Page 39 of My Brother's Best Men
Raegan laughs. “Yeah, the hottest one of the bunch too.”
Tiffany laughs. “Well, that leaves the three remaining hotties up for grabs, for the three of us,” she says smoothly, her gaze fixating on Matthew. “I call dibs on Matty.”
I don’t think, I just see red. I get up, not answering her.
I vaguely hear Raegan call my name, but I ignore her for now as I make my way down the hot sand to the group of men hovering around the cornhole area.
“Hey,” I say, smiling as wide as I can. All at once, Benny, Elijah, and Matthew turn to look at me.
My brother nods in my direction. “Oh, hey, Soph. Finally decide to grace us with your presence?”
I grin at him, then at Matthew. “Yeah, I thought maybe I could tap in, play a round?”
“Absolutely,” my brother says, and I can feel Tiffany’s eyes on me from behind me.
“Who wants to tap out?” Sam asks, but no one says a word.
“Come on, guys, someone’s got to go…” Then a smile graces his face. “Unless…” He turns to the girls, bringing his hands around his mouth as he shouts, “Hey, honey, come play! I need you!”
Raegan shakes her head, but I can see the smile on her face from here. She gets up and scampers down as Sam shoots me a grin. “You guys can have Soph, and I—” He lunges forward, graspingRaegan like he’s a starving man, pulling her into her arms as she squeals with excitement. “Will have my future wife on my team.” He wiggles his eyebrows as she tells him to stop, but her words are pointless, moot threats.
He kisses her, and we all can’t help but grin because they are just too damn cute for words. So perfect for one another. When they break away, I don’t miss the blush on her cheeks. I hope they’re like this forever.
So in love.
So happy.
“Perhaps we should sweeten the competition,” Benny says coolly. “Loser buys the winner a round of drinks tonight.”
Sam grins as he squeezes Raegan, his hold making her boobs nearly pop out of her damn bikini top. “I like the sounds of that!” he says as Elijah sighs.
“Come on, Eli, don’t be such a square,” Matthew chirps as Elijah’s gaze drifts to mine.
“It’ll be fun, right?” I say with a grin. “Like old times. When you guys used to have pool parties in the backyard?”
I remember those days fondly. The endless nights of cornhole and beer pong after my parents went to sleep. How they never found out what Sam and the guys were up to is beyond me. I’m fairly certain if my mother knew, she would have had a coronary.
Elijah gives me a half smile as Matthew settles one hand on the small of my back, instantly making me freeze.
“We’re going to kick your asses,” Matthew says, his voice full of competitive spirit.
Benny grins slyly. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Matty.”
Sam lets go of Raegan, clasping his hands together as he says, “Let the games begin!”
It’s a blur of sand and skin, a symphony of cursing and groans, and in the end it’s damn near anyone’s game, as we’re tied. If I get this, we win. But if I miss…
Suddenly, the pressure is on and I’m feeling it.
“You got this, Soph,” Elijah says from behind me.
Matthew flanks my side. “Don’t overthink it, just…trust your instincts,” he coaxes.
Yeah, easy for him to say. He’s the one who’s been scoringmostof the points in this damn game.
“What’s a matter, princess? Scared you’ll choke?” Benny says with a grin.
“No,” I huff out indignantly as I pull my arm back, trying my hardest to focus on the hole. It should be easy, right?
