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I swatted his chest. “I told you; I never want to be without you again.”
He wrapped me in his arms, tugging me against his chest and kissing my forehead. I inhaled the sweet scent of home. “And I promised you never would.”
I imagined what life would look like now with Drake—the way we’d go to bed together every night and how his kisses would taste every morning. Daydreams of lazy Sunday mornings and hot cups of coffee together in bed distracted me, and I zoned out, staring into the empty space over his shoulder until he cleared his throat.
It pulled me from my daze, reminding me reality looked a lot like my daydreams now. He stared at me. Was he daydreaming too? My heart skipped a beat, and my breath hitched imagining he was.
When I stretched onto my toes to kiss him, there was a knock at the door, reminding me there was still a world outside of our room. I gasped, and my blood ran cold. “I wasn’t expecting anyone,” I said, already picturing Dallas outside even though I knew it wouldn’t be him. Drake and Ronan had promised he was gone and would never come back.
Drake tucked me behind him in the entryway, peeking through the glass next to the window. His shoulders relaxed, and he stepped to the side. “It’s Brys.”
The hairs on my arms stood up, and a flood of panic caused my heart to race. “Shit!” I gasped. “He’s going to be so mad that you’re moving in. What are we going to do?”
“He’ll be fine.” Drake seemed completely unbothered, almost like he was slightly amused when he moved to open the door.
Bryson looked confused, scrunching his brow when the door opened to reveal Drake standing there rather than me. Drake moved aside, waving for him to come in. “Uh, hey,” he said, accepting the invite and stepping into the entryway.
He looked around, likely taking a mental inventory of the suitcases and a box or two in the hallway. The rest of Drake’s stuff was still at his apartment. He was hiring movers to bring the rest of it over.
“What’s going on?” Bryson asked, pointing.
“We’re moving some of Drake’s things in,” I said, puffing out my chest and steeling my spine.
When he spun around, his face looked torn between anger and defeat. It was slightly red, but I couldn’t tell if it was because he was angry or if he was as nervous as I was. My shoulders sank for a second before I straightened them again. There was nothing he could do to change my mind. He looked again at the stack in the hall and sighed.
“I still don’t like it,” he said, pressing his fingers to his forehead. I opened my mouth, ready to defend myself, when he put his hand up to stop me. “I get it, though.”
“What?” I couldn’t hide my surprise, and by the look on Drake’s face, he was equally as surprised.
My brother groaned. “Your lawyer, or whoever the guy was, came to Pour Decisions,” he explained, likely referring to Ronan. Drake stiffened. “He showed me the video.”
Bryson’s face scrunched up in what could only be described as pain and guilt. I put my hand on his arm when I noticed his eyes shining with a thin layer of tears. He looked from me to Drake and back. When he reached out and grabbed my shoulders, he searched my face.
It had been the same look Drake gave me when he saw me last night. I hadn’t seen the video, but the phantom pains in my cheek returned, and my stomach flipped. My hands started shaking, and I sucked in a deep breath. The hint of vanilla reminded me I was safe, and I exhaled, glad when my hands stopped trembling.
“I’m okay,” I reassured him, nodding like it made it more convincing.
He sighed, turning his attention back to Drake. Brys stuffed his hands in his pockets like he didn’t know what to do with them. Then he took a deep breath and spoke quietly. “Thank you for taking care of my little sister.”
“I’m going to take care of her forever.” Drake put his arm around my waist, and butterflies in my stomach danced against my rib cage.
Bryson cringed, then nodded. “I know you will,” he said. He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second before he pulled his hands from his pockets and clapped to emphasize the point he was planning to make. “I’m still mad. You really had to fuck each other even though I asked you not to?”
Drake chuckled, shrugging. “I’m not going to apologize for that.” He winked at me, and my cheeks warmed.
“You hid it from me.” This time he looked at me. I had never kept secrets from him before, and temporary guilt twinged in my stomach.
“I’m sorry,” I said. Then I shrugged, letting out a quiet, airy laugh. “At least you didn’t have to almost die to find out?”
Bryson winced, remembering it was less than a year ago that I had found out about him and Mackenzie when I woke up in a hospital bed. He opened his mouth to say something before closing it again when Drake laughed loudly.
“I just had to go to jail instead!”
I smacked his arm, glaring at him, but Bryson laughed loudly. When the two of them stopped laughing, only to burst into a second fit of giggles, I couldn’t help but join them. “It’s a really good thing we don’t have another sibling, huh?” Bryson asked between gasps for air.
I nodded, taking slow breaths until the room grew silent. “I really am sorry,” I whispered, stepping forward and hugging him. “Do you forgive me?”
“I forgive you.” He let go of me, still talking to me but turning his attention to Drake. “And I know you’re in good hands.”
