Page 11 of Borrowing My Bestie's Brothers

Never gonna happen, I thought as I walked up to the kitchen counter where all the food had been laid out.

“Wow, this looks incredible,” I told Heather. “Thanks for inviting me around.”

“Oh, you know you’re part of the family now, sweetheart.” She rubbed my arm before gesturing to the food. “Now eat up. Don’t want a fridge full of leftovers, but save room for some apple pie. I made it fresh today.”

“Well, there goes my diet…” Millie groaned.

“You don’t need to diet,” Angus blustered. “Too skinny as it is.”

“Dad—”

“Any man that doesn’t like a bit of meat on a girl’s bones is not worth your time, I say.”

I watched him snuggle into Heather, the idea of her body being described as meat making her splutter, but not for long. He nuzzled her neck, and she melted into him until I was forced to look away. Not because they were being inappropriate, but because of something far more unworthy: jealousy. That kind of long-lasting love, those little acts of affection. I craved them like I did my next breath, almost as much as I feared them.

“Roast potatoes?”

Hayden asked me that almost shyly, making clear how bloody awkward this situation was going to make things. I stared at him for a second and knew what I had to do. Confess to Mum what had been going on, be straight with her for once. I was a big girl and it was time to put on my big girl panties.

“Yes,” I said, shooting him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. I’d let him know he was off the hook once dinner was done. “Thank you.”

Chapter 6

Hunter

One of these days everyone was going to be actually honest with each other.

I watched Hayden place roast potatoes onto Jamie’s plate and wondered how the hell she didn’t see it. He wasn’t focussed on the food, her plate, anything but her. My brother stared at her in a way I’d never seen him do with another girl, heaping more and more spuds as she stared right back. The whole world dropped away but for each other.

Which was why I needed to interrupt.

“Might want to leave some potatoes for the rest of us, mate,” I said, earning me a dirty look from Hayden.

I was supposed to back down, back away and keep the fuck out of this, but I wouldn’t. My twin had been nursing a crush on Jamie for over ten years and he hadn’t done anything about it.

Which meant neither could I.

“Look at you, Hayden, being a gentleman for once,” Mum said with an approving look. “Usually you boys are shoving everyone out of the way in your rush to get to the food.”

“Bread roll?”

Brock never used five words when two would do, so he just held one of Mum’s freshly baked ones up with a pair of tongs in question, a little smile on his face.

“Ah…sure?” Jamie replied.

Hayden stared at Brock then watched our older brother deposit the bread on Jamie’s plate as if it was the last quarter of the footy grand final or something.

“What about some lamb?” he countered, a little growl in his voice. Unbidden he started to poke through the slices of perfectly pink meat with the serving fork, then held out one that he deemed worthy. “No fat, just the way you like it.”

Hayden stared, Brock’s brows drew down sharply, and Millie? My darling sister stifled a snort, unable to hold back a smile. Her eyes darted sideways to focus on Mum and Dad, the lot of them apparently finding this terribly amusing.

So that’s the way it was. We were all just performing monkeys putting on a show for them apparently.

And it didn’t have to be that way.

The McDonald boys had it bad for Jamie, and no one was going to say anything about it. That there would be no fake dating, only real opportunities to actually connect with the girl none of us could stop thinking about, it appeared. Fine, if that was the game, I’d play it. I sighed and grabbed a side plate, piling it high with beetroot salad, the one Jamie actually liked, along with some coleslaw and corn salsa and then handed it over, before pulling the serving fork from Hayden’s grip.

Three slices of lamb, no more, with a bit of mint sauce, never gravy or mint jelly, I arranged her plate to my satisfaction, then slapped some food on my own plate. It didn’t matter what, I wouldn’t taste any of it. I carried our plates out of the kitchen then nodded to the door, but before she could step forward to open it, Hayden was there. He slid the security door open and the two of us herded a bewildered Jamie outside. Brock somehow materialised by the table and was pulling out a chair for her before we took two steps.

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