Free The Good Sister by Leanne Davis

well with casual.
    “It was fine, Jessie.”
    She paused and glared at him. “Fine? That’s how I feel after a trip to the dentist. Come off it, Noah, what was it like? Has she cracked a joke yet?”
    “Again, do you think I actually want to discuss my personal life with you?”
    She waved her hand around. “Who else are you going to discuss it with?”
    “I don’t know, perhaps, my friends? Someone who isn’t married to a former soldier who could kill me in my sleep twenty different ways.”
    Jessie snorted. “As if Will would ever bother with you. He likes you.”
    “Well, I’m not always convinced he likes you asking about my personal life.”
    “Oh, you mean your sex life?” she smiled cheekily as Lindsey gasped behind him. He glanced at her. Her mouth was open and her eyes rounded. She obviously wasn’t used to her sister’s brassiness anymore. “Will doesn’t mind.”
    “Well, you’ll never know either way. So quit it.”
    “Has Mrs. Biology Professor put out yet?”
    He groaned in frustration, but caught the look of sheer joy on Jessie’s face at making him squirm.
    “Oh my God, Jessie! You can’t ask things like that.”
    Jessie burst out laughing, grabbing her middle. “Oh, I so can, just to see the look on both of your faces. And… has she?”
    Noah glanced in Lindsey’s direction. Her mouth was set in a tight line and her cheeks were flushed. Holy crap, the girl was strung tight. Subject variety apparently didn’t matter.
    “Jessie, I will never answer that.”
    She strained her neck to peek around him. “Well, don’t look now, but here comes said professor carrying a tray of what looks like baked goods. Oh yeah, Dr. Clark must’ve put out.”
    Noah swept the chart he was glancing over into his arms and turned away from his annoying-as-hell assistant. Sure enough, Hannah Turling was opening the front door and coming inside. She was a small, petite woman, with blond hair and a studious, but sweet face. She dressed in knee-length skirts with comfortable looking, low heels. She wasn’t stylish and hip like Jessie, or elegant, but rather, ridiculously made up for the time of day and the small town they were in, like Lindsey. Okay, he had to admit, Hannah could stand a little more style.
    She was, however, extremely kind as she approached, carrying a platter covered in foil. He smiled and stepped forward, keeping his back to Jessie.
    “Hannah, what a surprise.”
    Hannah dropped her eyes to the floor as heat filled her cheeks. That seemed to be his effect on women of late. First Lindsey, and now her.
    “I baked some gingersnaps for you. You mentioned they were your favorite. I have a lecture at two so I thought I’d drop them by on my way to the college.”
    Jessie cleared her throat behind him. He knew why. Leveling a glance at her, he warned her with his eyes quite explicitly to keep quiet. Noah regularly received a ridiculous amount of pastries and other baked goods from the female population around town. Jessie claimed they were all trying to bake their way into his heart. He tried to explain it was a small town and he cared for many of their beloved pets. It made people especially grateful to him. She scoffed. Disbelieving. He took the still warm platter. There was an awkward moment as both sisters watched and Hannah kept her gaze pinned on his feet. “Thank you, that was very kind of you. And yes, they are still my favorite.”
    “Are we having dinner tonight?”
    “Yes, of course. I’ll meet you back here at seven.”
    She glanced up and smiled shyly before taking her leave.
    Jessie snickered. “Lord, Noah, she’s as scared of you as she would be of Sasquatch! How are you ever going to make a move on her if she doesn’t quit studying the floor?”
    He groaned. “She’s a perfectly nice person, Jessie.”
    Jessie sighed. “No one could say you’re shallow,” she retorted before grabbing a cookie, and taking a bite. “But these are fantastic. Keep up the good work and