Page 8 of Crazy Thing

At 36 years old, Archer is the oldest of my brothers. Bearded lumberjack. Former military. Wearer of a permanent scowl. He’s an imposing guy and a man of few words. But he’s the most reliable person I know.

“Ugh. Yeah. The frogs.” Felix cackles uproariously. “Remember how when we were kids, we’d set up all sorts of frog traps to get rid of them?”

Felix is one of those people who’s always in a good mood. It’s annoying as hell. But I guess it works for him. He’s the doctor of the family. At 32 years old, he now owns the medical clinic that our dad opened when we were just kids.

“Traps that never worked,” Nolan grumbles.

I give my head a wag, shaking off the guys’ stupid suggestions. “I know you’re all only half-joking but—hell—I’m open to anything that would get Edison to back the fuck off.”

The front door swings open and Nolan glances over his shoulder. The biggest smile comes over his face and he’s out of his seat, almost knocking the chair to the ground. That could only mean one thing…

“My girl’s here…” he declares as Inez hurries through the door, her head urgently whipping left to right in search of her man.

Nolan ditches us in a heartbeat. In a few footsteps, he’s already across the room, swooping Inez up and spinning her around and kissing her like they’re in some cheesy television commercial.

When they’re done with their shameless make-out session, Inez grins widely and waves across at our table. But when she makes a move to come over, Nolan promptlythrows her over his shoulder and races down the hall toward his back office. Doesn’t take a psychic to figure out what my brother has in mind for his girlfriend.

Inez recently got a big-time acting role in a television show that films in the nearby town of Reyfield. That means she’s been traveling back and forth quite a bit these days.

Every time she leaves town, Nolan mopes around like a lovesick puppy, counting the days till she gets back. And whenever she’s at home, the two of them are inseparable.

My brother is whipped.

He was secretly in love with Inez for years when she worked here as a bartender. Now that they’re together, he’s a shameless simp for her.

A few minutes later, Karli bursts through the door with Nicky and Daphne following closely behind.

Nicky sidles up to Ronan, hugging him from behind and nibbling on his jaw. Daphne hurriedly slides onto Felix’s lap with a sweet smile and starts spewing the newest details of their wedding plans.

I notice the hopeful expression on Archer’s face as his eyes linger on the entrance. I’d bet my last dollar that he’s checking for Layla to come through that door. But she’s probably at home with her toddler son, Skylar, tonight.

Archer gets caught completely off-guard when our hellion little sister practically elbows him off of his stool so she can squeeze in next to Mason.

“Hey, husband,” she purrs.

“Hey, wife,” Mason responds, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Did you get prettier while you were studying at the library all day? How is that even possible?”

“Fuck, Dr. Pretty Boy—you’re sexy when you butter me up with compliments.” Karli moans offensively and givesMason a sloppy kiss that has the rest of us booing and gagging violently.

One of the guys kicks Mason under the table and he howls.

Mason Westbrook is a great dude but every now and then, we like to threaten his life. Keeps him on his toes and ensures that he continues to treat our sister like a princess.

Karli is the baby of the family. She recently turned 26. She’s been through a lot over the past few years. But she’s gritty. She’s a fighter. Even still, as her older brothers, it’s basically our evolutionary duty to be obnoxiously protective of her. We take that duty seriously.

She turns to the table and grins. “Hello, brothers. Fancy running into you here. You guys stink, by the way.” She wrinkles her nose. “I really thought once you all past puberty that you’d start wearing deodorant regularly.”

She’s not wrong. The guys smell like shit after playing basketball.

Daphne dips her face into Felix’s neck and takes a mighty sniff. “I don’t know about the rest of them, but mine smells divine.” She sighs blissfully.

As for Ronan and Nicky, they aren’t even tuned into the conversation. They’re too busy grinning and whispering and rubbing all over each other like cats doing a grooming ritual.

They’re nauseating. All of them.

Archer and I share a look.

We’re the last remaining Brighton bachelors. I know that Archer’s got his heart all tangled in knots over Layla. But me? I’m perfectly unattached.

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