Page 7 of The Attraction

Thankfully Rem drops down on to the couch next to me, and the girls end up on one side of the room. Nic works out it’s a good idea to move seats before he gets in the middle of the gossip session that is about to begin. But before he gets too comfortable, Flynn suggests we head out on to the balcony, to which each of us is thankful, as the volume of the girls’ voices is already increasing, and they are all starting to talk at the same time. A skill these women seem to have to follow the multiple conversations that are happening at once.

For me, it does my head in.

“Ummm, what the fuck was that about inside with Harper?” I should’ve guessed that Flynn wasn’t going to let that go.

“What?” I reply, trying to sound like I don’t know what he’s talking about.

“Don’t give me that shit. That comment about dinner had more to it than what you said, and the same for her answer. It was like you were talking in code. You better not have fucked her, because I swear to God, Felisha will kill you both, and I’ll be right behind her to make sure she did it properly.”

“Oh man, here we go again.” Nic turns away from us both and leans over the railing like he doesn’t want to know.

“Listen to me very carefully, little brother. If I wanted to sleep with Harper, then I don’t need your permission, but just so you know, I don’t, so pull your head in, asshole.” I step close to him with my face so close to him that he’ll get the message, crystal clear.

My life, my decisions!

“Your reaction tells me otherwise.” I step back from him to break the tension between us that I just created with my reaction. “Explain the conversation about dinner.” And Flynn’s happy-go-lucky attitude from before is gone. He is not going to let this go unless I tell him.

“Fine.” Sighing and running my hand through my hair, I look him in the eye, explaining that I met her in the elevator and then arrived on her doorstep with dinner because she’s a stubborn pain in the arse. “That’s all it was, and to repeat your words when she moved into the temporary apartment in my building—to help your girlfriend, I might add—you said,‘keep an eye on her and look after her.’So that’s all I was doing. Helping a friend who needed it, even if she didn’t want to accept the help.”

Nic’s shoulders are shaking, telling me he is trying not to show he is laughing, but Rem isn’t even trying to hide it.

“So next time, she is on her fucking own for dinner. No wonder she is still single,” I grumble to him as I drop down into one of the outdoor chairs and take a large gulp of my beer. In my head, I’m wishing it was something much stronger.

“Says the man who is also single, stubborn, and as cantankerous as it gets most days.” Flynn sits down in the chair next to me as Nic turns around and leans on the railing, with Rem beside him.

“You two finished bickering like a couple of schoolboys? Fuck, how did your mother put up with you both?” Nic is smiling because he knows as much as we do that we still love each other, and in five minutes, all will be forgotten.

“She shipped the annoying son to the other side of the world so she didn’t have to put up with him,” I say, changing my tone to a joking one so Flynn knows I don’t mean it.

“You wish. I left on my own accord to get away from the constant praise of the golden boy in the family, Forrest. I got to play up all I liked, and Mum had no idea what I was doing, and it was awesome.” Looking proud of himself, he holds out his hand to fist bump with Nic as the smiles on their faces tell me they are remembering the time they spent together in Sydney being playboys.

“Oh, please, we all know you are the little golden boy.” Having had enough of this debate that we get into all the time, I change the topic because I know Flynn’s brain flicks from one thought to another easily with a distraction. “Moving on, anyone up for a trip to the Grand Prix in Las Vegas at the end of November?” I watch all their eyes light up for a petrol-fueled boys’ trip away.

“I’m in,” Rem says.

“Obviously.” Flynn looks at me like he can’t believe I even had to ask.

“That’s a given.” Nic lifts his beer in the air to acknowledge he is keen. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch the young Aussie guy kick their butts.”

“Plus, it’s Vegas, baby!” Flynn chimes in.

“Great. Got a guy I used to work with who is now working for the Maclaren team, and I was messaging with him last night, and he said he could get me box tickets if we were up for it.

“The only way to do a Grand Prix is in that kind of style, I would say, but Brother, couldn’t you have got us into the Ferrari team pits instead? Orange is not my color and red is much better for my complexion.” Flynn smirks and is back to his joking self.

“Sorry. It’s okay, I’ll tell him I only need three tickets because you can’t possibly wear orange…” And before I even get to finish my sentence, he is jumping in with his reply.

“Don’t you dare!”

“So, one orange shirt in your size coming your way.” We all laugh at his middle finger that he flicks at me.

Nic laughs. “I don’t give a fuck if it’s orange, that’s my team with my Aussie driver Piastri, so get me all the orange things!”

“Who’s telling the girls?” Rem is looking at me like it’s my job.

“Oh, not me, not a chance. They are your problems, remember? As you were all happy to remind me a minute ago, I’m over here happily being single with no ties.” Now it’s my turn to laugh at them as they all groan.

“I don’t know what you are worried about. Like they need an excuse to go to the St. Tropez villa for a girls’ weekend. Just beef up the security detail to cover them all, and we won’t have to worry about anything while they are away from us.”

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