Page 107 of Gabriel & Skye

“Oh, the hot nanny.” He laughs. “Now I get it.”

Why does the most aloof brother have to be the most perceptive? Also, if he gets wind about me and Skye, the entire town will know by lunchtime.

“She has a name.”

“Yeah, Hot Nanny. Are you finding excuses to stay home? And bro, I don’t blame you. Give me the green light and I’ll take her off your hands.”

“I don’t need excuses to be in my own home,” I grumble. “And you keep your hands to yourself.”

“Speaking of which, I have a slight issue, which is why I’m calling.”

“Can’t it wait till I get in?”

“If it could, I wouldn’t be calling.”

“Shoot.”

“I’m not divorced.”

I frown. “What?” It’s too early in the morning for this shit.

“You know how Eden was asking me for a copy of the divorce papers so she could change her name and get a new passport?”

“Vaguely.”

“Well, I was looking for them, and uh… well, I may have forgotten to lodge the damn things in court. She left it up to me and I screwed up.”

I stop with my coffee cup halfway up to my mouth. “You what?”

“Yeah, I’m still legally married.”

I let out a belly laugh, knowing how pissed Eden is gonna be. “Oh, stop. This is too good.”

“It’s not funny, man,” he grouches. “Eden is gonna kick my ass. You know how weird she is about this stuff.”

“GB might say it’s a sign.”

“Don’t you start. Now I have to tell her.”

“Can’t you just lodge them? She’ll never know.”

“Yeah, aside from the fact the papers are now out of date.”

“Oh, shit.”

“I wonder how Kirk feels about screwing my wife.” He sounds so bitter that I know right there he’s not over her. He may joke around and act like a clown, but my younger brother is all heart.

“Well, I’m not gonna go all woo-woo on you, but maybe there’s some truth in what GB says. Things happen — or in this case don’t happen — for a reason.”

“Yeah, the reason is gettin’ my ass kicked.”

“Do you still have feelings for her?”

“I never stopped loving her.”

“That’s not the same thing. Do you think you split up in haste? You guys were so young when you got together. Maybe it wasn’t the right timing.” The line goes quiet for an awfully long time, prompting me to say, “Brook?”

“I’m here. It’s just… ever since Kirk came on the scene, I have been feeling kinda… jealous, and I’ve no reason to be. She’s had other dates in the past, but this seems serious. All of a sudden, someone new could come between what we have and that feels… icky.”

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