Page 12 of My Brother's Best Men
Sam sighs. “I mean…obviously.”
Raegan sets her phone down and casts me a grin. “Dinner’s at seven tonight. Roland’s. Party of twelve.”
Benny whistles. “Me and the boys will be there most definitely,” he says as he pushes off the counter.
Even though he’s dressed in a black tee and jeans, it’s hard notto notice the tattoos on his arms in the daylight. I can’t make them all out, but his arms arecovered, down to his knuckles. And even with a shirt on, the outline of his muscles is somehow still evident. Combined with the dark, mussed hair and his evident facial hair, I can’t help but stare.
Someone’s definitely grown up into a hottie for sure. Not that he wasn’t hot to begin with.
“Sounds good,” Sam says as he leans in to bro-hug Benny, who slaps him on the back.
“Yup. See you guys later,” Benny grunts.
I try not to stare at his broad shoulders or his ass in his jeans as he leaves, but it’s harder than it should be.
“Have a good sleep?” my brother asks, pulling me from my momentary stupor.
“Oh. Right,” I say as I pick up my mug, drinking down the coffee if only to hide my sudden embarrassment. “Yeah, I guess it was okay. Still a little tired, but it’s nothing a good cup of coffee won’t fix.”
Raegan smiles at me. “It’s good to see you, you know.”
I give her a soft smile back. “All things considered, yeah, it’s good to see you too.”
I look back at my brother, my expression softening as the memory of my momentary snap comes crawling back. “I’m uh…sorry about yesterday, I just…” Neither of them say a word, but I can feel Sam’s gaze on me. That invisible twin thread pulling between us. “Had a really rough day.”
There’s silence before Raegan speaks. “Where’s…Keaton?”
I tense, but I know it’s probably better to be honest with them than to lie. Even if I’m not ready to talk about what happened with the rest of my family, or in front of the guys, I know I can tell Sam and Raegan. My brother and my soon-to-be sister-in-law. If anyone can hold my secret, it’s them.
“Um, we kind of…broke up,” I say carefully. It’s not a complete lie. It’s just not the entire truth. I suck in a deep breath, mustering the courage. “He um…I found him. Yesterday. With…” I let out a heavy breath, hanging my head low. “Someone else.”
“Oh…honey.” Raegan pulls me into her arms, and Sam lets out a strained breath.
“Shit, Soph, I had no idea, I?—”
The moment Raegan hugs me, I let go and the tears come without warning.
“I just…g-grabbed my stuff and headed to the airport and got the first ticket out and?—”
A moment later, I feel Sam next to me, his hand rubbing my back as Raegan hugs me.
“I just don’t know how to tell Mom and Dad just yet, and—” I push away from Raegan, locking eyes with my brother. “I just need some time to figure things out, you know?”
Sam nods, pulling me into a hug as well. It’s tight, warm, and soothes just a fraction of my anxiety.
“Please don’t say anything to them, Sam, I?—”
“I won’t,” he says, holding me out at arm’s length, assuring me with his trusted gaze.
I believe him. My brother is the one person on the planet I know always has my back no matter what. We’ve been best friends practically since the day we were born.
“You can stay here as long as you need,” Raegan says.
I nod, thanking both of them, and then Sam heads for the fridge. “You uh…hungry?”
I look up at him with tear-stained eyes, noting the warmth in his gaze. “Starving, actually,” I say as my stomach growls on cue.
“Me too,” Rae says as she smiles at my brother. “I could so go for a grilled cheese right now.”
