“Of course. He’s just looking for more.” He glances at the painting. “What’s that?”
“Early birthday present.”
“That’s really cool,” he says as he looks more closely.
My senses are so heightened I can barely sit still. I exhale loudly and then look at my brother.
“Ben, you’re a man,” I say.
“Thanks for noticing. Yeah, I’ve been feeling very manly lately.”
His sarcasm barely registers. “So as a man, do you like—say things out loud and not think twice about it? I mean, really—is that just what guys do?”
“Something happen with Logan?” Ben says. “Just a wild guess.”
I sigh. “I slept with him.”
Now his mouth drops open. “What?”
I raise my hand. “Not literally. Well, okay, literally. Iliterallyfell asleep with him. Nothing else happened. Except in the morning, I was on top of him. Like totally on top of him. And he was—”
I trail off, but Ben grins. “He was at full mast?”
“Right. And I tried to brush it off by saying it was because of Gigi, but he made it abundantly clear that his soldier was super happy because of a dream he had about me.”
Ben tries to stop smiling. “I told Riley weeks ago they’re not gonna last.”
“Why wouldn’t they last? They’ve lasted this long, haven’t they?”
“What, a few weeks of infatuation? That’s nothing. Oh, Alexis and I broke up, by the way. Just thought you should know.”
I bring my hand to my mouth. “I’m so sorry. What happened?”
He shrugs. “We grew apart. No cheating, no screaming, just honestly grew apart. I’m okay. I’m good, actually. I need to be alone for a while and figure my life out.”
I remember the last time he said that. “You know, you don’t seem too upset about this break-up,” I say slowly. “Not like when a certain someone left town.”
“Don’t.” Ben’s face goes from his typical relaxed expression to fierce in an instant. “Mace, you know that topic is off-limits.”
“So is my best friend. Doesn’t mean I didn’t sleep with him last night.”
Ben laughs, and his eyes lose that hard look they get when I bring up his past with a certain woman he may or may not have ever gotten over.
I want my siblings to find their person. Whoever that is. And Ben worries me. He’s always so stoic, so logical. But I’ve seen him snap before. It was a long time ago, and now that I think about it—
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you lose control.” I hold his gaze. “Except over one subject.”
“How many ways do I need to tell you that subject is not up for conversation?” He runs his hand down his face. “You’re nosy. I get it. And you can help out Riley and Free all you like. But your only brother’s love life is not an open book.”
I hold up my hands. “I know. I’m sorry for pushing. I just want you to be happy, Benny.”
“And I want the same for you, Mace. Subject change?”
“Please.”
He shows me what he’s been doing. “I’ve organized the bills. And we need to get all these onto the computer and out of the paper age. Seriously, don’t you think?”
I shrug. “It’s a bar. Not Wall Street.”
