Page 57 of The Brothers Next Door

Damn and double damn. “I gotta go, guys.” Gathering the roses in my arms, along with the sandwich and my handbag, I got up. “I have a new client meeting in just over five minutes. Thank you for the roses.”

A part of me wanted to say screw the meeting and stay here with them and work it all out. But I couldn’t. I had a job to do and it was important that I get it done. Reconciliation would have to wait. It just wasn’t a good time.

Getting up from the chair, I rushed to the door, the brothers in hot pursuit.

“We can discuss this as we walk you back,” Darrin said, holding the door open for me, allowing me to pass.

At least they weren’t willing to give up no me.

“Craig drove down here to see me. He wanted to get back together. I told him no,” I said once both brothers had caught up and were within earshot.

“Did he stay overnight?” Nate asked, a hint of grit in his voice.

“Yes.”

“If that’s the case, why allow him to stay? Why not kick his ass out?” I could see the jealousy in Nate’s stare, not something I would have ever expected to see from him a few months ago. But now it was shining through with crystal clarity.

“There were no rooms anywhere. I looked. So what could I do, I let him stay. It meant nothing. And as soon as he was up and dressed, I told him he had to go.” My building came into view. We wouldn’t have enough time to hash it out right now.

Once we reached the front doors, I spun to face the brothers. I looked from one to the other, raking my fingers through my hair. “I’m not engaged. Certainly not to that man. Why he lied, I have no idea, but he did.” I looked down at my watch. I was one minute late. “We’ll talk tonight, okay?” Without waiting for a response, I spun around and entered the building.

That went badly. I looked over my shoulder as I entered the lobby. Both men were standing outside the building, in discussion. As if feeling my eyes on them, they both looked in my direction and our gazes locked. I smiled, hoping they’d understand that I was theirs and only theirs.

~*~TT~*~

Darrin

“We need this to be perfect,” I said, checking on the status of the lasagna. It was nearly done and so it was almost time for the garlic cheese bread to go in the oven. Checking my watch, I estimated that she was due home in about ten minutes. I’d texted her earlier, after our meeting with her at the café, and confirmed.

“Do we really need all this fuss?” Nate called to me from the living room. His duty was to make the place a haven of romance while I prepared dinner. Maybe I should have switched jobs with him.

“Believe me, we do. Tonight we’re going to make sure everyone is on the same page and that there’s no misunderstandings. It doesn’t hurt to show we care about her and are making an effort. This could be the first day of the rest of our lives together.”

“She smiled at us. You saw the smile.”

I poked my head out of the kitchen and into the small dining room where Nate was just finishing with the candles and was now carrying on to setting the table. “I did. But that doesn’t mean we don’t need to iron out the waves that have been caused. When we make love to her tonight, its going to be perfect.”

Nate laughed. “You should be writing romance novels, brother.”

“I’ll keep that in my back pocket if my career with the force ends.”

~*~TT~*~

Layla

Exiting the elevator, I found myself unsure of where to stop first. Go straight to Darrin’s place, or drop my stuff off home and freshen up before proceeding. I’d found a vase in the breakroom and combined the roses in the vase, setting it on my desk for the rest of the female staff to eat their hearts out over. Darrin had sent me a text which came with a little urgent icon saying to go straight to his place after work—no stops.

As much as I wanted to see the guys, it wouldn’t hurt to at least freshen up a little. The city was as hot as Hades today and my white blouse was sticking to me, showing the outline of my beige lace bra.

I was pulling out my keys as I reached the door to my place when I noticed the handwritten note, taped to my front door:

Come straight over. You’re perfect as you are.

I chuckled, pulling the note from the door and stuffing it into my handbag. Giving my head a little shake, I decided to do as advised and head for Darrin’s place. My heart rate accelerated as I approached. I was pretty sure that everything was going to be all right, but sometimes life threw a curveball at you. Reaching his door, I knocked. Within a moment of knocking, the door was pulled open to reveal Darrin.

He gave me a hesitant smile, then opened the door wider. “You look beautiful.”

“Liar,” I laughed. “I’m wet and sticky.”

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