“Yeah, dude. Always a great time.” Jackson smiles, lifts his hand toward me in farewell, then heads to a parked SUV, unlocking it. He’s gone within the next minute, leaving me alone with Lukas again.
At least, blessedly, I’m not alone with him in his bedroom again?
“You hungry, E-clair-a?” Lukas asks, arms stretched above his head. He rolls his neck, likely popping every single one of the bones he screwed up by sleeping on the couch last night. “Viktor said he’d have dinner on the table by the time we got back.” Dropping his arms, he clasps my hand, beaming with childish joy. “I can’t wait for you to meet everyone.”
I fall into step behind him, tugged along on his relentless mission to…what? Get me settled and make me comfortable here, like some kind of princess? I don’t know.
All I know is that I am not looking forward to meeting more insane celebrities. My heart can barely handle this one.
He continues, all but merciless, “After dinner, I’ll take you out to get some things, show you around Sunset a bit.” He chuckles, squeezing my hand. “It’ll be fun.”
Fun. Yes. Very…very…fun.
Am I a pet or something?
As we step from the garage, and the majesty of the world surrounding the Bachelor manor swallows me up in ways it couldn’t while I was in the tour bus, I tense. Monarch butterflies flit, landing on plants overburdened by heavy blossoms. Bees buzz. Sweet scents fill the air, which is crisp and…country. Fresh. It’s stunning. Everything is stunning.
Lukas really wants me to live here?
He wants to take care of mehere?
I am mildly frightened about what he expects in return, and bymildly, I do meandeathly.
But I will cross that terror bridge when I get to it, hoping only that it may not fall out from under me.
Taking me up a sidewalk to a back door, Lukas plunges us into a dim hallway.
At the far end, figures appear, then lights flicker on.
Lukas releases my hand and throws his arms wide as he heads toward three men I recognize from pictures I’ve seen, news stories I’ve read, interviews…
The Bachelor brothers.
Wow.Wow.
It’s really them.
All of them.
I’m really here, and it’s really them, andplease I beg you, don’t let my life become a reverse harem fanfiction. I am frail, and weak, and have very strong feelings concerning the socially acceptable love decagons. Please. Please. Please.
“I’m home!” Lukas cheers, dragging Zakery and Viktor into an easy hug—because those two don’t try to run. Kyran does, but Lukas catches the internet sensation by the hem of his shirt before he can fully get away. Encompassing all three of his brothers in his giant arms against his broad chest, his giant body eats up theirs, which are also, all things considered,massive.
Reasonably, I develop a complex about my height, which was, before this moment, what I consideredtall.
Freeing a huge breath—which likely has started a tornado somewhere—Lukas melts into the hug. “I’m never going on tour again.”
“You say that every time you get back, yet every few years, you go stir crazy,” Kyran mutters, fixing his shirt once Lukas finally concedes to let him go.
“Every few years, I have another album I need to promote, Kyran.” Lukas folds his arms.
Pitiless, Kyran rolls his eyes. “Sounds inconvenient. Stop writing songs.”
Lukas barks a laugh, then musses Kyran’s shoulder-length black hair. “Stop playing games first, squirt.” Shifting his attention to Zakery, he asks, “Where’s your princess?”
“Maelin’s helping Morana with dinner.”
“Morana?” Lukas asks. “I don’t remember meeting aMorana.”
