Page 68 of Ride or Dies

“She’s the one who left,” Levi said. “Left and never came back.”

I shook my head. “Because we didn’t give her any reason to think we saw her as more than a way to pass time when the four of us wanted to fuck.”

“She’s never been that,” Mason snapped. “But it doesn’t mean we’d fit what she wants.”

I made my decision.

“I want her,” I declared. “And not just for a night. I don’t care what you two decide, but I’m going after her. And if she feels even a little bit of what I do, I’ll do whatever I have to.”

With that, I took out my phone and headed to my room. I considered calling Evie and just telling her everything I’d told my brothers, but the three of us weren’t the only ones with baggage. Evie never knew her dad, and her mom had never chosen her over alcohol or anything else. Staying away for this long had probably just made her doubt everything I’d ever said to her.

I needed help.

“Tucker.” Jenna’s tone was sharp. “I’m kinda in the middle of something. What do you want?”

“Evie.”

Jenna was silent for a minute, and then I heard the sound of a door closing. “You have my attention.”

“I love her, Jenna. And I know I fucked up. I need your help to get her back.”

“I’ll be at the clubhouse in fifteen minutes.”

True to her word, Jenna walked through the door a quarter of an hour later. She followed me to my room without a word, but as soon as I closed the door behind her, she turned on me.

“You better not be fucking around with this,” she said. “Because if you hurt Evie again—”

“Again?”

“Come on, Tucker, you can’t really be that stupid, can you?” She shook her head. “Evie’s not the type to agree to something so…controversial if she didn’t have feelings for you three. You ghosting her after what happened, it was a real dick move.”

“I know,” I admitted. “And I want to fix it.”

There was a knock on the door, and I opened it. Mason and Levi stood on the other side, their expressions serious, but different than they had been. As if they’d shifted something about themselves.

“We want Evie too,” Levi said. His eyes moved to Jenna. “Will you help us?”

Jenna grinned. “I have just the thing.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Evie

Ihad to admit, I liked my bridesmaid’s dress. It was slinky but not slutty, clinging to my curves without making me look like I’d been stuffed into something. The color was a deep scarlet that complimented my hair and eyes, and the matching four-inch heels were the perfect height. If we hadn’t picked all of this out weeks before, I would’ve thought Jenna and Isabel had selected it to make me feel better.

Not that I felt bad, exactly. I just wasn’t feeling the excitement and happiness I’d expected when I started down the aisle. As I’d helped Jenna finish planning her wedding, I boxed up everything I felt for her brothers and put it away. Things were still a little awkward between us, but I wasn’t about to ruin my best friend’s wedding because I had feelings for her brothers.

At least Jenna and Isabel’s decision to have only one attendant each meant that I didn’t have to worry about walking back down the aisle with or behind one of Jenna’s brothers. Isabel’s attendant was her Nona, which meant I didn’t have to come up with small talk. As I’d found out at the rehearsal, Nona was perfectly happy to do all the talking.

Even if it wasn’t always appropriate.

“Hot damn, those Bradshaws have some good genes.” Nona’s comment drew laughter from the audience as I pushed her to Isabel’s side. “If I was ten years younger, I’d climb that whole family like a bunch of trees.”

“Mother,” Isabel’s father hissed in a horrified whisper.

Nona shrugged. “I’m old and dying, dearie. If I can’t speak my mind whenever I want, then who can?”

I pressed my lips together in an effort not to laugh, even as a ripple of laughter made its way around the room. As I bent down to retrieve my bouquet from the pair on Nona’s lap, she lowered her voice to an actual whisper.

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