My face heats in anger. How dare he? He can’t really be interested in her. He’s been drooling over Kristen for months. I’m not going to stand by and let him toy with Rachel just to make Kristen jealous or some such shit.
“Don’t you fucking da?—”
“You’re too easy man, too easy,” Enos chuckles.
“The fuck?” I growl. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Enos laughs louder, drawing the attention of the women. They give us an amused look. Marley and Shelby likely know Enos is being a pain in my ass. They’re used to his behavior. Rachel looks curious, but when our eyes meet, she quickly turns back to her task.
“You like her,” Enos comments through his chuckles. “You don’t want to admit it, but you do. Trust me, I’m not interested in her, but I love busting your balls by acting like I am.”Asshole!
I punch his deltoid hard, making him stumble and another round of laughter erupts from him.
“Are we in middle school again?” I ask with a scowl. “I don’t like her. I don’t even know her,” I deny even though it feels wrong saying it. Rolling my eyes, I walk away before I deck him for real.Immature dickhead!
When I reach the front of the venue, I check in with Matthew and Jason, two of our security employees. Both men are good at what they do and take their jobs seriously. I trust them as much as I trust my brothers and our two best friends, Dalton and Kelvin, who have been with us since before the beginning of our company.
Dalton and I became close friends in middle school. We were in the same grade and found we had a lot in common. Both of us were being raised in single parent homes. He had a lot more responsibility than I did, since he was the oldest in his family, but our struggles bound us in friendship.
“Yo, bro!” Bo’s voice booms across the empty room. I turn to see him striding from the kitchen area. “Everything look good?” I nod, closing the distance between us.
“Yes, everything seems secure,” I inform him. “The girls need any help?”
Bo shakes his head, looking back toward Shelby and Rachel where they are placing more food on the table. I’m again distracted by Rachel’s beauty when she smiles at Shelby. She iseverything I’d ever want in a womanifI was worthy of finding someone to settle down with, but it can never happen. She’s too good for the likes of me, but damn, I’d love to see her smile at me like that.
“Nah, they have everything under control.” Bo turns back to me. I force myself to focus on Bo and not Rachel. I can’t be thinking of her as anything other than an asset to keep safe.
“What’s that look about?” Bo asks, his face scrunching up with curiosity. I frown pretending to not know what he’s asking. “You had an odd expression on your face. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” I ask, keeping my gaze averted. Bo and I have always been able to read each other well. I don’t want him picking up on my wayward thoughts and to be forced to explain myself. That’s the last thing I need.
I’d known when Bo first met Shelby something was different with him, but I’d had a hard time believing it had anything to do with a woman. Once I’d realized what was going on, I’d warned him to stay away from her. I hadn’t wanted him to hurt her. I’m glad he didn’t listen to me. I’ve never seen him so happy as he is with her.
I begin walking toward where the women are working—Bo trailing behind me—to keep him from delving into my psyche.
“You know,” Bo begins, grasping my bicep to halt my progress across the room. His eyes study me intently. I work to keep my face blank, free of any emotions. “You can talk to me about anything, right?”
I nod, still not looking at him. My gaze locked on the wall to the left of him. I know I won’t be able to hide anything from him if we make eye contact. “Rosco.” With a sigh, I swing my eyes to meet his, clenching my jaw.
“I don’t need to talk about anything. I said I’m fine,” I growl in irritation, a little louder than I’d intended. “Just leave me be.”
Shelby, Marley, and Rachel whip their heads in our direction, obviously hearing my annoyance. Shelby and Marley step toward Bo and I, but Rachel heads into the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” Marley asks, her head bobbing back and forth between me and Bo. Her eyes finally setting on me. “Rosco, what’s wrong?” Her tone demanding.
“Nothing!” I huff loudly. “Would everyone just stop? I said I’m fine!” Three shocked faces stare back at me.
I really want to hit something. Instead I turn and head into the kitchen area with every intention of leaving through the back door. I need some fresh air and a few minutes alone to calm down. I’ve been on edge lately. They can all see it, but I don’t want to talk about it.
This time of year, the memories come rushing back. I just wish they’d all let it go and give me the space I need to get myself together, but my assholes for brothers have always been in my business, just like I’ve been in theirs. We look out for one another, which is great when I’m the one taking care of them, but highly annoying when it’s the other way around.
Forcefully shoving open the kitchen door, I start inside. Rachel is right there, just about to step out of the kitchen. My hand flies up to catch the door before it collides with her face.
“Fuck! I’m sorry,” I say, taking in her startled expression. “It didn’t hit you, did it?”
“No, it didn’t, but next time you might want to be a little more careful opening a door when you don’t know who or what might be on the other side,” she scolds, cocking her head to the side and giving me a stern look.Damn, she’s cute when she’s trying to be bossy.
Every time Rachel and I are together we end up snapping at one another. I find myself looking for ways to annoy her or piss her off just so she’ll give me some attitude. I’m sure she likelyhates me at this point, because it’s become my favorite pastime. Plus, if she’s angry, there’s less chance I’ll end up kissing her.
