AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sonia’s breath caught in her throat. “Bren, let me take you home. You shouldn’t be out here. I’ll tuck you into bed…”
“B?” Ian’s voice echoed down the alley, followed by pounding footsteps. In seconds, Ian was crouched on Brendan’s other side. Draping Brendan’s shirt around his shoulders, he unscrewed the cap from a bottle of water and held it to his brother’s lips.
Brendan tried to wave it away and knocked his hand against the bottle, splashing water onto Ian.
“Jeez, man. Didn’t know you were out here. Here, Sonia, help me get him inside.” Ian hooked his arm under his brother’s, but Brendan shook him off.
“I’m fine! Everything’s fuckin’ perfect. I’ve got you here, I’ve got Sonia. I love you both so damn much. I love you, Sonia! Get Di here too. We’ll celebrate.”
His words snatched Sonia’s breath away. Brendan was smashed. He didn’t actually…love her. Not really. Not like that.
Brendan reached out, trying to pat both their cheeks, but ended up swiping Ian and pawing at Sonia.
Ian urged the water on him again, but Brendan batted it away. “Thought you could hold your liquor, bro,” Ian admonished. “DC’s turned you soft.”
Above Brendan’s head, Sonia held Ian’s gaze. “Don’t shame him for not being the great Brendan O’Brian.”
“But I am.” Brendan lifted a hand and flopped it around. “I am the great…Brendan O’Brian. That’s who you want, sunshine.”
“That’snotwho I want,” Sonia said fiercely. “I want you.”
“You want me?” Brendan broke into a smile. “You really want me? Listen to that. She wants me.”
“I think he needs to rest,” Sonia said to Ian, her cheeks burning.
“Yeah, you should sleep this off, B.”
“But the party—”
“The party’s winding down,” Ian soothed, his voice sounding exactly like his brother’s, though the party had looked to Sonia to be in full swing. “You’ve taken care of me so many times. You put me to bed when I needed it. Now I need you to be in good shape for my wedding tomorrow. I need you to take it easy and rest.”
“No, you don’t.” Brendan shook his head from side to side. “You don’t need me.”
The tabby cat scuttled across the alley, its eyes gleaming yellow. Scrambling up a pile of cardboard, it vaulted onto a fence. When Sonia dared to glance at Ian, he looked stricken.
“Yes, I do,” Ian said quietly. “You have no idea how much I need you.”
Sonia’s heart squeezed. She stared at the two men in front of her, so alike yet so different, and wondered if she’d ever be able to say those words to Brendan.
Finally, Ian broke the silence. “You still look out for me. Who else is gonna buy me fries when I won’t buy them myself?”
“You’ve got Diana.”
Ian eased himself down to sit next to Brendan on the ground. He rested his head against his brother’s. “You know me like no one else does. Diana? She also knows me like no one else. She in her way, and you in yours. I need you, B.”
“I need you too,” Brendan mumbled.
Sonia almost jumped when warm fingers closed over hers. She had to check to make sure who they belonged to.
They were Brendan’s. His eyelids were drooping.
“Come on, Brendan,” she said softly. “Let’s get you home.”
Between her and Ian, they were able to heave Brendan to his feet and propel him out of the alley to the sidewalk in front of the bar.
“I might throw up,” Brendan said contemplatively.
“Jesus, B. You? You’ve never—”
