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“I went to Harris for dinner and did some meal prepping.”
“Who went with you?”
I grit my teeth. “Palmer.”
Deep belly laughs come from my oldest brother, and if he wasn’t driving us, I’d probably punch him. Not to hurt him, but maybe in the arm so he knows he’s annoying as fuck right now. “Why is that funny?”
“Because it is. It’s like pulling teeth to get information out of you. Why can’t you just admit you’re into her?”
“Who said anything about me being into her? We’ve been friends with Deacon for years. She’s Ramsey’s best friend, Deacon’s little sister. Why wouldn’t I stop to help her? I’d like to think… no, I know for a fact that if it were Deacon who was driving by, and it was Ramsey, he would have stopped.”
“Of course he would have. That’s his fiancée.”
“You know what I mean, jackass. If they weren’t together, he would have stopped and offered to help.”
“Do you think he would have given her his truck and taken her to dinner?”
I shrug. “Probably.”
“So, the two of you went to Harris for dinner, the next town over. I just want that to go on the record, and then what? She drops you off at your house and takes your truck?”
I should have stayed home and in bed. “No. She came inside for a while.”
“Wait until I—” he starts, but I turn to look at him. I’m glaring at the side of his face, and I know he can feel me.
“No.” My voice is gruff and a tad bit menacing. “You will not run and tell your girlfriend anything. I was helping her out. We went to dinner. She stayed to watch how I meal prep, and then she went home.” I don’t tell him how my cock was half-mast most of the night or how I offered her to stay over. I never let women stay over. Hell, I never bring them to my place. I’m not one of those guys who has a new woman every weekend. I’ve had the occasional hookup, but they’re never at my place. Other than Ramsey, my mom, and Jade, my house is a woman-free zone.
Until last night.
Until Palmer.
“Relax, I’m just busting your balls.”
“Well, don’t.”
A few minutes later, he’s pulling into the gym. He parks but doesn’t turn the engine off right away, which tells me he’s got something to say. I wait, knowing he’s not going to rest until he says what’s on his mind.
“Look, Brooks. You’re my brother, and I love you. There is nothing wrong with liking Palmer. Deacon doesn’t have a leg to stand on. He’s engaged to our little cousin who is ten years younger than him.”
“She’s the same age as Palmer.”
“Yeah, but you’re a few years younger than Deacon. There’s what? Seven years between the two of you?”
“Something like that.”
“I say if you’re into her, you pursue it.”
“It’s nothing, Orrin. Can we just drop it? I was being a nice guy, and you’re trying to marry me off because of it.”
“I’m not trying to marry you off.” He chuckles under his breath. “I’m just telling you that you never know when you find the one.”
“You saying that Jade is the one?” I turn the tables on him, only it backfires. My big bro is all too willing to talk about his girlfriend and how he feels about her.
“Yes.” There is not one single second of hesitation in his reply.
“I’m happy for you, man. But Palmer and me, it’s not like that. She’s beautiful, I won’t deny that, but we’re just friends.” A friend that I can’t stop thinking about. A friend who is the sister of another friend, and the best friend of my little cousin. That’s all kind of twisted and complicated, and I don’t like complicated. I get enough drama working in the ER to last me a lifetime.
He nods. “All right, I’ll drop it. For now.” He kills the engine, grabs his keys, and reaches for the door.
