Page 52 of Only Ever You

The door was left open when he jogged along the upstairs hallway, which didn’t seem like a Faye thing to do, and she was downstairs gathered with everyone else. Everyone except?—

“What are you doing?” Bash stumbled to a halt at the threshold, finding his brother curled like a goblin over his hold-all.

“Um,” was all Matt managed, one hand in Bash’s things. An answer that only made his brows draw together even tighter.

He strode like his tail was on fire while Matt righted himself beside the bed where only an hour ago Bash had still been curled up two feet apart from Faye. One of the compartments in his bag was opened and?—

His expression flattened.

“What the … Why are you putting condoms in my bag?”

He might need to get his vision checked, because it can’t have been right thatthosefoil packets – which he knew for certain weren’t his own – were what he’d seen.

Matt had the sense to look sheepish as he backed up a step. “It’s a joke … now that you’re sharing a room with Faye, and all.”

Bash’s sense of humour must’ve broken because he didn’t find his brother funny at all. Maybe Matt could’ve pulled this off when they were still hormonal teenagers and he would have laughed, but not this time. This was too far.

Sharing a room with a woman who was just his frienddidn’tequate to needing protection. Why couldn’t anyone believe that? And what kind of twisted perception did Matt of all peoplehave of Faye to make him try this joke in the first place? That just because they were sleeping in the same bed, she was going to offer herself up that way?

“Is that what you think of Faye?” Bash snatched said protection out of his bag, furious.

“No, of course not.”

“If I did the same to you and Saira the first time she stayed over here, she’d be pissed.”

“Yeah … maybe this was a step too far. I’m just trying to help egg you along here.” Matt scratched behind his ear and Bash could see the force of him back-pedalling. “Look, I’ll take them back.”

Matt reached?—

But Bash didn’t let go. He … couldn’t. Which didn’t make any sense because he absolutely did not need condoms at all right now. Someone needed to tell his heart that because it knocked against his rib cage as though it demanded to be let out.

With his hand retreating to his side, Matt’s shoulders inched down. The confused sharpness in his eyes softened.

“You really do love her,” he said.

“Why’d you say that?” Bash’s voice came out more gravelly than usual.

“Because you brought her here knowing you’d be under the same roof, and bythe look of it, you weren’t so presumptuous to bring protection in case youdidfinally tell her how you feel.”

“Yeah well not everything’s about sex, Matt.” He punctuated his brother’s name, mildly annoyed that the man was right.

“Says the man who’s had more flings than any other I know.”

“Faye already thinks of me as someone who sleeps around. I didn’t need to bringthese” – Bash gestured up the foil strip – “to make her point. She means more to me than that.”

“Well you don’t help your image, Bash. Youdosleep around.”

“Only because I can’t have?—”

“There you two are!”

Bash whipped the strip of foils behind his back as he spun.

Saira settled her hand upon the door frame. “Come on, we’re ready to go. Matt, what are you doing in here?”

“Nothing honey. Just double checking what Bash bought Dad for Christmas.”

Condoms,Bash thought, and wished he hadn’t.

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