

      “It’s great.”

      “Want to see my room?”

      Chase might be seventeen, but at that moment, he looked about ten. She nodded.

      “I’d love to.”

      “Sweet.”

      He led her back down the hall to a room just off the stairs. Phoebe stepped into a messy room with a full-size bed, a massive computer and more electronic equipment than she’d ever seen outside of a Best Buy. Dials glowed, lights flashed, boxes beeped. Circuit boards lay scattered like so many discarded toys.

      Chase sank into the only chair in the room and began typing on the keyboard.

      “A couple of my friends and I are working on some really great special effects on the computer. You know, for websites. We’re also working on a robot, but it’s not going that great. I think the main problem is in the programming, but it’s hard to tell because everything else is screwed up, too.”

      He finished typing and pushed back from the desk. Phoebe stepped forward and saw a three-dimensional swirling object on the screen. Chase handed her a pair of 3-D glasses. When she slipped them on and stared at the screen, the spiraling blob seemed to leap out at her.

      “I like it,” she said, handing the glasses back.

      He grinned and rose. “I have a baseball I caught when Zane took me to San Francisco a couple of years ago. It was a fly ball, bottom of the third. Dodgers against the Giants.”

      He picked up the ball from a shelf above his bed and held it out for her inspection.

      “Wow.”

      “There’s also the—”

      “I doubt Phoebe wants to see your entire collection of treasures right now.”

      At the sound of Zane’s voice, they both jumped and turned toward the door. Phoebe had a bad feeling that she looked guilty...mostly because she felt that way. Which was crazy. She hadn’t done anything wrong.

      Zane stood leaning against the doorway, his arms folded over his chest. He looked strong and unmovable. Maya’s claims about Chase’s broken spirit didn’t hold water when compared with the teenager’s outgoing personality, but Phoebe couldn’t help wondering what Zane was thinking as he studied his brother.

      “Is your room all right?” Zane asked her.

      She nodded. “Everything is great.”

      “Maya wants me to take you to dinner in town.” He glanced at his watch.

      Feel the love, she thought, not sure if she should call him on his lack of graciousness. “You don’t have to.”

      “It’s fine.”

      “Can we go to Margaritaville?” Chase asked. “I could go for nachos.”

      “What you could go for even more is staying home and finishing cleaning all the guest rooms. There’s a pizza in the freezer. Elaine Mitchell’s going to pick up the greenhorns and Maya on Friday and bring them out to the ranch in her tourist van. You’ve got a lot of work to do before they get here.”

      “But—”

      Zane cut him off with a look, then turned back to Phoebe. “Meet me downstairs in an hour.”

      Phoebe knew a dismissal when she heard one. Due to the fact that she was an uninvited stranger who had shown up with little warning, she didn’t feel that she was in a position to complain.

      She gave Chase a quick smile, then moved toward the door. Zane stepped out of the way to let her pass. As she walked by him, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and swayed in salutation.

      * * *

      WHEN PHOEBE LEFT her room an hour later, she could hear Chase singing in a bedroom down the hall. She smiled. He was such a cheerful kid, a pure-hearted spirit. Forced to stay home and do chores, he’d decided he might as well make them fun.

      She was a little nervous about spending the evening alone with his big brother, though. What would they talk about?

      Zane was waiting for her at the base of the stairs. She stopped on the last step so that when he turned toward her, they were eye to eye.

      “I’m sorry I didn’t bring anything dressier,” she said. She’d changed into white jeans and a pale, dusty purple top with an embellished scoop neckline.

      His gaze traveled to her feet and back to her face. She thought maybe she read masculine appreciation in his raised brows.

      “You’re fine,” he said.

      So much for any appreciation. On his part, at least. “Give me a moment while I bask in the glory,” she murmured and stepped past him to the front porch and then down toward his truck.

      Zane got there ahead of her. A neat trick explained by his much longer stride. He towered over her. He’d changed clothes, too, into dark blue jeans and a fitted white T-shirt that showcased his hard-earned muscles. His dark hair was still damp. An image flashed through her mind of him in the shower, water running over his broad shoulders.

      He opened the door for her, then helped her into the truck. The masculine scent of his soap and shampoo wafted toward her as he climbed in beside her, making her limbs melt into the leather seat.

      This felt like a date. It wasn’t, but still. Phoebe sighed. Maya had promised her a distraction, and Zane was certainly that. Too bad he didn’t seem to like her one bit.

      * * *

      PHOEBE WAS A little relieved when Zane didn’t park outside Margaritaville. After Chase had mentioned wanting nachos, it would seem mean to eat there. Instead she and Zane walked into a place called The Fox and Hound.

      The restaurant had lots of dark wood and booths. There were English hunting prints on the wall. Campy, Phoebe thought happily, following the hostess to a booth and sliding in.

      She told herself the quivering sensation she felt inside was because she was hungry and had nothing to do with the man sitting across from her. Then she felt bad for lying, if only to herself.

      She took the offered menu but didn’t open it. When they were alone, she glanced at Zane.

      “Do you not like me or is this just your style?”

      Zane’s gaze

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