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“Earth to Kade.” My brother Chase’s voice broke my reverie.
“What?” I sipped my drink to chill the burn growing in my pants.
He stared at me for a moment, then he nodded toward a waitress over by the bar. “She’s trying to get your attention. Do you know her?”
I frowned. “Why would I know her?” I glanced her way. I didn’t know her. A few days ago, though, I’d have gotten to know her.
Chase’s brows pulled together. “Why are you annoyed?”
“Hunter was the ‘girl every night’ guy, not me.”
Chase looked over at Hunter and then Ash, who shrugged.
“Maybe it’s the maid of honor,” Hunter said.
“What about her?” Chased asked.
“Kade was feeding her, but it looked like foreplay,” Hunter said, taking a swig of his beer.
“Wrong,” I said a little too quickly.
“Really?” Ash asked. Then he frowned. “She’s a good person with a lot going on, Kade. Don’t fuck with her.”
“Jesus.” I sat back and stared at my brothers.
Chase laughed. “I think this is a first. We’ve finally pushed Kade back on his heels and he’s speechless.”
Hunter laughed too. Ash stared at me with a serious expression. The oppositional part of me wanted to tell them to go to hell and then leave. I could only imagine what Grace’s assessment of that would be. Probably something about Chase tapping into my feelings of insecurity. I didn’t feel insecure. Not anymore. But I’d spent much of the early days working for my father having to prove myself to my brothers. I couldn’t say how many times they’d called me immature and told me to grow up. They’d have said it regardless of my behavior, so for a time, I figured I’d earn it.
But since my father enacted his fucked up inheritance plan, I’d seen changes in my brothers. First Chase, when he fell in love with Sara. And then Hunter, who was calmer and happier with Grace in his life. And then Ash, who’d been a sorry sack since he graduated from college, apparently because my father had come between him and Beth. Love of a good woman, not my father’s crazy scheme, had changed them. One could argue that love was my father’s crazy scheme, but only Chase had set out to meet my father’s demands, and his intentions didn’t involve love. It involved buying a wife. The love thing was quite by accident.
The rest of us had been biding our time until Dad changed his mind again. Hunter was forced to seek professional help, through which he found Grace. Ash reconnected with Beth when he bought out her brother’s share of their club, Jet.
Speaking of Jet, and wanting to get off the subject of women, I asked. “Why aren’t we at Jet?”
“I was worried Ben might try to guess where we were,” Chase said.
The waitress in question showed up at the table, standing close enough to me that I could smell her cheap perfume. It was a far cry from Morgan’s lavender vanilla scent. “Can I get you guys another round?”
Chase nodded. “Make it doubles. Save you the extra trips.”
“I don’t mind,” she cooed.
“I’m gonna use the can,” Ash said, getting up from his chair. As he strode toward the back, a woman approached him. He gave her a friendly smile, but waved her off.
“Seriously, why are we here? None of us are interested in these women,” I said. “Unless wedded bliss is getting you two down.”
“Not me,” Hunter said, with an annoying grin that suggested he and Grace had some interesting bed habits. “Maybe you, Chase. How long since you and Sara — ”
Chase held up his hand. “Just before I met you guys here.”
I gaped. “She’s about to have a baby and you’re fu — ” I stopped; I didn’t want to disrespect Sara by using the F-word. Instead I finished with, “Give her a break.”
Chase laughed. “It’s not me. It’s her. She’s horny as hell. Plus, I think she read somewhere that sex can bring on labor.”
Hunter seemed to ponder that, which made me wonder if he and Grace were working on adding to their family.
“I’m thinking that’s too much information,” I quipped.
“You asked,” Chase said.
“Hunter asked.” I shook my head, and then downed a large gulp of the drink our waitress set in front of me.
“What’s up with you?” Chase asked.
“What do you mean?” I rolled my shoulders, feeling antsy that I was about to get a lecture.
“You seem out of sorts. It’s not like you to let a pretty woman pass you by. Or to not be scoping out your next lay. Unlike the rest of us, you’re free as a bird to sow your oats.”
I shrugged. “None of them interest me.”
Hunter leaned forward and gave me an intent stare. “When was the last time you — ”
“Hunter, what’s the deal with you asking about our sex lives?” I snapped.
