AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Looking Sam in the eye, I finally answered, “I hope to soon.”
Surprise lit his expression as he took a sip of the beer that had just been placed in front of him. “Really?”
Dakota snorted. “We obviously need to get you a drink if you’re talking about settling down. Everyone knows that isn’t about to happen.”
But just as he caught the waitress’ eye, I said, “I don’t want a drink.”
“What?” Dakota and Sam said as Dylan asked, “You feeling okay?”
“I’m fine, but I, uh...” Shit. “I need to talk to the three of you about something.”
None of them said a thing. They all just sat there with suspicious and curious stares.
When the waitress walked over, Dakota waved her off without ever looking away from me.
Sitting down, I struggled to think of the best way to say it, but in the end, it still came out all kinds of fucked up. “I want to...I’m—Maci. I’m the one Maci’s seeing, and I plan to marry her one day.”
It was fucking terrifying the way they went still. Staring at me blankly as an ominous bubble settled around us.
“I won’t ask if I can date her because we’re already together,” I said on a rush, needing to get the rest out before they started throwing punches, “and I’m not asking her to marry me any time soon because our relationship is still so raw. But I’m done hiding us, and I needed you to know how serious I am about her. She isn’t just some girl. She’s it for me.”
Dylan burst out laughing, but his laughter faded when he realized no one else joined him.
“This better be a fucking joke,” Dakota muttered, his eyes narrowed on me.
“What? No,” Dylan said, only partially sounding like he still found all this funny. “There’s no way—not Connor and Mini. Of course he’s joking.”
I risked a glance in Sam’s direction to find him intently studying me. He didn’t look like he was seconds away from killing me like Dakota, but, Jesus Christ, that unreadable expression of his was fucking terrifying.
Looking first at his brothers before focusing on me again, Sam asked, “How long has this been going on?”
“A few weeks.”
“A few—” Dakota smacked his hand on the table and leaned closer, his voice dropping with warning. “A few weeks? Are you shitting me?”
“No. Listen—”
“You listen,” he hissed over me. “We’ve seen you how many times in the past few weeks, and you never said a fucking word?”
“You’re right; I’m sorry,” I began, trying to keep my tone as calm and even as possible when it felt like my heart was about to escape my chest. “You have every right to be pissed that I didn’t immediately tell you.”
“I have every right to be pissed about a lot of things,” he sneered as he sat back in his chair and caught the passing waitress to order another drink.
Sam was still watching me with that unnerving expression, and for a second, I wondered if he was thinking of the most painful way to kill me. Dylan was blinking rapidly as if he was trying to come out of a daze. And, while his anger was everything I’d expected, Dakota’s cold stare let me know I’d fucked up in a big way.
But I wouldn’t apologize for falling for their sister. I wouldn’t apologize for my time with her.
“Did you tell Maci you were going to talk to us?” Dakota asked as he shifted his empty glass between his hands.
My head slanted because Maci and I had talked about coming clean to her brothers about a dozen times this week, but we’d never settled on when. Then Dylan’s texts from yesterday morning had us pushing out the date longer and longer until we’d eventually left it at soon.
Once I finally shook my head, Dakota nodded and roughly rubbed at his jaw. “You aren’t going to tell her you talked to us. You’re going to break up with her, and we’re going to forget this shit ever happened.”
I gestured from them to the side as if Maci were standing there. “I’m not leaving her.”
Dakota’s eyes narrowed as he seethed, “If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have asked. You’re my best friend, Connor, but you have five seconds to change your mind before we change it for you.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” I said with a lift of my heavy shoulders, “but I’m not changing my mind.”
