Enchanted (The Accidental Billionaires #4)(13)

“Um . . . Noah . . . I hate to tell you this, but she’s a pretty fast writer. I’ve seen her roll out a blog post to the editing stage in about an hour or two. Especially when she’s excited about the topic. You’re definitely not going to get away with working all day. Listen, just take the damn time off. Andie is going to find a way to get you outdoors and away from work. She’s pretty damn persuasive. We’ve known each other most of our lives, and she was always talking me into stuff I didn’t want to do when we were younger.”

“What kind of stuff?” I questioned sharply.

“You’re not the boss anymore, Noah. Stop thinking like you have to be the disciplinarian. Adult male here.”

“Then maybe you should act like an adult,” I admonished.

He chuckled. “You’re just still pissed about me sending Andie with you. She’s unique, Noah. You’ll learn to love her company.”

“She’s a pest,” I corrected.

“But she’s nice, right? So it isn’t all bad,” Owen commented offhandedly.

Every muscle in my body tensed as an unwelcome thought occurred to me. “Are you two involved?”

For some damn reason, I hated the thought of Andie being intimate with my little brother.

“Hell, no. We aren’t involved intimately. She’s been my best friend for too damn long for me to think about her that way, and do you really think I’d send my woman off on vacation with my brother? Maybe I’m not attracted to her, but I’m not blind. She’s fucking beautiful.”

I had no idea why I felt relieved, but I did. “She’s young,” I rumbled. “I still remember when she was in pigtails.”

“And you were so much older? Noah, you were barely eighteen when Mom died. I was ten. It’s not like you’re old enough to be my father, or Andie’s, either. Come on. Admit it. Andie’s gorgeous. And she’s smart. Fun. You couldn’t ask for a better companion.”

“She’s attractive,” I admitted vaguely. I wasn’t about to tell my little brother that his best friend had gotten my dick hard the moment I’d looked into her startling blue eyes that almost seemed to shimmer with violet tints in the right amount of light. “But she’s still too young to say much else about her.”

I was also not sharing the fact that since Andie was obviously so flexible, I wanted to bend her over the nearest object and nail her. I’d been trying to rationalize that instinct since the very first moment my cock had started to pay attention to Andie.

I hadn’t been successful in making sense of that unacceptable fact . . . yet.

“There’s only an eight-year age difference,” Owen said, sounding frustrated. “And I wouldn’t mind seeing her dating a great guy. She deserves it.”

“I’m not dating her, Owen,” I said, feeling almost panicked because I found Andie so damn attractive. “She’s a travel companion. That’s it.”

“Okay,” he said, sounding resigned. “But at least try to be a good travel companion for her, too. I hate the fact that she’s always traveling around the world solo. Not that she’s not capable of taking care of herself, but it would be nice if she had the chance to share some of her experiences with somebody else for a change.”

“Why don’t you travel with her?” I asked, right before my mind strangely balked at the idea.

“Maybe I will, eventually,” he answered. “I’ve never had much time or money between work and school. Not until the inheritance happened. Now, with me taking over Dr. Fortney’s practice, I’m still not going to have much time. So I’m glad she’s with you right now.”

A horrible thought suddenly entered my mind, and I couldn’t make it go away.

“Owen, tell me you aren’t trying to set me up with Andie.” I knew my little brother, and he was definitely trying to convince me of something here. I had a feeling he was trying to talk me into the absurd notion that Andie and I would make a good couple.

“I wouldn’t mind if the two of you hooked up,” he answered noncommittally.

“That’s insane,” I ground out.

“Is it?” he asked lightly.

“Yes. Andie has turned into some kind of bohemian woman who travels the globe like she doesn’t have a care in the world. She’s not conventional, nor does she appear to take much of anything seriously. She stole my computer, for God’s sake. We have nothing in common.”

Owen was silent for a moment before he answered. “What do you want, Noah? A female who will work herself to death at a desk right next to you?”

For some reason, his comment annoyed me. “I don’t need a woman. Period. I just want to get some work done.”

“I have to go,” Owen said abruptly. “I have a meeting with Dr. Fortney. Just be nice to Andie. You know almost nothing about her. If you think she doesn’t know shit about the world and the darker side of life, you’re wrong. I’ll catch up with you later.”

Just like that, my brother hung up.

I disconnected and shoved the phone in my pocket, still wondering what in the hell he’d meant with his last cryptic comment.

I sat down on the bed and rubbed the back of my neck, trying to ignore the beginnings of an enormous headache.