I shrugged with nonchalance that meant anything but actual indifference. “And what?” I took a drink of gin to swallow the lump in my throat, but it didn’t really help.
“He freaked, didn’t he?” He shook his head, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “Such a classic Kreed move.” Maddox leaned forward and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear with surprising tenderness, and something unclenched in my chest.
I blinked, frowning. “Don’t you dare suggest I fell for the wrong brother.”
He shot me a smug smirk of pure trouble. “I’m just saying it’s not too late to reconsider your options. I’m significantly less emotionally damaged.” He took the bottle.
I sighed. “Sorry to say, my heart is permanently set on him.”
“Pesky organ, the heart, but if he breaks yours, I’ll systematically break both his legs.”
“I’ll probably help you do it,” I admitted, smiling despite myself.
“And this is exactly why you’reourgirl, menace.” He drank from the bottle, and I realized as the warmth of the liquor swirled within me, neither of us was going to get much studying done at this rate.
“So you no longer hate me?” I asked because I wanted the unfiltered truth, and Maddox would be straight with me, especially with alcohol involved.
“I hated that I didn’t hate you,” he admitted.
Pretty sure Kreed had said something similar.
My phone buzzed on the bed, vibrating against the fabric. Carson’s face filled the screen, and I just stared at the picture.
“You going to answer that?” Maddox asked, watching my face carefully.
I pulled my gaze from my phone and shook my head. “Not right now.”
“Do you want me to tell him to stop calling? If he’s bothering you?—”
“Don’t touch a hair on his head. This is a problem I need to deal with on my own terms.Alone,” I added.
“What are you going to do about Carson? If he’s talking to Rusty…”
“You’re supposed to be studying,” I reminded, doing my best to effortlessly avoid the question and any further probing about my relationship with Carson.
His shoulder brushed mine as he sank deeper into the pillows propped behind us. “Turns out you’re way too distracting anyway.”
I sighed, closing my laptop with a soft click. “I’m still figuring out what to do about Carson.”
He set the bottle between his thighs. “Well, I have several ideas we could discuss.”
I threw him a gnarly glare. “Absolutely not. I saw firsthand how you and your brothers dealt with Jesse. That’s not happening.”
“That kid got off incredibly easy, all things considered.”
A streak of lightning cut across the sky outside the window, a quick zip brightening Kreed’s room. Gloominess had been lingering in the sky most of the day, and the wind had started to pick up over the last hour, battering against the windows. Dark clouds pressed against the glass, purple-gray masses roiling with barely contained violence.
Apparently, we were in for the first thunderstorm of spring, and of course, Kreed thought it would be a fabulous time to work out his calves.
“He’ll be fine,” Maddox assured, reading the concern that descended into my features.
I dragged my gaze from the window, softening the frown on my lips. The lights in the bedroom flickered.
Fuck.
If the power wentout…
“Don’t worry. We have a backup generator. The security system will only be down for ten seconds or so.”
