And when I look up at Zach again,Mr. Grumpyis back in full force.
This is going to be so much fun.
Eighteen
Zach
Iglare at Joel, who winks at me when Lou’s back is turned. I shift my way down the counter so that I’m closer to her again.
My asshole brother just grins behind the rim of his coffee cup.
Standing next to Louise, my fingers twitch. I want to touch her so damn bad. Want to place my hand at the small of her back. Want to smooth my palm down over the roundness of her ass until I’m holding it in my hand.
I want to claim her. Mark her asmine.
Make sure that idiot brother of mine knows just who this princess belongs to.
By the time Louise is done making extra waffles for myself, Bails, Joel, and finally herself, I have the three girls helping cleanup the breakfast mess so Louise can eat her plate of food. Joel is sitting at the counter with Louise on his right while I direct the girls through washing the dishes. He sips his coffee, left hand cradling the coffee cup, while his right arm is laying across the back of her chair.
They talk and flirt while she eats, and I want to break my brother’s arm.
Fuck it.
Damn Joel.
Damn Britt… and damn the consequences.
Nineteen
Louise
“It was so nice to meet you, Joel,” I murmur, smiling up at the younger of the two brothers.
I’m laying it on thick, intentionally flirting with him while Zach glares daggers at his younger brother.
“It was nice to meet you as well,” he says, grinning, too. “Maybe I’ll see you around again sometime? Maybe take you for a ride on the bike before I put it away for the season.”
“That sounds fun.” It’s not an affirmative or a denial, just enough to drive Zach a little bit closer to that edge of crazy as he stands next to us, arms crossed over his chest like a dad trying to shoo the boyfriend he doesn’t like off his front porch after curfew.
“I’ll see you around then, Lou. Thanks for breakfast. Zach, catch up with you later,” Joel says as he heads down the pathway to where a sleek black motorcycle is waiting. We watch as he climbs on, starting it, before pulling a helmet on. The low thrum of the engine sends butterflies through me, matching the thrum of anticipation of what is coming next.
“Thanks for letting me make everyone breakfast. That was fun,” I murmur, glancing up at Zach. He’s still glowering as his brother disappears down the road, the rumble of the engine fading. “I should probably get home.”
He doesn’t say anything as I step off the patio, and I wave cheekily as I walk away, a little more sway in my hips than normal.
I make it to my front door and open it before thundering footsteps alert me to his approach behind me. I turn at the door, holding it open as he reaches me.
“What the hell was that?”
The words are snarled through tightly clenched teeth, his head dipping low toward mine.
“What was what?” I ask innocently, retreating a step out of instinct. The anger emanating off of him is palpable.
“What the hell was that with Joel?” he snaps again, following me inside my apartment. He pushes the door closed with a definitive slam, and then he’s backing me up against the wall. Raising both hands, he braces them, palms flat, against the wall on either side of my head.
“Joel?” I parrot, drawing my brows together, feigning confusion. The back of my head thumps into the wall as I tip my head up to look up into his face, the brim of the hat forcing me to tip it up further to see past it.
“Yeah,Joel. My brother.The one you were just flirting with?” he hisses out through clenched teeth, and I can’t help the pull of my lips upward.
