Excerpt of The Aussie Next Door by Stefanie London

Judging by the way Angie was talking to Elijah, smiling sweetly and toying with the end of her ponytail, she was definitely “vibing,” as Chloe put it. An ugly, foreign feeling surged up inside Jace that made him feel the exact same way as when he’d watched his brother flirting with her.

Turn around and walk away. It’s none of your damn business.

But before Jace fully thought through the consequences of his actions, he was crossing the road with Truffle leading the way. As soon as the little white dog caught sight of Angie, his tail started going a million miles a minute.

Stop. You’re not going to get involved. Don’t be a hypocrite. Other people in this town meddle and you hate it.

It was true. He came from a family of meddlers, and it drove him nuts. But maybe there was some meddling-specific chromosome that had been passed on from his parents without his knowledge, remaining dormant all this time and waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Jace.” Angie looked at him with wide eyes, almost like she was a kid with her hand stuck in the cookie jar.

“I was taking Truffle for a walk.” He raked a hand through his hair like he was totally relaxed and going about his day. The truth was, he had no bloody idea what he was doing. “How was yoga?”

“Awesome.” For some reason, Angie’s voice seemed an octave or two higher than normal. “Super great, actually. Excellent.”

Hmm. Three ways of saying the same thing. She did that whenever she was nervous.

“Are you into yoga?” Jace asked Elijah.

“Yeah, man. With all the firewood I have to chop for the pizza oven, my back gets real tight.”

Jace resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How did he manage to say shit like that without coming off like a total douchecanoe?

“But I could always use some tutoring.” Elijah shot Angie a flirty look, and her cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink. “Any opportunity to expand my skills.”

“I’m sure Chloe could help with that,” Jace said stiffly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Truffle sniffing around Elijah’s leg. He’d done the same thing to the coffee table earlier that morning—inspecting his target. Jace really should put a stop to it…

“I wasn’t talking about Chloe,” Elijah said, his eyes still trained on Angie.

Angie laughed and gingerly stuck her hand in the air. “I volunteer as tribute.”

Jace forgot the dog and stared at her hard. Was this one of those gray-area things he’d never understand, or did Angie really like this guy? He had no freaking clue.

Just then, Truffle jumped up on his hind legs, hooking his front paws around Elijah’s calf. His hips started to hinge back and forth, and Elijah glanced down, a what the hell do I do now expression on his face as he and Angie looked down at Sir Hump-a-Lot.

“What the hell?” Elijah stumbled back, and Truffle dropped down to the ground, looking mightily miffed that his sexy times were interrupted.

“Truffle!” Angie snort-laughed. “So inappropriate.”

“It’s a dominance thing,” Jace said to Elijah. “He tends to do that whenever he thinks he can overpower someone.”

Angie shot Jace a raised brow, but she squatted to give the dog a scratch behind the ears before he could figure out exactly what she was thinking. Was the comment too much? He’d blurted it out without thinking, and Elijah seemed off his game now.