Read Online One Touch More by Mandy Baxter - Free Book Online Page A

like an hour ago?”
    It wasn’t that she minded having her younger brother as a roommate. In fact, with Seth’s penchant for getting into trouble, she could keep an eye on him better if he was under her roof. But tonight was one of those nights that Tabitha would have appreciated a little solitude to decompress. Her mind was racing with too many thoughts for casual conversation.
    â€œHow’d you pay for the pizza?” It sucked that it was the first thing she was prompted to ask. But she knew that Seth didn’t have three dollars, let alone thirty bucks.
    He gave her a bright smile. “As of today, I’m officially and gainfully employed. The guy who owns Les Bois Construction, Jack, gave me a hundred-dollar draw to buy work boots.”
    â€œAnd you ran straight over to Flying Pie and bought a pizza?”
    â€œNo.” Seth rolled his eyes and hiked up a pant leg. “I bought these first. On sale. Then I bought the pizza. Because I’m a boss at money management.”
    The boots were nice, but he should have used the thirty bucks he’d saved for pizza for a higher-quality shoe. She wasn’t going to lecture him about it, though. Seth hadn’t worn many bright smiles in the past couple of years. And if she was going to keep him on the right track, he needed Tabitha’s encouragement, not her disdain.
    â€œPretty fancy for work boots.” She grinned. “When do you start?”
    â€œTomorrow,” he said through a mouthful of pizza. “I also went over to BSU today and talked with an admissions counselor.”
    â€œReally?” She hadn’t meant to sound so shocked, but she would have simply been happy to see Seth enroll in a nine-month tech course.
    â€œYeah. I mean, I still don’t know what I want to do, but I thought I could apply for spring semester and figure it out in the meantime.”
    â€œThat’s awesome, Seth.” They were only two years apart in age, but most of the time Tabitha felt more like a mother than a big sister. “I can help you with the financial aid stuff if you want. I bet you’d qualify for a few grants, too.”
    â€œAll under control, sister.” Seth tossed a sliver of crust into the pizza box, his gaze focused on the pepperoni, bacon, and mushroom pie. “I know I’ve been a major fuck-up. And you got my ass out of trouble when you probably shouldn’t have. I just want you to know that I’m ready to put all of that behind me. And I don’t want you to feel like you have to take care of me anymore.”
    Tabitha plopped down on the couch beside him and ruffled his blond hair that was just a little shorter than hers. “You’re not a fuck-up, Seth. You’ve just made some bad choices. And I don’t feel like I have to take care of you.”
    â€œDid you notice I didn’t get any peppers on the pizza?”
    She smiled. “I did. You’re so considerate.”
    Seth nodded solemnly. “Considerate is my middle name. And I really wanted peppers, too.”
    Tabitha selected a narrow slice from the half of the round that was still left. She leaned back on the couch and propped her feet up on the coffee table. Seth settled in beside her and resumed his channel surfing.
    â€œSo, how was work? Anything interesting happen in the land of guest services today?”
    A flush crept over Tabitha’s skin as she recalled the heat in Damien’s golden eyes as he’d swept the hair from her face. The sheer maleness of him as he’d jerked Tony away from her and slammed him against her car and the roll of his muscles as he’d walked away from her. “Same old, same old,” Tabitha replied after a moment. “Just another glamorous day of reservations at the IdaHaven Inn.”
    Seth laughed. “One more semester and it won’t matter, right? You can kiss that place good-bye and go work at a hospital and torture people with your cold