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He should have known better.
Shane knocked, his thumps sounding far more urgent than he wanted them to. He prayed he was wrong. Please don’t be Marc. Please be someone who was interested in dating Brielle.
That was exactly who opened the door.
Brielle stared at him through lidded eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“Eloise invited me.”
She lifted a brow, her arms folding as she continued to block the doorway. “Really? Because I feel like she would have said something if that were the case.”
He swallowed hard and attempted to peer over her shoulder. “I know we’re not really on the best of terms, but I need to get in there and meet with Eloise. She and I are going on a ride this afternoon.”
“She’s already got a visitor.” Brielle snorted. “You really have a hard time following directions, don’t you?”
His head reared back. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Your cousin is here. What was the point of my helping you if you couldn’t even keep him from hanging out with my sister?”
And just like that, the rock in his stomach dropped. His whole body sagged with the revelation. “Marc is here?”
She nodded. “He’sbeenhere regularly. He comes over like three times a week just to chat with Eloise on the back porch.”
The worry that started as a small flicker roared to life with a fury that resembled how he’d felt when Marc and Madeline arrived. “He has?”
“Yup. Don’t worry. I don’t think Eloise has kissed him or anything. But he’s been hanging around, and it doesn’t matter what I tell her. She won’t listen to me. I guess he’s here to stay? He bought some place out by the club?”
Shane dragged a hand down his face. “Yeah. He did.”
“Well, what are you going to do about it?”
His head snapped up and he stared at her. “Me?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you say you were going to handle it? Is that what you call handling it?” She jabbed her finger toward the back porch. “Because I feel like he’s only getting closer to her.”
Shane brushed past her into the house. “I’m doing my best, Brielle. I don’t exactly have control over who you or any of your family members invite over to your home,” he muttered.
Brielle’s footsteps followed him through the house, and when he turned down a hallway he thought might lead to the back, she chuckled mirthlessly. “On your right, buddy.”
He turned on his heel and headed in the direction she told him to go. When he reached the back door, he stopped. Eloise and Marc sat on the edge of the porch. There was at least two feet between them. From the back, their conversation looked completely innocent. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, only their muffled voices.
“You gonna go break them up, or what?” Brielle’s quiet voice broke through his reverie, and he glanced at her.
“You said he’s been coming here for weeks?”
“Probably since you started dating Eloise.”
He turned his focus back to the couple outside. His jaw tightened and he gave her a sharp nod. “I see.”
She reached out and touched his arm. “Like I said. They haven’t done anything sordid.”
“That you know of.”
Brielle rolled her eyes. “Come on, Shane. Do you really think Eloise would be capable of something like that? She might not have told you about them meeting—”
“You didn’t either.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t want you dating her in the first place.”
