CHAPTER SEVEN
Storm opened his mouth but before he could get a sentence out, he heard Seath’s loud, booming voice behind him.
“Storm, there you are!” Seath hollered at the top of his lungs. “I knew you wouldn’t leave without me!”
Storm turned to scowl at his baby brother. “You have great timing,” he muttered under his breath.
Seath ignored him as he came skidding up to Emilia’s porch. He flashed Emilia a delighted grin. “Hello, you must be the new neighbor. I’m Seath,” he said.
Emilia introduced herself and a look of surprise and amusement rippled across her features as Seath pumped her hand up and down vigorously. “I’m pleased to meet you,” she said politely when Seath released her hand at last.
Seath chuckled and flung his arm around Storm’s shoulder. “We are very happy to meet you too! Right, Storm?”
“You guys are brothers,” Emilia said, her eyes darting between the two tall, blond men on her doorstep.
“Yup.” Seath jerked a thumb at himself and crowed, “I’ve got all the brawn and charm in the family!”
Storm rolled his eyes. “And the ego,” he mumbled.
“Welcome to the neighborhood, Emilia! Oh, and if you require any landscaping services, call us. Fireblood Landscapers, that’s us!” Seath went on cheerfully. “Hey, we’re going to grab dinner. Wanna come?”
“Um, thanks, but I’ve eaten,” Emilia said quickly. “Besides, I have quite a lot of unpacking to do.”
Seath shrugged. “Okay.” He tugged at Storm’s arm. “I’m starving, man,” he whispered loudly. “Shall we go?”
Storm suppressed a growl. He didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay and talk to Emilia. He knew that she wouldn’t invite him in. Emilia seemed rather nervous and skittish. That was understandable. She was in a new town, and she hadn’t mentioned any family or friends in town.
He wanted to stay here and keep her company, keep her safe.
Heck, he wouldn’t mind standing at her doorstep for the rest of the night.
“Enjoy your dinner. It was nice meeting you both.” Emilia gave a little wave as she closed the door quietly.
“What’s the hurry?” Storm grumbled when Seath dragged him away from Emilia’s house and steered him determinedly towards the car.
“It’s getting late.” There was a note of panic in Seath’s voice. “All the pies may be gone! Everyone loves Gramma and Ne-ma’s pies!”
“Late? You were taking such a long time!” Storm exploded. “I’ve been waiting for almost half an hour!”
Seath gave him a sheepish smile and opened the car door for him with a flourish. Storm noticed that Seath had indeed put on his best shirt and pants. And it looked like he had used up a whole bottle of hair gel. A tornado wouldn’t be able to mess up his hair.
“Is this a dress rehearsal?” Storm punched his brother’s arm and teased.
“Sort of,” Seath admitted with a giggle.
As Storm started the engine, Seath shoved him playfully. “I delayed making my appearance on purpose. I was giving you time to get to know the new neighbor.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“You like her, don’t you?” Seath’s grin widened.
“You’re a real busybody, you know that?”
Seath snorted. “You were chatting her up. Don’t deny it. Let’s go find out if she’s single. If she is, go ahead and ask her out.”
Storm drove on, refusing to be baited.
“So, are you going to ask her out?” Seath nagged.
Storm shot him a glare. “Since when did you start taking an interest in my love life?”
His brother let out a dramatic sigh. “Since I realized that you ain’t got a love life.”