Page 151 of Beauty
SIENNA
Aiden: Why is Noah Harrison being forced to sit at the family table?
Brooks: Huh?
Aiden: Lex just showed me the seating chart. Poor guy is stuck with us instead of the guys on the team.
Beckett: That’d be my decision.
Gavin: Why?
Beckett: Because I like the guy, but Ezra is trying to trade him.
Gavin: It’s MY team.
Beckett: And I’m the brilliant one who suggested you sign him. You’re welcome.
Brooks: Ezra wants to trade Harry? That’s idiotic.
Aiden: Didn’t think you paid that much attention to hockey, Beckett…
Me: Hi, guys. This feels like a brothers chat. Why am I included?
Aiden: Figured you’d want the heads-up. Looks like Beckett is trying to set you up with Harry. But I apologize for interrupting your day by having your back.
Gavin: He wouldn’t do that. He promised Liv.
Beckett: I’m not breaking any promises.
Me: It’s okay, Beck. I trust you. Just don’t make me sit next to Ezra, and we’re all good.
Gavin: He still giving you trouble?
I grinat my phone screen. It’s like taking candy from a baby. I’m going to use my big brothers and their wild overprotectiveness against them.
Before I can reply, a set of soft, warm lips presses against my bare shoulder.
I squirm against the ticklish sensation, though I don’t wiggle away.
“I wish you didn’t have to leave.” Noah brushes my hair away from my neck and peppers more kisses against my skin.
I drop my phone and roll so I’m facing him, draping an arm over his bare torso. “We’ll get to do this again soon enough. After we’ve pulled off the world’s greatest con tonight, we’ll be free to do it all the time.”
With a playful huff, he presses a kiss to my lips. “Anyone ever tell you that you are a deviant? It seems like you’re truly excited to get one over on your brothers.”
I beam at him. “You’re not wrong.”
“You know I don’t care what they say, right?” He drags a finger over my ribcage and down my hip. “You’re mine and I’m yours. No matter what anyone else thinks.”
My heart melts inside my chest. “I know that. And I’m so grateful for it. But if this works, it’ll make life easier on both of us. They can’t be all dramatic about it if they think Beckett is to blame for setting us up. He sets everyone up. And even when it isn’t his idea, he takes the credit.” I trace his butterfly tattoo, then kiss it for good measure. “I love my brother, but I’ll gladly let him take the heat. We’ve had enough hard. We deserve this.”
This time Noah is the one who beams at me, his smile sleepy, his hair rumpled. He’s never looked better. “We do, baby. We really do.”
FORTY-NINE
THE LANGFIELD BROTHERS
Aiden
