"You-"


    The word "Bro" left Jimmie frozen in ce. A thin veil of mist clouded his bloodshot eyes, and a crushing weight seemed to settle on his mind, making it impossible to think.


    How did she know? And more importantly, did the fact that she had just called him ''bro'' mean she was willing to forgive him?


    Juniper watched his stunned, guilt-ridden expression with a sigh. Before, he had been all too ready to tell her to get out, throw money at her, and demand she have dinner with his ''sister.'' He was so eloquent then, going on and on about his precious ''sister.'' Now that the sister in question was standing right in front of him, he was suddenly speechless.


    "Want to know how I figured it out?" Juniper asked with a wry smile,zily rubbing her wrist.


    "Yes," Jimmie managed, his body as rigid as if it had been cast in concrete. He stared at her, terrified that if he blinked, she would disappear.


    "A ssmate of mine is a fan of yours. She showed me your picture, so I did a little digging," Juniper exined calmly. "Turns out it''s a small world."


    "When did you know?" Jimmie''s throat was dry, his voice a rough whisper.


    "Last Saturday," she said with a soft huff, popping a piece of candy into her mouth to quell her lingering irritation. "When you pushed me, I managed to pluck a couple of your hairs."


    Last Saturday? Jimmie''s mind shed back to their first meeting. So she had known, even back then, that he might be her brother.


    "I''m sorry," he whispered, his already pale face growing even paler. His voice trembled. "Your brother didn''t—"


    Juniper nced up at him, and he immediately corrected himself. "I didn''t mean it. I really didn''t."


    Seeing the broken man in front of her, the candy in Juniper''s mouth suddenly tasted


    sour.


    "It''s not entirely your fault," she said, blinking to hide her own awkwardness. "I knocked over your photo frame, you pushed me into the door. Since neither of us meant it, let''s just call it even."


    At those words, Jimmie''s ashen face flickered with hope. He looked at her, asking carefully, "You''re really not angry?"


    Juniper nodded. She had been, a little, but then she realized that everything he''d done stemmed from his deep love for his sister. That made him a good brother in her book, one she could forgive. Besides, she had conned him out of nearly 10 billion dors.


    "Here," Juniper pulled the DNA report from her bag and handed it to him.


    "How did you get this?" Jimmie took it, his surprise momentarily overriding his relief as he saw the results. When had she done a DNA test?


    "I told you, I plucked a few of your hairs during our first meeting," she reminded him.


    Jimmie clutched the report, reading the confirmation over and over. Juniper was really his sister. His actual sister!


    "Does it still hurt?" he asked, his gaze falling to her arm. He wanted to check it but was afraid she''d pull away, so he could only ask timidly.


    "Huh?" Juniper had been tempted to tease him, to say it still hurt a lot, but she didn''t have the heart.


    "It''s okay, I guess," she said instead.


    ''Okay'' meant it had hurt. Jimmie''s expression shifted. He turned, walked to a corner of the room, and returned with a wooden stick.


    "Hit me back," he said, his expression deadly serious. "Hit me hard. As hard as you need to feel better."


    Juniper froze, the candy still in her mouth.


    Yeah, that was probably a bad idea. One swing from her and she might not have a brother left.