Page 19 of Messing With My Brother's Best Friends

“So now we just put the slats…”

The two of them had it now, catching on quickly, moving the slats into place, and that’s when it hit me. Men are completely unaware of the erotic appeal of masculine competence. Van’s muscles barely flexed as he set down each lot of slats before Connor moved to screw them into place. I stood around, completely useless, just staring, until the two of them noticed.

“Nearly done.”

Van’s lips twitched as he straightened up, that look of mischief usually a warning of what was about to go down, but when Connor pulled back, Van grabbed my mattress and placed it on the frame. Connor left the drill on the floor as he grabbed my pillows and tossed them against the bedhead, then both he and Van flicked my quilt out over the mattress.

“Did you need some sheets?”

Connor’s voice was far too low and intimate for whatever the fuck this was, and as he edged closer, my heart rate started to pick up.

“Ah no…” An aspirin and a lie down was what I needed, but I wasn’t telling him that. “I’ve got some in my boxes. I’ll dig them out in a minute, but…” A tinkle of laughter coming down the hall let me know that Barbie was up to her usual mischief. “I better see what my so-called best friend is up to. She’s like a puppy. Leave her unattended and she’ll have chewed holes in your couch or peed in the corner.”

“Right.” Connor took a step backwards and the two of them followed me out into the living area. “We’ll put some dinner on soon. Just a BBQ.” He stopped in front of the kitchen counter and looked at a damp Barbie and Gage. “Some sausages and burgers, but the two of you are welcome to join us.”

“BBQ?” she said, perking up but then visibly deflating. “I’d love to but… Yup, my boyfriend is blowing up my messages. Looks like we’ve got dinner sorted for tonight, but I’m sure Kendall would love that.”

“Oh well—”

“You’ll just do beans on toast or yet another cup of ramen.” She waved her hand through the air. “This way you’ll get a decent, cooked meal for once.”

“Decent, cooked meal…?” Van stepped closer with a frown. “But Kendall is an amazing cook.”

“What?” Barbie dismissed him with a rude noise. “This girl? She can’t even boil water, not without burning it dry. Remember when we made pasta that night…”

I didn’t hear what else she said and that was OK, because none of the guys were paying attention to her either. They were just staring wide eyed at me, until finally Van spoke.

“That can’t be right.” He shook his head sharply, and I remembered the moment I did the same, all those years ago. “Kendall burn water? She used to make cakes and donuts and cupcakes and pies.” He glanced at Gage, almost begging him for back up. “Remember when she made Finn that birthday cake? She hand decorated it herself, making all of those little curly things with chocolate.”

“A cake?” Barbie spluttered. “Maybe if she bought it from Woolies.” A high-pitched ringing started up in my head, threatening to drown them out, but of course it didn’t. “The bakery she works for tried to get her to do some work in the kitchen, but they worked out real quickly what a mistake that was.” She grinned at me, probably because I’d made a show of laughing at it at the time. “Burned the lot, didn’t you, Kendall.”

“Bakery?” Gage frowned, rising to his feet. “But you were going to get a bakery apprenticeship when you finished school.”

Was, that operative word. I was going to—they were right. I’d learned at my mother’s elbow how to cook and bake a wide variety of things, and when I outstripped her, both my grandmothers taught me all of their recipes. Then I was watching videos and cooking shows, learning new techniques and trying them, getting better and better all the time. The idea of an apprenticeship was the only thing that got me through Year 12, only…

“We better get going.” My smile was so tight it felt like my face was cracking. “Alan will be about ready to send out a search party for you.”

“Kendall…”

Barbie wanted answers, I knew she did, but I couldn’t give them to her right now, not in this house or in front of them.

“Thanks for the dinner offer, but I’ll just pick up something on the way home,” I told the guys, right before I grabbed Barbie’s bag and her shoes then jerked my head to indicate it was time to leave.

“Kendall…”

One of them called my name, but I couldn’t hear it right now. I just couldn’t. My chest was too tight, my heart beating way too fast, and it wasn’t because they were all big, tough, and manly right now.

It was because they were a threat.

“What the fuck, girl!” Barbie hissed once we stumbled out of the house and over to Daisy. “What’s going on? A bakery apprenticeship?”

“If you get in the car right now, I’ll tell you everything, I promise.”

“But—”

“I’m invoking the girl code.”

The same thing that had us walking away from a guy with no questions asked, or forced us to give an honest opinion about the clothes we were trying on, or the makeup we were considering wearing. It was the thing that had kept our friendship together since the moment we first connected, and Barbie’s lips thinned as she nodded. I didn’t take a full breath until we were both inside Daisy, the key slotted into the ignition.

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