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I’m busy stomping around my bedroom and gnawing on my half-painted nails when I hear the distinct sound of tires crunching on the gravel driveway outside. I peek out my window and see a procession of vehicles rolling across the lot and parking in the bare patch of the side yard.
Oh, no! Felix called in the cavalry. Of course he did.
I feel my lips pull into a frown. He’s so exasperating. That twerp always thinks he’s the boss of me.
I watch helplessly as he strides out of the house, standing next to his SUV to greet the others.
Ronan zooms up in his sports car and comes to a screeching halt that leaves tread marks on the gravel. When Felix sneers at him, he only leans out the window and flashes his winning smile. Ronan is a famous hockey player and he’s used to having everyone wrapped around his little finger. He’s always peacocking around, with his happy-go-lucky attitude, wearing his flashy playboy persona like a gold-plated badge. Oh, and did I mention that he’s a twin?
Next to come clunking up the driveway is Nolanin his beat-up old car that’s barely holding its shit together with duct tape. He and Ronan may share the same face but those two couldn’t be more different. Don’t get me wrong—Nolan has his arrogant, charming side just like his twin does. But it usually only comes out to play on special occasions. Even though he could be a big shot hockey player too, he quit his pro sports dream years ago when he fell flat on his face, in love. Well,thatshit didn’t work out. Now, he’s a single dad, raising his adorable five-year-old daughter, Stella. It’s an impossibly selfless act that makes me love him more. But as a twenty-seven year old trying to balance parenthood with the bar he took over from our grandpa, Nolan is a bit of a hot mess.
I watch with growing annoyance as a luxury town car pulls up next to Nolan’s ride. Christ—even Darius is here. If the workaholic billionaire took a minute out of his day to participate in this debacle, I know I’ve got a real mess on my hands. As a hot shot business tycoon, Darius has a hand in every industry. From technology to stocks to real estate and everything in between. He splits most of the year between New York and San Francisco, but he’s been known to pop up in Starlight Falls when we least expect him. He’s twenty-nine and, without question, he’s the most successful of us all. I love him and he’s brilliant, but he always stomps around with a stick up his ass.
Archer arrives last, driving up to the house in his roaring pickup truck. He’s thirty-six, the oldest of my brothers and secretly my favorite. Probably because he was out of the house by the time I hit my teenage years, off in the military earning his reputation as a hometown hero. In general, Archer manages to be far less suffocating than the other guys. Yet despite his aloofness, I somehow know that he always has my back. He’s got this lumberjack vibe going on, and a lot of people around town are intimidated by his quiet, broody attitude, but he and I have an unspoken camaraderie between us.
I watch as each one of my brothers hops out of his own vehicle.Mom used to pitch a fit about us kids ruining her lawn, but with six children all driving, the once-gorgeous grass quickly turned into our new parking lot.
I shake my head, watching them all make their way up to the porch. I hear the elephant stampede enter the house, and my pulse spikes. I really hoped I’d have more time to prepare for this conversation but today is clearly not my day.
I could stay upstairs and try to hide out here, but there’s no point. They’d eventually track me down and force me to talk to them. Willingly complying is just simply less painful. So I take a deep breath, square my shoulders, and prepare for the interrogation.
Tearing my bedroom door open, I come face-to-face with Mason. My chest jumps in surprise. Pretty Boy—well,DoctorPretty Boy—is wandering around the hallway. All six-feet-something of him, in nothing but a bath towel, looking all wet and delicious and infuriatingly sexy.
He rakes his long fingers through his wet, brownish-blondish hair. “I think I’m lost,” he mutters sheepishly, his gorgeous mocha eyes darting around at all the closed bedroom doors in the long hallway.
My helpless gaze is lured to his athletic physique. My god, his tattooed forearms are thick and sturdy like logs. Those shoulders look like they could accidentally demolish a doorframe if he bumped into it. His abs look like they were hand-sculpted by the Almighty Himself.
I try to formulate a sentence but—holy dick imprint!—my heart is now lodged in my throat, blocking my windpipe.
Mason pushes one door open and tentatively pops his head inside. “Oh. Right. Here it is.” Before I can respond, he disappears into the bedroom directly across the hall from mine.
I throw my head up to the ceiling and groan.Fuck my life.
Trying to pull myself together, I take a few cleansing breaths, then I stomp down the stairs.
The guys hoot and holler the moment I step into the living room.
“There she is!”
“Princess Brighton!”
“My Karli Bear!”
“Welcome home, sis!”
I reluctantly mumble my greetings as I get pulled into one tight hug and then shoved into another and then another. When I’m done making my rounds, my brothers’ concerned questions start pouring in. As expected.
“But you shouldn’t be here, right?”
“What? Karli, what the heck is going on?”
“Aren’t you missing summer classes right now?”
“Yes, let’s hear why you’re not at school.”
I’m pretty sure I pissed someone off in a past life to get stuck with five overbearing brothers. I love them but—geez—can I live?
Shrinking under the weight of their questions, I release a helpless sigh. “Yeah, well. I didn’t get into med school for the fall,” I spit out dryly, tearing the bandage right off. Fuck beating around the bushes. “So, no summer classes for me.”
