Chapter 2 -Sibling Rivalry

That man was Brad Pennington and he did spend the night. He was standing over the stove when Aimee trudged her way out of the hallway, and he spotted her before she could duck back into the bathroom and freshen up. He stood about three inches past six feet and came equipped with a thick chest and flat shoulders that Aimee could probably rest her morning coffee on without fear of the mug falling. He was bald and clean-shaven with a smile that she was glad he decided not to hide behind facial hair. He was obviously a morning person, because even after being up until four in the morning doing the nasty to her sister, he cheerfully made breakfast and had already swallowed half a pot of coffee. At least he left her some. He wore blue jeans with his smile and nothing else. Aimee glanced over the counter and wasn't disappointed that even the man's feet were sexy. How in the world is Karla so damn lucky?

Aimee realized she still wore her baggy flannels and tried to hide behind the island counter, as she raked her fingers through her long, blond hair. She really wished Karla would give her some sort of warning before allowing her to wake up to someone in their kitchen, especially a sculpture like Brad. Yet, Karla was never that proactive and Aimee highly doubted the other Harper sibling was likely to start anytime soon.

"Wow," he said, as he turned and filled a mug with coffee, setting it in front of her when he finished. "Karla didn't tell me you two were twins. I bet people confuse the two of you all the time."

"Even with her hair dyed brown. It gets annoying."

"Well, I'll do my best not to add to that annoyance."

"Isn't it great waking up to a bare-chested man cooking breakfast?" Karla appeared out of the hallway in her silk robe, which barely covered the bottom of her ass. Even though she tried to appear as if she just woke up, Aimee knew Karla had brushed her shoulder-length chocolate hair, fixed her makeup and roughed herself up in just the perfect way. Karla was never a mess without it being on purpose, and she never allowed the men she brought home to see the natural side of her in the morning. "Always make them think you wake up gorgeous," she told Aimee when they first moved in together. She would wake up before her date did and make sure her "morning face" was exactly as she wanted it. "Did you two introduce yourselves while I was sleeping in?"

Aimee fought not to roll her lake-blue eyes. "Actually, I just woke up myself. I thought it was you frying the bacon until I remembered you don't cook."

Karla ignored her. Instead, she walked over to Brad, the top of her head just barely reaching his shoulders, and ran a finger down his flat chest, "What can I say? My talents aren't in the kitchen."

Brad grinned at her, revealing his perfect white teeth, as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'm sure the talents I experienced last night could be used anywhere."

This time Aimee did roll her eyes. She coughed a couple of times, as well, to get them to pry their eyes off each other. She stretched her hand out across the counter at the mountain of a one night stand her sister attempted to climb. "Hi, I'm Aimee, her sister."

After prying himself from Karla's embrace, Brad wiped his hands on a towel he had tucked into his waistband before shaking her hand. "Brad, Brad Pennington. I hope my being here doesn't bother you. I promise, I'm a good cook."

Aimee shrugged her shoulders. "Not at all. Karla's men always cook me breakfast the morning after screwing my sister. I haven't cooked a weekend morning in ages. What are we having?" She tried to smile syrupy sweet.

Her sister turned and glared at her before giving Brad's chest a kiss. "Yes, what is for breakfast?"

He glanced back and forth between the two sisters, not sure what was really going on. He must have decided to just ignore it as sibling barbs, because he said nothing about Aimee's comment and simply announced the morning fare. "And it's almost ready. Will your boyfriend be joining us?"

"Boyfriend?" Aimee felt her eyebrows pinch together with her confusion. What in the world has Karla told him? "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Oh." Now Brad looked confused. "Sorry. I just… Well, the walls are extremely thin. I know you heard us because, well, we heard the two of you. I just assumed he spent the night, as well."

Aimee felt the redness of her embarrassment warm her cheeks as she ignored Karla's smirk. "No, it was just a quick booty call. He left right afterward."

"Oh, well, I made too much food then. Sorry. Where are your glasses?" He pulled three glasses from a cupboard Aimee pointed out to him and then poured everyone some orange juice.

"Oh good." Karla patted his flat stomach as she passed him. "I'll just go freshen up a bit and join you at the table. I'm not sure how you can stand looking at me fresh out of bed like this."

"Because I saw you freshly tucked into that bed," he said, and Aimee could have sworn his eyes sparkled. Why were men so corny after getting their rocks off?

Soon they were sitting around the table, dipping bacon in syrup and eating pancakes. The breakfast conversation turned to other things and Aimee was able to eat without feeling nauseous watching her sister drool over her latest catch. Brad worked in real estate and seemed pretty successful at it. Aimee wasn't surprised. He seemed a natural salesman just from what she witnessed that morning as he maneuvered her sister. Of course, Karla was better at the manipulation game and, while Brad probably thought he was playing Karla, Aimee knew he was the one being played. Her sister always worked an. Always.

Karla held a piece of bacon between her fingers as she said, "I told Brad about your car problems. He has a friend he's going to call and hook us up. He might be able to help us get it running smooth again." She smiled at Aimee just before taking a bite of her bacon.

Unbelievable was all Aimee thought as she stared at her sister. She was right about who was being played, but she hadn't considered that it was for her benefit and not Karla's. She glanced over at Brad. "That's really nice of you, but I'm sure we can manage. I have some money set aside I was going to use for the Decades of Rock concerts in a couple of weeks. I'd rather it go towards getting the car fixed." She glanced back at her sister, hoping Karla felt the daggers she was sending. "I would hate to take advantage of a friend."

Brad finished swallowing his eggs as he waved off her words. Men just loved to be the white knight and when you combined that with giving them a piece of ass, a girl could usually get anything she wanted. Karla was a pro at the game, even though it turned Aimee's stomach. "It's not a problem. His name is Mitch Greenway and he runs his own shop over on Hillshire. I'm sure if I call him, he'll give you girls a good deal and he's damn good at what he does."

So is Karla. Aimee kept her eyes on her sister who just sat there smiling sweetly.