Page 14 of All for Love

7

KODY

“You’re crashing date night,” Kaden grumbled when he opened his front door and let me in.

I took a pointed look around. “You’re at home.”

“At-home date nights are a thing,” he said, shutting the door behind us and leading me inside. “What’s up? You could’ve called when you were on your way over, but since you’re already here, let’s make it fast.”

Brooke walked out of the kitchen and irritation rippled across her features when she saw me. She stopped short, frowning at me before looking back at Kaden. “Should I set another place at the table?”

I nodded, but Kaden punched my shoulder and shook his head, making his eyes huge as he looked at me. “No. Don’t worry about it. He’s not staying.”

“Uh, yeah. Right. I’m not staying.” I slid my hands into my pockets and kept quiet, not really wanting to talk about this in front of Brooke.

We’d known her for a long time, but it hadn’t always been smooth sailing, and when she realized I wasn’t going to say anything in her presence, she rolled her eyes. “I’ll make myself scarce. We need some snacks for the movie anyway, so I’ll go grab those.”

“I thought you were having dinner,” I said.

Kaden clasped his hands over his head, his brow furrowing slightly as he shook his head at me. “We’re doing both. Movie, dinner, and then another movie. Is that okay with you?”

I put my hands up and took a step back. “Sure, dude. Whatever floats your boat. It just seems stupid to have snacks while you’re watching the movie and then eat dinner after. You’ll ruin your appetite.”

“You’re not Mom, we’re not twelve, and it’s Saturday night. We can do whatever the hell we want on our date night. What are you doing here?”

I bent my head toward his, lowering my voice as we walked to his living room and sat down together. “Do you know anything about a job Dad offered to his new wife’s daughter?”

Kaden gaze darted toward the ceiling as he thought. Then he looked back at me with a blank expression in his eyes. “No. I don’t think so. Not that I remember, anyway. Why? Also, why are you referring to Mercedes as his new wife’s daughter?”

“Because that’s what she is, and I was just wondering.” I didn’t know why I was holding my tongue, but recalling that pleading look in her eyes this morning was making it hard for me to ignore her request about shutting up about it.

She didn’t want anyone to know, and for now, I was at least going to try to abide by it. Kaden’s head slanted to the left and he quirked an eyebrow at me. “No, that’s not it. There’s something else. Why are you asking about this?”

“No reason,” I lied, hating the acid that burned through my veins as I looked him right in the eyes when I did it. “It’s nothing. Really. Just a rumor, I guess. I wanted to know if you’d heard anything about it.”

“Nope.”

Brooke walked into the living room with some snacks, setting the bowl of chips and a platter with some crackers, cream cheese, and dip down on the coffee table before sitting down next to my brother. She slid in under his arm and he pulled her to him, absently planting a kiss on her temple before looking back at me.

“How long are you planning to stay?” he asked.

Brooke inclined her head toward the TV. “We were just about to start the movie.”

I leaned back, getting comfortable in the corner of the sofa. “I could watch a movie. Go ahead. It might help take my mind off things.”

Brooke squinted at me, sighing heavily before she glanced up at my brother. Pussy-whipped as he was, he squeezed her tight before flashing me an apologetic smile. “Will you leave now please? We’re just trying to have a quiet date after all the chaos with the wedding.”

Something kicked the back of my gut, but instead of being a smartass about it, I nodded and stood up. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll leave you to it.”

I left without looking back, feeling a little rejected as I slammed Kaden’s door behind me. So, what? He gets a girlfriend and I’m not welcome at my own twin’s place anymore? That’s bullshit.

Bullshit I would talk to him about when I got a chance, but for now, that wasn’t an option. They’d made it clear they didn’t want me there, and I wasn’t about to go back to grovel for my brother’s attention.

Besides, I had better things to do. Like finding out just what fucking job my father had offered the most annoying woman in the world. If Kaden didn’t know anything, it was time to go straight to the source.

The Wagner Estate was about an hour’s drive, but it would be worth it to get the answers I was after. On my way over, I tried to come up with a plan of attack.

Mercedes was not my favorite person in the world. That was no secret, but she also wasn’t a liar. If she’d said my dad had made her an offer, then he had. I supposed it wasn’t impossible that she’d said it to mess with me, but I doubted it.