Too Sweet (Hayes Brothers #3)(100)

It’s Nico. He’s all in black, with a K and a heart emblazoned on his muscular pec. A long red cape flows over his broad shoulders, and a matching crown sits atop his big head. He looks like a regal superhero. A deadly King ready to save his Queen from imaginary danger.

“King and Queen of hearts,” Rose says, beaming as she closes the door behind her. “So fitting.”

“God, you’re whipped, bro. Wait till Colt sees you.”

“Wait till he’s whipped,” he shoots back with a smirk.

I want to say no way that will ever happen, but I said that about Nico, and I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Mia pulls Rose into the kitchen, and Nico follows suit, a snarling rottweiler, always at his girl’s side.

Nothing here for me, so I join my brothers in the garden, where people are starting to flock through the side gate.

As expected, most girls arrive at the party wearing sexy, barely-anything-to-them costumes. The guys put in minimal effort with theirs, although some are hilarious.

Justin Montgomery has purple cardboard wings on his back and the words Booze Light Beer written in fluorescent green marker on his t-shirt. Another guy has gray paint samples stuck to his chest, so I assume he’s 50 Shades of Grey and...

Low and behold, we have a winner.

The only guy in our circle of friends with red hair has five loaves of bread dangling from strings around his neck and a sticker with Gingerbread Man on his forehead.

No way anyone can beat that.

Many toilet paper mummies, guys in black shirts with Superman t-shirts underneath, and scary rubber masks later, Brandon Price arrives. The king fallen from grace.

He’s been on his best behavior since Nico threw him out of the house the night Mia got hurt.

He’s lost his pompous attitude and is trying to earn our forgiveness and prove he’s not an incurable dipshit.

The jury’s still out on that one.

Mia overheard me, Colt, and Cody debating whether to invite him. The good-hearted little Bug she is, she said we should. We’ve excluded him from the year-end and homecoming parties, and other than a couple guys from the team, he’s basically been abandoned by everyone.

Meanwhile, cred is due where it’s due because he’s really been walking on water the past few months. I guess we’ll see tonight how much he changed.

He enters the garden, the only guy to put effort into his costume: a green onesie covered in hundreds of white plastic thorns. It looks like he cut up a whole box of plastic forks for the spiky effect.

“A cactus?!” Cody exclaims, shaking his hand. “What the hell, man? Why cactus?”

“Dig deeper,” Brandon says, patting my back as I stop beside them. “What are those?” He touches one of the thorns.

“You want the technical term? Fuck knows. Spikes?”

“Kind of, yeah, but not what I’m looking for,” he admits, shaking his head. “What do they do?”

“They hurt,” Cody supplies, brows drawn together. “Is this a game? A rebus? I better win something if I guess.”

“They’re called prickles,” Colt says. “He’s a prickly cactus, so you could say he’s a...” He looks between our clueless expressions, waiting for it to click. “He’s a massive prick, you idiots.”

I burst out laughing, but it takes Cody a few more seconds to catch on and join in. “Well, that sure is fitting. At least you know.”

Brandon nods, looking up at the living room windows, his features pinched to hide the pain in his eyes. “Is she coming out to sing tonight?”

“Yeah, but only a few songs. They’re having their own party up there. Our brothers are coming over, and our parents too, so you better behave.”

He’s been pining over Mia since he saw Nico exit Q holding her in his arms. It’s as if seeing with his own eyes she was no longer available made him realize he didn’t just want to fuck her, but keep her for himself.

“Right, I need a beer,” Brandon says, squeezing the back of his neck before heading for the table bending under the weight of kegs.

“Could I have one too?” a familiar voice asks.

I turn around to see Rose—aka Wednesday—a few feet away. “I thought that chick told you not to drink.”

“That chick is my sister, and what she doesn’t see...” She smiles a cheeky smile, leaving the rest unspoken. “So? Would you like me to beg?”

“No need, girl,” Brandon says, leaping back to wrap his arm around Rose’s shoulders, a slight curve on his lips. “Come on, I’ll hook you up.”

Oh, hell no.

I don’t know where this sudden, intense, aggressive jolt zapping down my spine comes from, but the thought of allowing Brandon’s hands anywhere near Rose has me on the brink of bursting into flames.

I’m not the Hayes to lose my shit for no reason (not pointing any fingers), so this is disturbing, to say the least. He might be trying to redeem himself, but he’s still a fucking prick, and there’s no way I’m leaving Rose under his supervision.

Mia would have my balls for that, I’m sure.

“Not your party, man,” I say, breaking Rose free from his hold. “Grab a beer and have fun, but don’t try anything, or you’ll be out the door in five seconds.”

Brandon holds his hands up in defeat, no longer prone to arguing with my brothers or me. He’s gone from a show-worthy Doberman to a lapdog in no time.