Page 45 of Tempt Me

“Oh.” He sinks back into the cushions. “I hope you beat his ass.”

One corner of my mouth twitches upward. “Pretty much.”

“He didn’t get a lick in on you, did he?”

“Nope.” Okay. By now, I’m feeling a little cocky. “As a matter of fact, I beat the crap out of him and made it clear that if he doesn’t leave Bella alone in the future, that was only a taste.” I ease to a stop at the four-way in the center of town. The red light hangs down overhead.

One of Levi’s friends honks his horn and waves as my brother returns his greeting. He rolls down the window, and they both holler like the seniors they are.

“Good for you.” He glances at me out of the corner of his eye as he rolls the window back up. “Are you and Bella together?”

“No. It isn’t like that.”

He crosses his arms over his chest and shifts slightly to glare at me. “What’s the deal with you? You’ve been in love with her for years, but you never do anything about it.”

I swallow hard as heat creeps up my neck and over my cheeks. Clearly, my feelings for Bella have been flashing like a neon sign. I’ve got to move. Everyone knows I’m a fool for her.

As I flex my hands on the steering wheel, I ignore the pain. There’s no way I can stick around and watch her fall in love, get married, and grow another man’s baby in her belly.

“I’m thinking about moving.” I toss the words out with no thought to the consequences outside of self-preservation.

“Getting your own place so you can ask Bella to move in? That makes sense. It would be a bit awkward to give her the salami when her brothers are within hearing distance.”

“Levi,” I growl. “I’m….” Shit. I can’t deny I had sex with her because I’ve never lied to my brother. He might be 7 years younger, but I was more his father figure than his brother over the years.

When it was time to get ready for school, my mom was already there cooking breakfast, and I was getting him up. After school, she was at her part-time job, and he tagged along to allmy practices. He was the equivalent of our team mascot, which is why my friends are at all his games.

“You?” He arches his eyebrows as I flip on the blinker to the street in front of the school. He’s so engrossed waiting for me to speak that he ignores the honk of one of his friends.

“Okay, fine. I have feelings for Bella, and I have had them for a long time, but I wasn’t willing to pursue anything because I didn’t want to ruin my friendships with her brothers, and her parents wouldn’t approve of us being together. Besides, she’s never thought of me like that.”

His eyes narrow into slits. “That’s a bunch of bullshit.”

“Don’t.” My voice is curt. Not that I have much control over the word choices of my eighteen-year-old brother.

“Park there.” He motions to a parked vehicle behind the school. “But we aren’t getting out.”

“Yes, Sir.” I roll my eyes and maneuver to the opening amongst his friend’s vehicles.

“Park and listen.” His jaw is tight as he waits for me to follow his directions. He looks just like me, only thinner and less defined. When did he turn into a man? It’s crazy.

He snaps off the seatbelt and clears his throat. “I know you’ve always felt some kind of way about Dad being gone and in and out of prison. But there’s no reason to. He was an ass. He is an ass. But you’re nothing like him, and him being our sperm donor has nothing to do with us.” His eyes are grave as he swallows hard. “Or mom. She made a mistake and tried to make it work until she knew it was worse than being a single mom with no support.”

“You don’t have to–”

“Stop and listen. You were more of a dad than he was. Thank you for always being there for me. If Bella doesn’t see that or if anyone in her family doesn’t appreciate that, they’re stupid.” One corner of his mouth arches upward as the bravado eases back to his features. “And they aren’t stupid. You’ve been a part of their lives forever. They love you even if you’re too dumb to realize it.”

“Thanks.” I roll my eyes again to keep from choking up. Hearing him speak of his appreciation and confidence in me is overwhelming. I didn’t realize he–

Shit. I swallow again. “Thanks.”

He grabs the door handle. “Now stop being a pussy, knock the bottom out of it, and tell everyone to get used to it because you aren’t going anywhere. And if they don’t like it, tell them to buy a pair of earplugs.” He laughs, climbs out of the pickup, and slams the door shut while grabbing for his gear.

If it was only that easy. I inhale and let out a rush of air. I’m not the one who said it was a mistake.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Bella

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