Page 47 of The Brothers Next Door

Cocking a brow up at me, Nate continued to stare at me with that odd stare of his.

“I told her that from what I could tell you were in love with her as well.”

The odd expression left him and his face became a blank slate.

“Look, be honest, if not with me then with yourself. You know as well as I do that you’re falling in love with her, if you’re not already there, which I think you are.”

“Like you’d know.”

I straightened and gave him a don’t shit me look. “I know you better than you know yourself sometimes, because I can access you objectively. I can tell just by watching you when you’re with her. You’re a different person. You’re just as much in love with her as I am.”

Anger filled his eyes. “Then back off and let me have her,” my brother growled.

I couldn’t do that. I loved my brother, but I couldn’t let her go. Not now, not after what we’d shared earlier. Losing her would be as painful as Gabriella, just in a different way.

“I can’t do that.” Shaking my head, I met his gaze.

But I couldn’t lose my brother either. Dammit, why couldn’t things just stay as they were? Things had been going fine. Maybe we just needed to tweak the arrangement?

~*~TT~*~

Layla

I awoke with a start, the nightmare that had woken me already beginning to fade from my consciousness. Frowning, it took me a moment to realize that I wasn’t in my bed and that I was at Darrin’s place. Fighting the grogginess, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and noticed the box of pictures on the night side table. What had transpired between us came to the forefront of my mind.

He loved me. Both of them did. We’d made love.

My heart soared.

Voices. Not just any voices, but those of the brothers, could be heard coming from the other room. They sounded angry. Anxious, yet a little nervous to see them, I grabbed Darrin’s shirt from the floor and pulled it on over my naked body and made my way into the living room where I found them both.

I was about to speak, but they seemed to be in a heated discussion which made me reconsider entering the room—neither one seemed to notice me in the entryway. Perhaps I should go back to bed and pretend to be sleeping?

“Back off and let me have her,” Nate growled, staring at his brother.

Was he talking about me? I didn’t even have to ask that question, I knew they were.

Run and eavesdrop or let them know I was present? Decisions, decisions.

“I can’t do that,” Darrin responded.

They stared at each other, as if in a stalemate.

I couldn’t speak. I became frozen with indecision. If I had to choose between them, how could I? I was in love with them both. They both had faults, but also amazing qualities unique to each of them.

In my worst fears, I knew the day might come that I’d have to make the decision between them, but I didn’t want to face that fact. The optimistic part of me hoped we’d continue as we had been, that we could make it work, all three of us. Maybe I’d just had my head stuck in the ground all this time.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to bite the bullet and announce myself. As much as I’d have liked to avoid this conversation, it involved me and I had to address it.

“Nate. Darrin.” Both sets of eyes shot over to look at me. Despite Darrin sitting in his underwear, I felt underdressed, as though being fully clothed would stop whatever pain was on the immediate horizon.

They stared at me and I saw the truth in their eyes. All barriers had been broken down and they were both completely exposed. They both loved me as much as I loved them. We just had to figure out what to do about it.

Nate was the first to speak. “Come on in, this actually involves you as well and we need to know what you’re feeling.”

Terrified. That was the main emotion in me right now, but I didn’t want to admit it.

“Okay.” I walked over to the sofa and sat next to Darrin, with Nate still in the armchair on my other side. “What’s going on?”

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