Braydon(65)

“Call me later,” Kylie told Jessie.

“I’ll try.” The gleam in Jessie’s eyes made Braydon’s heart rate ratchet up a few notches.

They had just made it back to his truck when Jessie sniffed him. “You definitely need a shower.”

“You think?” he teased. “Want me to rub all over you so you need one, too?”

Jessie’s eyes glowed with suggestion as she peered back at him. “Not necessary.”

Oh, Lord help him. The promise in her sexy tone made his cock roar to life.

“My place or yours?” he asked, realizing a little too late just what he’d said.

As though he had just told her that her cat had died, Jessie’s face fell and he didn’t need to ask why. “It’s gonna be all right, Jess.”

She smiled, but he could tell it was forced. “For now, how about we just plan to go to my place when we want to be alone.”

Braydon nodded. He would agree for now. But he had no intention of hiding Jessie away from the world. Hell, as it was, he wanted to shout to the heavens that he had the woman of his dreams. He didn’t care what Brendon said . . .

That thought gave him pause.

He closed the passenger-side door and made his way around to the driver’s side as he contemplated that. It wasn’t that he didn’t care what Brendon thought. He did. He didn’t want to hurt his twin. That would never be his intention.

When he climbed in, he snagged his cell phone and glanced at the screen. No messages. He wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad.

He was pulling out of the driveway when Jessie said, “You’re gonna have to talk to him.”

“I have talked to him,” he told her.

“You did? What did he say?”

“He’s happy for us?” Braydon cut his eyes over to her briefly. She was frowning, which didn’t seem like an appropriate response to the news he’d given her. “What’s wrong?”

“Did he say that?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“Did he mean it?”

Braydon looked at her again. “Brendon doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean.”

And that was the truth. They were both honest, but Brendon was brutally honest. At least that was the case when he opened up enough to say what was on his mind anyway.

“I plan to talk to him more, Jess,” he said, hoping to ease her fears. “But for now, we’re cool.” That brought back his worry over his brother. Brendon hadn’t seemed himself earlier. Granted, the only communication they’d had was over text and everyone knew how easily that could be misconstrued, but Braydon still had an unsettling feeling in his gut.

But he didn’t mention it. Not yet.

“I just don’t want to come between the two of you. We’ve got a history and—”

Braydon purposely cut her off before she could finish. “The last thing you need to worry about is coming between us.”

“Easier said than done,” she mumbled.

“I get it. But we’re not gonna worry about that today, Jess.”

There was an awkward silence that descended briefly. Braydon ran through various things he wanted to say, but before he could put his thoughts into words, Jessie spoke.

“One day at a time.”

“I’d like that,” he told her, glancing over at her again. “This is backwards, Jess. I know that.”

“Backwards how?”

He looked at her again. She was staring back at him. “Do I need to explain it?”

“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”

Braydon didn’t know what to say. He had his own reasons why they seemed to be working from the opposite direction in establishing this relationship. But telling Jessie again that he loved her probably wasn’t going to go over all that well. She hadn’t so much as blinked when he had told her the first time, and he wasn’t all that interested in getting another brush-off when he repeated the most heartfelt words he’d ever said to anyone before.

“Forget it.” Jessie exhaled sharply.

“I don’t want to forget it, Jess. I don’t know how to explain it.” Braydon kept his eyes on the road as he continued. “It’s as though we broke up, although we were never actually together. And in the same regard, it’s like we’ve been apart for years and I want to make up for lost time.”

Jessie didn’t say anything, and he could feel her frustration.

“We don’t have to dissect this, you know. Can we just enjoy it for now?” He knew that probably wasn’t the right thing to say, but he didn’t know how else to get his point across. Braydon had never been the smooth talker that Brendon was. That was one of the reasons Brendon usually ended up with the women and Braydon usually ended up as the tagalong. It had never bothered him before now.

“Fine.”

They were pulling into her driveway when Braydon noticed Jessie reaching for the door handle as though she were going to jump out while the truck was still moving.

“Don’t you dare,” he ordered. “Sit your ass right there until I come around. Understand?”

Braydon put the truck in Park and looked over at her. Her eyes were wide as she stared back at him. At least she was still in the truck.

“If I didn’t stink so damn bad, I’d pull your shorts off and f*ck you right here in this truck.”