AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Beckham leaned back and smacked a hand on the counter of the desk. “See? We could write a book, you and me.”
“On what?” Aiden ground out.
“How to deal with overbearing, athletically-gifted, pain-in-the-ass big brothers.”
The laugh burst out of me so fast, so loud, there was no stopping it.
And the two men had very, very different reactions. As I slapped a hand over my mouth to stem the hysterical sounds trying to escape, Beckham smiled just a little too smugly.
And Aiden … he looked like a thundercloud.
In fact, I’d never seen him look like that, and as my laughter subsided, I tried desperately to ignore the growing feeling that he looked … he looked jealous.
“Beckham,” he said, “thank you for dropping off Anya. Don’t you have to go to work?”
“Nope, I have plenty of time.”
My eyes flipped between them.
Aiden glared.
Beckham smiled. “I was having an interesting conversation with Eloise the other day when she was home from school.”
When Aiden made a growling noise, deep from within his chest, my eyes widened. “Beckham,” he ground out.
Beckham leaned toward me again. “Eloise is our youngest sister. She’s a little nosy sometimes, but we all adore her.”
“Debatable at the moment,” Aiden interjected.
“How many of there are you?” I asked.
“Five,” they said in unison.
My lips curled in a smile. “I have a big family too.”
At that, Aiden’s face finally lost its hard edge, and he nodded.
Beckham glanced at his watch, and like he hadn’t instigated this entire conversation, he twirled his car keys on his pointer finger. “Well, I better get going.” He held out his hand to me again, and I took it. “Isabel, it was a pleasure to meet you.”
My brows lowered. “I think I’ll withhold judgment until I’m not stuck in a verbal sparring match between you two.”
He laughed. “Aiden, I’ll see you later.”
Aiden rubbed his forehead. “Thanks for watching Anya.”
Her head popped around the corner. “Bye Uncle Beckham, thanks for the huge chocolate bar!”
Beckham winked at her. “Anytime, munchkin.”
Aiden glared at his retreating back, and I tried to smother my smile.
What a strange, unexpected exchange to completely change the trajectory of my mood. I’d seen so many different sides of him now, and none of them—not a single one—were any less appealing.
I liked grumpy, older brother Aiden. And I wished I didn’t.
With Beckham gone, and Anya running back to her dad’s office, it was just me and Aiden. I found myself holding my breath to see if he’d say anything. Praying he wouldn’t. I wasn’t entirely sure.
And wasn’t that the problem?
