“What?” He asked innocent as a baby lamb. I knew better.

“You’re wondering if you can use that story in one of your ridiculous plots.”

Bobby had a penchant of writing short fiction for romance magazines. He’d sold several to publications like Minx and Velvet Rose. I had proofread far too many of them to want my brother to be the inspiration for the next confounded hero.

“I wasn’t thinking that.”

“Yes, you were.”

“Okay, I was, but my readers would love it. It’s got all the elements: scorned heart, love lost—”

“We’re talking about Mark here. Please. I might have to pull over and throw up. It’s wrong to use his heartbreak that way, especially for a measly two hundred bucks.”

“Hey, Minx paid me six hundred last time for Secret Kiss, a three-part series,” he said proudly.

I shook my head and turned the car onto Kilbourne Street. I pointed at a two-story colonial. “That’s where I grew up.” Someone had painted it a dark khaki. I grimaced.

“Very suburban,” he remarked.

Two houses down, I parked in the driveway of a large Victorian, complete with wraparound porch and suspended swing, outshining all the other abodes on the block. When I lived on Kilbourne Street, the Blocken house had been painted a simple white with navy trim; now it was a supposedly Victorian pink with darker pink trim. I’m sure the decorator called the colors “damask” and “mauve.”

I wasn’t halfway out of my car when I heard a high-pitched yelp, resembling a frightened puppy at the groomer’s.

“Incoming,” Bobby said as he slipped expertly out of the passenger side door.

“India!” Olivia ran toward me with her arms outstretched and welcoming as if I was a returning war hero. Thankfully, I cleared the car door before she hit. She grabbed me in a crushing hug. Because she’s so thin, this would have surprised me if I had not known about her lifelong obsession with fitness. There was a kickboxing-hardened body hidden under her elegant sundress. After an excruciatingly long minute, she released me. All the while, Bobby smirked at me over her head. He was enjoying himself a little too much, in my opinion.