AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"So," Julian said, "we meet again, Scarlett. Did Chad already tell you that you can drink the best Sazerac in town here?"
"The very best," she replied. Her shoulders had dropped a few inches. Had she been stressed about coming here?
Damn, why didn't I stop to think how unleashing all my brothers on her at the same time would make her feel?
"Hang on," Xander said. "I’m Xander. We need to get introductions out of the way, since the four of us are at a disadvantage. But you two like to keep it that way.” He nodded at Scarlett. “They’ve been doing that ever since we were kids."
Scarlett blinked, looking back at me with confusion in her eyes.
I sighed. "Just to fill you in, Julian is the oldest, and I'm the second oldest. Our younger brothers constantly feel the need to point out that we somehow had more leverage over them growing up."
"Well, we did," Julian said. "I was especially annoying. Made them do errands on my behalf until they were old enough to know better."
I laughed. “And I learned very quickly from Julian. But," I said, pointing at Zachary and Xander, "you two got away with a lot more shit. They come after me. Not to mention you two." I turned my intention to Anthony and Beckett.
"Well, we are the youngest. And you don't hear us complaining," Anthony said. "I'm Anthony, by the way."
"And I'm Beckett."
"Yeah, and I'm Zachary, and I've already had too many Sazeracs, too, so forgive me if I make you uncomfortable."
Scarlett was grinning at all my brothers. "You're not. This is fun. Well, I mean, I realized the family was tight when I met your grandmothers."
"Yes, we heard about that," Beckett said. Even though he was only a few years younger than Anthony, he seemed almost a decade younger. Perhaps because he still had a boyish curiosity about everything.
"By the way," Xander said, "both grans really liked you."
Scarlett’s eyes widened a bit. "But I barely talked to them."
"They have a good feeling about people," Zachary filled in.
"All right, how about a round of Sazeracs for everyone?" Julian said. "We can toast to our new deal.”
Focusing on Scarlett, I explained, “We convinced our liquor supplier not to raise prices for the upcoming year."
Julian scoffed. "Bywehe means himself. I was just an innocent bystander."
I just laughed.
"Chad's got the scaring-the-shit-out-of-our-business-partner act down to a T, so he doesn't need me to chip in much. He's only gotten sharper over the years." My brother placed half a dozen Sazeracs on the counter. "All right, fam, dig in."
Scarlett looked at me with a half smile. "So you go hard on your business partners, huh?"
I nearly snorted into my drink. There was nothing sexual about her sentence, but my mind went completely haywire. The things I'd do to this woman in bed.
I realized at precisely that moment that Julian had been right. My idea of being celibate had been utter and total shit.
"Yeah, he likes to bust balls," Julian said.
Our four younger brothers burst out laughing.
Scarlett brought her drink to her mouth, taking a few sips.
I looked straight at Julian. "Would you mind keeping it a bit professional?"
"No, man, sorry. This is on you. You know how we are when we get together. You brought Scarlett here to meet us at your own risk. You should’ve introduced her to us in a more formal setting first so we could make a good impression."
"But I am impressed," Scarlett said. "By you all and this drink. I've never even had a Sazerac before."
