Page 74 of My Brother's Best Men
I haven’t said the words back to him, but I think he knows. I can’t help but stare at him, at his perfect side profile. His perfectly styled hair. His warm smile. The way he sits with ease, leaning into me like I’m just as magnetic to him as he is to me.
But I fight to look away, because Matthew and Benny show up to tell us it’s time to head out. The guys are headed on some zip line excursion and we’re heading out to the spa to get our treatments done ahead of the ceremony tomorrow.
So I grab my purse and say my goodbyes. I hug Elijah, reminding myself not to linger too long. Especially because Raegan looks like she’s trying to figure out exactly the source of my sudden shift in mood.
Matthew hugs me, quickly slipping a kiss on my neck which makes me jump becauseBenny is right there!And so are Elijah and Raegan…
Matthew pulls away, winking at me, and then I look at Benny who just rolls his eyes. He doesn’t move to hug me. Instead he just says, “Be a good girl and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Raegan laughs. “How much trouble can we get into at the spa, Ben?”
He shrugs. “I’m sure Sophia would find a way to cause a ruckus. It’s what she’s good at.”
Elijah lets out a sigh. “Come on, let’s go or we’re going to be late.”
Benny grins at me. “God forbid we miss the bus.”
I wave them off, following Raegan and the other bridesmaids toward our Uber.
All day at the spa, I can’t stop smiling because my phone keeps going off. Elijah and Mattew keep texting me in a group chat someone titledThe Three Musketeers, but there’s four of us in the chat.
Me and the guys.
Honestly, the whole thing smells of Matthew, but that only makes me grin more.
Benny doesn’t say anything, and most of the thread is Matthew sending photos of the forest and the guys looking cute as hell in their harnesses and whatnot, but still. It’s fun to see them having fun too. I send a selfie of me in my robe, which elicits a text back from all three of them, including Benny.
I laugh when Benny tells them to fuck off and stop being perverts.
I’m pretty sure Benny is the one I have to be worried about.
Not that he’s a pervert, because he’s not by a long shot, but he is intense. And I have the feeling that as open as he is towhateveris going on with us—all of us—he’s not going to give up control so easily.
I swipe out of the thread, noting that I’ve had no new texts from anyone outside of the group or family. Nothing from Keaton. The man who supposedly loved me enough to want to marry me.
Raegan plops down next to me. “So…you give any more thought to that job?”
I look at her with one raised eyebrow. “Should have known my brother would spill the beans,” I say.
She shrugs. “You know the rule. ‘Don’t tell anyone’ excludes all significant others.”
I roll my eyes. “Uh-huh.”
She nudges me. “So…dream job?”
“I don’t know. It’s kind of a big commitment. Traveling and stuff sounds great, it really does…and I wouldn’t need an apartment anymore, technically, since the company would be paying me to stay in these places for work, so…”
“So what’s holding you back?”
I think about her question as she goes on.
“I mean, it’s not like you have a fiancé or partner to worry about. You’re a single woman. You can do whatever you want without having to answer to anyone. It’s the perfect opportunity at the perfect time.”
“I guess you’re right.”
She smiles as she leans back in the chaise next to me, her smile bright and warm. “I know I’m right.”
I lean my head on her plush, robed shoulder. “My brother’s lucky to have you,” I say genuinely. “And so am I.”
