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Did I forget to press Send on my text message?
I swallowed hard, getting up from the couch and heading straight to the door, looking through the peephole. Yep, it was Colton.
This is going to be a bloodbath.
"Who is it?" Alex asked.
"It looks like you’ll get your wish after all," I said. "It's Colton."
I spoke loudly, hoping Colton could hear me from the other side of the door, and then I swung it open. He looked exhausted and was carrying a blue gift bag.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him. "Didn't you get my message?"
His eyebrows shot up. "No, my phone's battery is dead."
"My brothers are here," I said under my breath.
And byhere, I meant they were right behind me. They'd teleported from the living room or something.
Colton looked up at them as he stepped inside. Alex's and Dean's eyes fell on the blue bag, which Colton set on the table.
"What’s that?" I asked him.
"A present for you."
I clapped my hands, smiling broadly. "I'll open it later. Colton, this is Alex and Dean."
"Nice to meet both of you," Colton said.
To my relief, they behaved themselves as they exchanged pleasantries. Then we all went to the living room.
"They dropped by with breakfast. Help yourself," I told Colton.
"I'm not hungry," Colton said. "I grabbed something on the way from the office."
I stared at him. "Why were you at the office?"
"I was at the lab until late at night, and I ended up sleeping there."
My mouth dropped open. That would explain why he seemed a bit stiff. I thought it was a reaction to my brothers. I was going to take care of him as soon as we were alone.
"So, Colton, my sister told us you two are dating, but you refuse to be called her boyfriend. Would you mind explaining to us how that's not taking advantage of her?" Alex asked.
I nearly dropped my donut.
"Alex! You can't talk to him like that," I said.
Colton cleared his throat and took my hand, kissing the back of it. "I've got this," he said.
Okay, that wasn't the reaction I was expecting. Not sure what I thought—maybe that he'd bolt or punch my brother.
He looked at the two of them calmly.
"Zoey and I don’t want to put pressure on ourselves. The second she tells me she wants me to be her boyfriend, I will be more than happy to let the world know. But until then, we're both good. I understand you want to protect her. As her brothers, it's your right. But know this: I’d never take advantage of her."
My brothers blinked.
Alex nodded. "All right, that's a reasonable explanation."
