57
Erica shot her sister a glare, and she closed her mouth. Whatever it was Erica was doing, she hadn’t wanted me to find out. This just piqued my curiosity, but I knew when to push and when to pull back. I’d wait for a better time to broach the subject of Erica’s income and what she did.
“Amanda?” I asked, already knowing the answer to this one.
“Dropped out to help look after these three,” she said with a smile.
“And we love you for being the best big sister ever,” Emily gushed.
Mel offered her love and appreciation for her older sister, and even Erica cracked a huge smile and heaped praise on Amanda. By the time the three were done, Amanda was blushing beet red and smiling from ear to ear. I couldn’t help but smile too as I saw how much my sisters loved one another. They’d been through a lot together, but they always had each other. Now they were my family. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world.
“Well I think it’s time I hit the hay,” I said, getting to my feet and stretching my tired muscles.
At Amanda’s insistence that she didn’t need help with the dishes, I bid my siblings goodnight and stifled a yawn as I grabbed my gym bag and headed up to my small flat. Once inside I dumped my bag on the couch before slumping onto the cushion beside it. I was tired but didn’t feel much like sleeping yet. I grabbed the T. V remote and started browsing Netflix for something to watch. I ended up re-watching Archer from season one. I was about half-way through episode two when I heard a soft knock at my front door. Erica wouldn’t have knocked, so it must have been one of my other sisters.
I paused the episode and answered the door to see Emily standing there with a cute little smile. She was still wearing her oversized t-shirt, and I took a quick moment to admire how stunning she was.
“Good morning,” I smiled.
“Technically yes,” she grinned.
“I hope my T. V wasn’t too loud,” I said.
“Not at all. You can’t hear anything that happens up here,” she assured me. “Mind if I come in?”
“Not at all,” I stepped aside to let Emily in before closing the door.
It wasn’t a cold night-since it was summer in the down under after all-but Emily shivered a little. She wasn’t wearing a great deal of clothing after all.
“Wanna watch some Netflix?” I asked, gesturing to the couch.
“Sure… I can chill,” she grinned adorably.
I dumped my gym bag off the couch and took my seat. Emily wrapped her legs under her as she sat beside me. We watched in comfortable silence for about twenty minutes before I felt Emily’s head rest against my shoulder. I wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she responded by wrapping her arms around my waist.
‘You’re so warm,” she said. “Like a living heater.”
“So I’ve been told,” I chuckled.
“By girlfriends?” Emily asked quizzicallyThis content is © NôvelDrama.Org.
“And female friends,” I replied.
Emily tilted her head up to study me, and I met her gorgeous green eyes. She cocked her head to one side as our eyes lingered on one-another’s for a whole minute without saying a word. Then she looked back to the T. V screen. “I’m sure you had all the girls chasing after you back in London.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Not really. I was always too busy working.”
“All work and no play?” she asked.
“Kind of,” I shrugged. “Mum needed help with bills and rent, so I made that my top priority. I always found time to hang out with my friends and I even dated a few girls over the years. But there was nothing serious.”
“You’re a really sweet guy.”
Emily planted a kiss on my cheek, and I felt my pulse quicken at the touch of her lips. It was true that I’d been with my fair share of girls back home, but none of them made me feel the way these women did. It was just a shame they were my relatives.
“What about you?” I asked, taking the spotlight off me.
“What do you mean?” Emily asked.
“You must be batting guys off with a stick,” I chuckled.
“Hardly,” Emily pouted. “There are a few guys I went to high school with, but they’re not really my type.”
“What is your type?” I questioned.
“I like older guys,” she replied. Not elaborating further.
“There were a bunch of older guys here last night at the party. Surely some of them were your type,” I pressed on.
“I’m the little sister of Amanda and Erica, not even the pretty one,” Emily sighed. “They tend to treat me like a kid. Even Mel gets more attention than I do.”
I shifted to face Emily and placed a hand on her cheek, gently turning her to face me. “You’re just as beautiful as any of our sisters.”
“You’re just saying that,” she blushed.
“I’m not,” I replied. “Each of you have qualities that make you unique to one-another. Amanda is beautiful, kind and thoughtful. She never stops caring about her family and making sure we’re all looked after. It’s actually quite irritating when I can’t do anything on my own.”
Emily giggled at my description of Amanda and nodded her head in agreeance.