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“Why?” I groan out loud when they burst into the shop.
Juliette lifts her head, a crease between her brows.
“We’re here to kidnap you!” Grayson announces with his usual dramatic flair.
Juliette turns her head to see my brothers, a grin lighting up her face.
“You don’t usually tell the victim that you’re kidnapping them,” I say and Levi–my oldest brother–snorts.
“You’re making it sound like you have a lot of experience in kidnapping,” Levi says and I sigh.
“I’m not going to go with you, I’m busy.”
“Clearly,” Maverick–the second oldest–remarks with a smirk, tipping his head toward Juliette. “Who’s this?”
I watch Juliette’s reaction play out on her side profile. Her cheekbones tint pink and she ducks her head. It only serves to make her prettier than before.
“Oh, hey! It’s the cute blonde neighbor I told y’all about,” Grayson says and I stifle a groan.
“I’m Juliette,” she introduces herself in her lilting voice and stands. I stand as well, feeling the need to be ready for escape or to hit one of my brothers. Either way, standing makes me prepared.
“Nice to formally meet you, Juliette,” Grayson drawls, leaning against the neighboring booth with a grin. “I’m Grayson, and these are mine and Adrian’s other brothers, Levi and Maverick.”
Juliette’s mouth drops, her green eyes widening.
“Allof you are brothers?”
“Yep,” Grayson answers. “We also have a sister, but she’s off living in married bliss.”
“Grayson made it out like you’d taken to living in a cave and avoiding all human interaction,” Levi says to me. “But if you’re on a date, we can leave you alone.”
“I’mnoton a date.” My tone is harsh, but they’ll pester me if I don’t nip this in the bud. Juliette’s face falls for a second before she stretches her lips into a tight smile. My heart squeezes painfully in my chest at the thought of hurting her feelings.
“I crashed his work day is all,” Juliette explains, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “But I have to go anyway. It was nice meeting you. Have fun with um … whatever it is you’re doing.”
She grabs her stuff and weaves around my brothers, hurrying out the door.
“Great job, Adrian. You probably made the girl cry,” Levi says, shooting me a reprimanding look.
I growl and start to pack up my things.
“Everything was fine until you showed up.”
“You barely do anything other than work; we had to track you down,” Maverick speaks up. I shrug on my coat and snatch up my messenger bag.
“I come to family dinners, I go to all of Maddie’s dance competitions, and I text in that insipid group chat. What more do you want from me?”
“It’s not about what we want from you. It’s what we wantforyou,” Maverick explains as we all walk out of the shop.
I don’t look back or say anything to Poppy, certain that she’s going to take everything to the town rumor mill. My next evening run around the lake will include more people stopping me than usual. Another reason to be mad at my brothers.
“We want you to be happy,” Grayson says, throwing his arm around me. I push him off, but he just puts it back.
“I am happy, especially when my brothers don’t invade my neighborhood and ruin my Saturday plans.”
“Your Saturday plans of working in a coffee shop and then going home to do nothing? Forgive me,” Grayson retorts sarcastically. If I didn’t think it would induce a heart attack in one of the residents strolling down the sidewalk, I’d take Grayson to the ground right now.
“Work-life balance is important, Adrian,” Levi chimes in, using the older brother tone that grates my nerves.
