Page 89 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

“You can shut up as well,” I mutter under my breath as she nudges me with her shoulder.

“I’m sure no one will die today. They will talk, have a drink, then another until they are all drunk, and your guys end up having to stay the night as well,” she laughs. “That’s probably why Christian suggested this sleepover in the first place.” Jasmine's smile slips for the briefest moment as I turn to look at her.

“I thought you said the sleepover was your idea?”

“It was, I meant.”

“No, you said Christian suggested the sleepover. That means it wasn’t your idea at all. What aren’t you telling me?” I demand.

“Nothing. Yes, Christian suggested it, but only because Travis wanted to speak to him about stuff, and he thought.”

“This isn’t just about their past, is it? I know Travis is hiding something from me. I could tell the moment I got home to pack for tonight. What’s going on, Jaz?” I demand as Jasmine starts looking uncomfortable.

“I don’t know, and that’s the truth!” Jasmine turns her whole body to look at me, and when I see her face, I know something's wrong.

“Christian suggested you spend the night. I was in his office earlier when he got a call from Travis. Christian asked me to leave, which he hardly ever does. It doesn’t matter what he’s talking about; he only asks me to leave if it is personal to the person calling and they don’t want me or the others knowing.”

What the hell would Travis be talking to Christian about that would result in him suggesting a sleepover and telling Jasmine to make out it was her idea? I don’t know, but I plan to find out.

I throw the blanket off my lap and jump to my feet, not bothering to put my shoes back on.

“Where are you going?” Jasmine demands, scrambling to her feet as well.

“I’m going to find out what’s going on.” I storm towards the door, but Layton steps in front of me.

“That’s not a good idea right now, Hun. The guys are all discussing something important,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder. I shrug him off and push past him.

“Which somehow involves me,” I snap. I see from the glimpse that I caught of his and Jasmine's faces that I’m right. I storm through the door and rush away from them before they can try to stop me again.

“Fuck,” Layton scrambles behind me as he tries to keep up.

I head for the office, knowing that’s where they were going. Thankful that I know my way around this house so well. I doubt the others would give me directions if I asked.

I turn down the corridor, where I can see the door to the office. But as I start heading towards it, Layton and Jasmine get in my way. Layton holds up his hands to stop me from going any further.

“Verity, I get you are upset, but give me a moment to go ahead.”

“No!” I snap loudly, cutting him off. “I’m getting sick and tired of people lying to me.”

“No one is lying to you,” Jasmine starts, but I stop her with one look.

“But you’re all hiding something from me, and I’m sick of being the last to know!” I shout, looking back to Layton. “Get out of my way, now!”

“Verity!”

I look behind Layton to see Travis standing at the door with Ethan and Christian behind him.

“What’s going on?” I demand, staring at him.

“Nothing for you to.”

“Stop fucking lying to me!” I cry out. My head’s pounding in time with my heart, and my stomach is so tight, I’m sure I’m going to throw up. “You promised you would always be honest with me,” I point out as I storm forward and stop right in front of him. “You said you would never hide anything.”

I watch as Travis lets out a deep sigh and rubs at his face.

“You’re right, I’m sorry, Sweetheart.” He steps forward, closing the gap between us. “I was trying to let you have a little more time before things had to change, and I should have just been honest with you from the start.”

“Are you leaving me?” I ask as my voice wobbles. Travis’s eyes go wide before he pulls me into his arms.

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