“Yes.” His face brightened. “A chain of them, in fact.”
“You must be very successful.”
He shrugged. “I’m trying to be like my old man except in a different field.”
She laughed. “Well, it sounds like you’re on your way.”
“I certainly hope so.” He smiled. “I’m glad to know you’re as sweet as my brother has talked about.”
Her cheeks heated once again. “Actually, it’s your brother who is sweet.”
“I’m sure he’s that way because of the woman he’s with.”
Breanna didn’t think he was hitting on her, but he was definitely a flirt like his younger brother. “If I had met you somewhere else, I’d know immediately you were Brad’s brother.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Really? How?”
“You have the same charm.”
As they reached the bottom of the steps, Brad moved around the corner and blocked his brother. Brad wore a scowl as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“I figured you would try hitting on Breanna when I wasn’t around,” he snapped.
Corey’s harsh expression matched his brother’s. “Are you kidding me?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?” Brad’s face beamed red.
Corey shook his head. “You really think I’d flirt with your girlfriend?”
“I don’t have tothink, brother dear. I heard you just now.”
“So what are you going to do about it, brother?” Corey folded his arms.
“You aren’t even going to deny it, are you? You really want to steal the woman I love.” Brad’s voice rose.
“Why can’t you let the past rest?” Corey asked. “We aren’t in high school any longer.”
Breanna didn’t know what to do. Obviously, Brad hadn’t gotten over feeling jealous of his older brother. She wanted to correct Brad, but she didn’t dare. Tom had taught her to hold her tongue or feel stupid afterwards because of his mean words.
“I think we need to take this argument outside,” Brad snipped.
Breanna’s heart dropped. She must say something no matter what Tom had taught her. She didn’t like the sparks shooting out of Brad’s eyes. She stepped next to Brad and grasped his hand, linking her fingers with his. “Brad, Corey, there’s no need to takeanythingoutside.” She met Brad’s gaze. “I met your brother in the hallway as I was coming out of your room. We chatted. That’s it, and that’s all there was to our conversation.” Brad inhaled and opened his mouth, but she placed her hand over it and smiled. “And, if you want to know what we were discussing, we were talking about you and how much I loveyou.”
The tightness in Brad’s face disappeared the longer he stared at her. Soon, his mouth lifted in a smile. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” Corey answered for Breanna before she could. His attention moved to her and he added, “Please forgive me if I offended you. That’s not what I wanted at all.”
“You didn’t offend me at all, Corey.”
He threw Brad a glare before walking out of the room.
She slid her hands up Brad’s muscular chest and linked her fingers around his neck. “Brad, I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”
He kissed her briefly before shaking his head. “No, it was my fault.”
“Why do you still think your brother wants to steal your girlfriends?”
Brad blew out a heavy breath and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.
