[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
glance around. This could be all ours. My sweet baby sis flashes through my mind. We should
figure out a way to include Annie.
I was thinking the same thing. He nods. Ryder said he d get someone from his legal
department to write something up for us. An agreement that binds us together in our new business
venture.
Sounds like a solid plan. Maybe that degree of yours is coming in handy after all.
Maybe it is. He motions over to the nearest table and we take a seat. I m sorry, dude. Swear
to God, I ll never rub it in your face again. I felt like shit when you left. Still do.
It s over. It s like it never happened. I lean onto my elbows while taking in my brother. Most
of the time it s like looking in a mirror, but that s where the resemblance ends. Bryson is smart. He s
way too bright to ever have taken down our family in some stupid move that, in turn, kicked in my
own destiny and spun it on its axis. I was the studious one in high school. I m the one that convinced
Bryson we should apply to any, and every, college that might let us in. Hell, we got our acceptance
letters to Whitney Briggs the exact same day. But, by that point, I couldn t live with myself. For sure I
couldn t focus in on a stack of textbooks. Nope. I was knee deep in emotional vomit and sinking fast.
So what s going on with you? Bryson nods like he knows. Cole says you called in yesterday.
You feeling okay?
A shit-eating grin is dying to break out on my face, so I give.
He shakes his head. No fucking way.
Yes fucking way, and watch your language where my girl is concerned.
Your girl? He leans in amused. So this is happening. Does Laney know?
I doubt anyone knows. I glance around as if I might accidentally spot Laney here. She s got
this thing. I blow out a breath. I m not really sure what it is. But she s definitely got a hang-up about
relationships. As far as I know we re unclassifiable, but I m all right with that. I m sort of gun-shy to
claim a relationship myself but I m getting there. All I know is I don t want anyone else. I want
Izzy. She s all I ever wanted.
I hear that. His brows rise as if he still can t wrap his head around it. So you re the real deal.
Can t wait to tell Baya.
Dude, were you listening to anything I said? She s skittish when it comes to stuff like that.
She s all torn up on the inside. Something serious went down with Izzy, and she s spiraling through
the air like a dove with a bullet through her wing.
He leans back and tries to connect with what I m saying.
You love her?
Yes. I don t hesitate with the answer. And I d swear on my life she loves me, too.
Wait a minute. She s that fragile, and I m assuming the reason for the no-show was because you
two were playing honeymoon, but you haven t hit a verbal home run yet? He ticks his head back a
notch as if he s calling bullshit.
True as God. Every word. She can t say it. I was willing to. Even though it went against
everything I thought I stood for. I m ready to break every rule in the book for Izzy.
Something is up. He shakes his head. You think she ll break your heart?
A sharp sting knifes me in the gut. What if this whole Izzy thing is simply the universe s way of
getting back at me? Just some macabre retribution that I ve had coming for the last several years.
What if I ve been looking the Semi in the headlights and mistaken them for Izzy s bright smile? Shit. I
close my eyes for a moment. I bet that s what this is. My life doesn t function in fairytale mode like
my brother s. According to him, Baya walked right up and flashed her tits. That s how the golden boy
gets introduced to the woman of his dreams. Not me I meet my girl as some sexed up thirteen-year-
old with a hard-on at the ready. From there it was girls with daddy issues and barflies galore,
hypersexual coeds ready and willing to take me on nothing but a string of one-night stands because I
couldn t stomach the idea of anything lasting longer. Nope never was lucky in the relationship
department. Nor should I ever be.
What s eating you, dude?
Nothing s eating me.
Something is gnawing your balls off. Is it the fact you think she s not in this for the long haul?
No. It s not that. This whole thing just got me worked up. I m just wondering if maybe I should
let go of a few of my own issues.
Now we re getting somewhere. Bryson leans in, stares me down stern as shit. What the hell
happened after high school that threw you in the deep end of the Black Bear that you ve yet to recover
from?
So you were onto me, huh? A dull laugh rattles from my chest.
I d like to say I know you as good as I know myself, but that stopped after senior year. You let
me go to Whitney Briggs without so much as a goodbye. I knew you were moping but could never
figure out why since you were the one who made the decision to sit out the first year. Then it turned
into the second year the third, and now here I am, Mr. Diploma, and you re just as big a mystery as
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]