Harmless Revenge: A Harmless World Novel (Harmless #11)

“Whoa, there, babe,” Randy said, as he helped Sean stand upright. When he was face-to-face with him, Randy kissed him. “Everything she said and more.”

Jaime stood up, put an arm around each one of them. “Let’s go to bed. This has been kind of a sucky week on the injury front.”

“Don’t worry, princess, we’ll both be back in shape to keep you happy soon.”

She laughed, and Sean let the sound rush over him. Nothing sounded better than that.

Epilogue

Emma and Sean sat in silence as they looked out over the ocean. Del had dropped her off an hour earlier, and she had asked to talk to Sean alone. He had consented, as he always did. It was odd to be so comfortable with another human being. At least, it was for her. But, from the moment she and Sean had settled their differences in Thailand, she had been comfortable with him.

“So, you’ve decided to stay here?” she asked.

He nodded, his expression lighter than she had ever seen it. “Well, sort of. First, I wanted to clear it with you.”

“Why?”

“I want to be close to you.”

She didn’t smile, though she wanted to. It had been so long since another human had worried about her that way. When he had burst into her life six months earlier, she thought she could walk away. She didn’t need a half-brother. But, truth was, she did need him.

“Do you think you can earn a living here? I mean, outside of handling my stuff?”

“We can pick up some jobs here and there, but we’ve been talking about opening our own firm. But to keep us busy, Conner Dillon is always looking for contractors who don’t want to work full time.”

“That’s good. You need a home.”

He glanced at her. “There is plenty of space for you. I bought this with you in mind.”

She rolled her eyes. “No thanks.”

“You don’t want to live with your big brother?” he asked, humor lacing his voice. Still, she heard something else, something close to hurt.

With a sigh, she forced herself to look away from the ocean and give him her full attention. Her brother. They didn’t look that much alike, but she saw herself in his eyes, and his high cheekbones. It was hard to imagine that she now had someone else in her world, someone who belonged to her.

“Not really. No offense, but living with another person would be a challenge for me.”

Sympathy filled his expression, and she shook her head. She hated the look. That’s why she rarely told people her entire story. The pity wasn’t for her. It was so they could feel better about themselves.

“No, don’t do that. Don’t pity me.”

“I don’t pity you. Why would I? A world class mind, definitely can take care of yourself, but I would like to get to know you better.”

“Well, I guess I could stay in Hawaii.” She glanced back at the house, then looked at him. “I take it you’re all together?”

He nodded. It still seemed odd to her, but what did she know. Other than her parents, she had only had one long-term relationship with another human, and that was Sean. Emma didn’t even know how to deal with a relationship with one person, let alone two.

“Too many people.”

He chuckled. “Passing judgment?”

“No. I just can’t imagine putting up with another person in my personal space all the time. Having two, ugh.”

He laughed then, a big belly laugh that echoed over the sweet Hawaiian air. “You do make me happy, Emma.”

“Are you really happy? Are they treating you right?”

His expression softened. “Yeah, they are. Looking out for me?”