By Love Released 3 [BWWM Billionaire Romance] by Cate Thorne

Author:Cate Thorne [Thorne, Cate]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Single Authors, United States, New Adult & College, African American, Literature & Fiction, Short Stories, Short Stories & Anthologies
Amazon: B00SAUH33O
Publisher: Gold Rush Press
Published: 2015-01-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Shawna propped her feet up on the coffee table as she listened to the clomp of Jamie’s big feet on the stairs leading to their apartment. After all these years, she recognized the cadence of her brother’s steps.

Her mind had been working ever since her early morning conversation with Carmen.

After a delicious lunch of Carmen’s homemade empanadas and a short nap after work, she felt a lot better than she had at any point since she’d gotten Jamie’s call at Rafe’s. Her heart still ached, but her friend’s words had succeeded in fanning a small ember of hope that she hadn’t even realized was there. She’d spent most of the day thinking of how she wanted to move forward. Shawna had plans now.

But first, she needed to talk to her brother.

Jamie paused in the doorway when he saw her sitting there. He swung his book bag off his shoulder, tossing it in the direction of the side table as he pushed the door closed behind him.

“How was school?” Shawna purposefully kept her posture relaxed. She wanted her brother to know this wasn’t going to be a confrontation.

“It was school.” He took the few steps from the door to the kitchen, pulling open the refrigerator door, but not taking his eyes off her face. “Work?”

She shrugged, her lips curving up on one side. “It was work.”

He gave her one of those guy-nods. The chin lift of acknowledgement. Then he proceeded to paw through the fridge for a minute before snagging a glass of orange juice and a banana. His expression was wary as he plopped down almost sideways on the far end of the couch.

Not that there was much space between her and the ‘far’ end, since the couch was little more than a glorified love seat. There was maybe four inches between her hip and Jamie’s bent knee.

Shawna studied her brother’s face for a moment and noticed that the whites of his eyes were a little bloodshot, and his lids looked heavy with tiredness, much as she had before her nap. Had he had a restless night too? The thought squeezed her heart.

“I wanted to talk to you, J-man.”

He shrugged one shoulder as he peeled his banana. “So, talk, Shaw.”

She knocked his knee with her knuckles.

“I’m sorry.”

Jamie stopped peeling the banana and looked up in surprise. “Huh?”

The dull shock of his tone actually made her chuckle. “I said I’m sorry. I made a bad call and endangered the both of us. I promise you, it won’t happen again.”

He studied her face while his hands absently finished divesting the fruit of its skin. He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, and then nodded. “Apology accepted.” Then he pushed another chunk of fruit into his mouth and reached for the remote.

“That’s it? You’re not going to argue with me anymore?”

Jamie shook his head as he flipped through the channels, his cheeks bulging with banana.

“No. I said what I had to say. Now you have to. What do we gotta argue about anymore?”

She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

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