Page 87 of Bad Boys After Dark - Brett
“The guys said you didn’t check in once while you were away.” Carson brought his attention back to Brett. “Good job. Maybe Sophie can break you of your micromanaging ways.”
Brett scoffed. “When I’m with Soph, not much else matters.”
Mick looked up from his phone with a serious expression. “That’s how it’s supposed to be.”
“Says the man giving his full attention to answering emails on his phone,” Dylan chimed in.
Mick set his phone on the coffee table and glanced into the kitchen. “Just arranging a weekend away with Amanda.” He held a finger over his lips.
“Don’t let Adeline hear you’re planning to go away or she’ll ask if she can go with you,” Carson said with a warm smile.
“Adeline was a big eye opener for me,” Mick said. “Amanda and I have decided to try to start our family.”
“Seriously? That’s awesome.” Brett held Mick’s gaze for an extra beat as Dylan and Carson congratulated him. Before proposing to Amanda, Mick had told Brett he was afraid to take their relationship further because Amanda wanted children, and like Brett, Mick didn’t. He thought about how easily his response had come, and how quickly he’d judged his brother. Of course she does. She’s a chick. She’s got ovaries and a uterus and hormones that make her want all sorts of things. A white picket fence. A dog. Flowers and shit. He’d told Mick he was being absurd.
Brett glanced at Sophie, leaning against the counter with a wineglass in her hand, talking with the girls. She must have felt the heat of his gaze, because she looked over with that sweet, trusting look in her eyes that turned his insides to mush. God, baby. I love you so much. It was no secret that Sophie wanted children—or that he didn’t. He felt sick at the thought of loving a child and possibly losing it. But after spending time with Sophie’s family, he realized how short-sighted that was.
Tawny said something that drew Sophie’s attention, and there was a collective laugh, followed by a hushed conversation.
Brett’s gaze moved over each of his brother’s faces. They were talking about having kids and what life was like with Adeline. Dylan said he and Tiffany were also thinking about starting a family. Their father had been at their wedding, though he’d left shortly after the ceremony. Maybe Sophie was right and they’d support his need to clear the air.
“So, um,” Brett said, curling his hands into fists. “I wanted to let you guys know that I’m thinking about going to see Dad.”
Silence descended on the living room, and three sets of dark eyes and serious, doubting faces turned toward him. Brett’s statement hung in the silence like a ghost that had come back to haunt.
“Brett, we talked about this,” Mick said as sternly and confidently as only an eldest brother could. “You don’t owe Dad anything.”
Brett held his stare, but it was like looking in a strange mirror that included the image of their father, as he and Mick both shared their father’s deep-set eyes and strong, square jaw. “I think you’re wrong. I might not owe him what I thought I did, but I owe him an apology. I was a prick after we lost Lorelei, and whether or not that made him worse doesn’t really matter. What matters is that if I’m ever going to give her”—he glanced into the kitchen, then quickly back at Mick and lowered his voice—“the life she deserves, I have to deal with my own shit.”
“Wait,” Dylan said. “What are we talking about? Owing Dad what?”
“I don’t know exactly,” Brett said. “An apology for being a prick, I think, but maybe more. Or maybe I’ll get there and feel what I’ve felt all these years, too much resentment to say anything nice. I don’t fucking know. Maybe I’ll go off on him. Whatever happens, happens, but I need to try to bridge the gap between us.”
His brothers stared at him without saying a word. Brett’s chest constricted as the seconds ticked by, but he wasn’t going to be waylaid.
“I’ll go with you,” Carson offered, causing all those stares to shift to him. He shrugged and said, “I don’t think it’s a bad idea. We lost Lorelei as a family, and whether we like to admit it or not, Dad’s family. Our family, and knowing how cutting he can be, I’m not letting one of us face him alone.”
