Consolation Prize (Forbidden Men #9)(107)

Yeah, and I’d seen the way she’d looked at me an hour later with my dick in her hand right after I’d made her come. But we weren’t going there right now.

“Oh, Jesus,” I told my brother instead, as I rolled my eyes. “You really need to get off your high horse. I don’t think there’s room for anyone else in here with your ego that damn big.”

Brandt poked me, he f*cking poked me right in the nipple. Fucker. “I’m telling you, she’s using you.”

“You say that again,” I warned from between clenched teeth, getting in his face. “And I’ll punch your f*cking lights out.”

He snorted. “I’d like to see you try.”

So I did. I’d never hit him before. But we were brothers, so I guess it was about time.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” both Ten and Noel cried as they surged between us. Ten skidded in front of me just as I swung. And yep, I hit the wrong person. It hurt my hand like a son of a bitch, too. My knuckles were already tender from fighting with the drunk douche a couple nights before, but shit, Ten had one boney f*cking cheek.

“Mother…f*cker!” he bellowed, clutching his face, as he paced away and bent at the waist. “I dropped my damn cheese.”

Noel sighed as he opened the freezer and dragged out a bag of frozen peas before flinging it at Ten. Catching the bag against his chest, Ten lifted the pouch to his eye, hissed a curse, and whined, “Get me some more cheese too.”

Noel got him another stick of string cheese. When Ten was satisfied, he turned to Brandt and me. “Okay. Continue.”

But the urge to keep fighting had dissipated.

Noel shook his head and set his hands on his hips before eyeing Brandt. “I don’t understand why you’re so upset about this.”

“Because...” Brandt grumbled, shooting me a glare. “She’s going to hurt him when he finally stops being a dumbass and realizes her true agenda, and it’s going to be my fault because I brought her into our lives.”

“Oh, that’s bullshit,” I sneered. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Juli, so why don’t you admit what’s really going on?”

Brandt paused, looking confused. Then he scratched his head and said, “That is what I thought was really going in. What the hell do you think’s going on?”

“You don’t want me to be happy because you’re still upset about the...about what happened...with Mom. Because I didn’t help you.”

His mouth opened. But no words came. Finally, he shook his head and sputtered, “What? That’s not...Jesus, Colton, I told you I didn’t blame you for anything. I never blamed you or resented you or whatever you think I’m doing. Why would I? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Because...” I stared at him, confused. He honestly seemed perplexed over why I’d feel that way. I shook my head too. “You said I owed you.”

“Huh?” He gaped at me as if I were insane.

“At the wedding reception,” I hissed. “To get me to go talk to Julianna, you said I owed you one. And then you said it again not half an hour ago at her place.”

He barked out an incredulous sound. “I was talking about the alcohol, you dumbass. You owed me because I wasn’t going to tell Noel you’d drunk more than your one-glass limit he’d said you could have at my wedding.”

“You drank over your one-glass limit?” Noel broke in.

I ignored him and stared at Brandt. “So, you weren’t talking about—”

“No.” Brandt sighed and scrubbed his face. “Fuck, no, you little idiot.”

“Oh,” I said lamely.

He shook his head and sighed. “I haven’t even thought about that shit since the big reveal that won me Sarah. Well, aside from half an hour ago when Juli brought it up. I can’t believe you f*cking told her.”

“I didn’t tell her,” I insisted, glancing toward Noel and Ten, who were watching us avidly. “I mean, I told her some things here and there. I had no idea I’d told her enough that she’d figure it out. I would never do that to you.”

“Jesus, you really are a dumbass.” Reaching out, Brandt clasped his hand around the back of my neck before tugging me forward until our foreheads pressed together. “I’m going to say this once, and one time only. Stop worrying about that. It’s over. I’m over it. The family’s over it. You should be over it. You were eight f*cking years old. If I’d known you had seen what you saw, I wouldn’t have blamed you then, and I don’t blame you now. The only thing that pissed me off was when you finally did spill the beans to everyone, but that ended up better for me anyway because it landed me Sarah, so I’m over that too. You’re not the one who did anything wrong. She is. So get over it. Right now.”

I nodded but dropped my gaze, still feeling guilty.

A second later, I looked up. “Then why are you this bent out of shape about Juli?” I had thought he’d turn his nose up at our relationship and wonder what her ulterior motives were, then try to convince me of what they were, but I hadn’t imagined he’d be quite this gung ho against it. “You don’t still want her for yourself, do you?”

“What? No!” He smacked me on the side of my head. “Get that shit out of your head right now.”