“He doesnothave a point.” I’d hit my limit. “You guys don’t understand. This isn’t right. The whole thing, it shouldn’t be happening. It’s…”
“What’s going on, Pres?” My brothers all shared a look, but it was Delaney who asked. “You seem a little…”
“A little what?”
“Hey!” Ethan stepped in front of me. “Don’t raise your voice at her. She’s just asking what all of us want to know.”
“Sorry, Delaney,” I mumbled. “I didn’t mean to snap.”
“It’s okay.” She gave me a knowing smile, and no doubt she didknow.The women in this town all knew one another, and I had no idea what Jess had told the ladies. Had she mentioned that we’d been together the night she ran away from her wedding?
Had she given them details about the way I’dtaken her mind offthings? How I’d pulled so many orgasms out of her that she couldn’t even remember the name of the asshole who’d tried to marry her only to close a deal?
An asshole she’d gone right back to the moment she left the cabin. Maybe not back to him, but the thing he cared about most. And she’d chosen it over me.
“So?” Ethan pressed. “Are you going to tell us what’sreallygoing on with you? Because you’re not yourself, brother. What’s on your mind?”
“I think the better question is,whois on your mind?”
I spun around to glare at Brody. He wiggled his eyebrows as if he knew what the hell he was talking about. He didn’t.
“Well?” he pushed.
I took two strides toward him until I was directly in front of him. I might be the youngest brother, but I wasnotthe smallest. And I’d learned how to fight early. It came with being the youngest of five. My jaw twitched. My fists clenched at my sides, ready for a fight.
“I’m not going to fight you, brother.” Brody laughed. “But if it will make you feel better about Jess, take your best shot.”
“Jess?”
“What about Jess?”
The others mumbled questions, but I wasn’t listening, as I stepped forward, cocked my fist, and swung.
“Oh no, you don’t.” Reid caught my arm seconds before it made contact with Brody’s jaw. He wrenched my arms behind my back, holding me in place. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Reid tugged me back from Brody, who didn’t move, except for the cocky grin that slid over his face.
“Let him hit me,” Brody said. “If that’s what it takes for him to feel better about his childhood nemesis?—”
“Shut the fuck up,” I spat at him. He was provoking me on purpose. If Reid didn’t have a hold on me, I would kill him.
“What is going on?” Grayson, ever the peacemaker in the family, tried to step between us. “What does this have to do with Jess?” He looked between us.
“Nothing,” I growled.
“Bullshit.”
“I’m going to?—”
“Enough,” Reid interrupted. “You’re not going to do anything.” He pulled me away from Brody, right before I could wrench myself free. “You need to cool down. I think it’s best if you skip family dinner this week.”
He wrestled me to the front door, and together, we all but fell outside. Summit bounded after us with a bark of excitement, no doubt thinking we were playing some sort of game.
Finally, I yanked away from Reid and half-jogged down the steps to the path before turning around. “He was out of line.”
“You both were.” Reid crossed his arms over his chest. “But you can’t fight at family dinner. Especially not in front of Quinn.”
Fuck. Quinn.
