Girls never turned Mason down. He was the charmer, the easy one, the twin no one took seriously. He was the definition of a playboy. Girls flocked to his side. I was the scarier one, the one who made people take a step back and decide whether approaching me was worth the risk.
If anyone was built for rejection, it should’ve been me.
Not him.
And that I had to admit made her intriguing as hell.
I pushed through the back entrance of my father’s club, and the bass hit me immediately, low and thrumming through the walls. The sound vibrated in my chest. This place smelled like expensive whiskey, leather, and decisions that couldn’t be undone. I’d never been a huge fan of the club; Raine and Kreed spent far more time here than I did. I’d rather drink at home, alone, than surrounded by desperation.
The rooftop lounge was quieter, insulated from the chaos below. Mason was already sprawled on the leather sofa, one ankle crossed over his knee, scrolling through his phone with his iced coffee melting on the table.
He glanced up when he heard my footsteps and grinned, spotting the cup in my hand. Daily Dose was a popular spot in Elmwood, and it was no surprise we both ended up there before coming here. We must have just missed each other.
I dropped into the chair across from him, the leather creaking under my weight. “I heard you got rejected today.”
He blinked once. “What are you talking about?”
“Mallory Hales.” When he still looked confused, I added, “The girl in the coffee shop. The one you gave your number to…”
His chuckle brimmed with amusement. Most guys would take rejection personally. For Mason, it was a game. He loved the chase. The more difficult the conquest, the more enticing. “How do you know that?”
“I ran into her as I was leaving. She thought I was you at first, but I was surprised how quickly she realized I wasn’t.”
“And that bugs you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Something about her definitely got under my skin.
Mason’s brows arched, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. “You interested?” His tone was light, teasing, but his eyes were sharp, reading me in a way only my twin could.
“What?” I scoffed, rolling my shoulders back. “No.”
“You sure about that?” He leaned forward now, elbows on his knees, fully invested in whatever emotional crisis he thought I was having.
“There’s only one girl.” I didn’t have to tell him who she was. He knew.
Mason picked up the deck of cards from the table. “You’ve got to let that go, Mad. She is literally in love with your brother.”
“For now.” There was still plenty of time for Kaylor to wake up and realize she had chosen the wrong Corvo.
He shuffled the deck in his hand. “We might need to get your head checked out.”
The lounge door opened again before I could find a deflection that wasn’t transparent bullshit. Raine, my eldest brother, entered first, all casual swagger and that perpetual sarcastic grin.
Nash, Kreed’s best friend and fellow Raven, followed, hands in his pockets, and behind him was Kreed with Kaylor beside him. I stopped seeing anyone else but her. She was like a damn angel with a halo of light emitting around her, lighting up the entire room.
My jaw locked as I dragged my gaze away—too late to hide the half second it lingered, long enough to be noticed.
Kreed caught it. Of course, he did.
His expression darkened, jaw clenching, and I could practically hear his thoughts:Still? We’re still doing this?
Kaylor wasn’t mine. She never had been, but it didn’t stop the old ghost of wanting from stalking me anyway, showing up uninvited at the worst possible times.
I was that cliché. The guy who fell for his brother’s girl, but in my defense, she hadn’t been his when I’d fallen for her. She hadn’t been anyone’s, but it didn’t make accepting that she had chosen Kreed any easier.
The two had moved out of the house at the beginning of summer, finally getting their own place and putting physical distance between us. Everyone kept saying the space would help. That time and separation would kill whatever feelings I hadn’t managed to bury yet.
Maybe they were right, but corpses didn’t always stay buried just because you wanted them to.
