Page 63 of Somebody To Love

“He,” she pointed his way, venom spitting from her every word. “Is being a colossal dick and I’m pretty sure a stupid idiot, too.”

He frowned. “That’s a bit repetitive, don’t ya think?”

Her response, a single middle finger, directed at him.

“Screw you, Bravo. I was trying to look out for you because I was afraid this was going to happen. That you’d get hurt. That’s why I told you not to…whatever. I’m just the silly little sister. What do I know, right?”

With that painful parting barb, his sister stormed out of the office, ranting about how no one in the family ever listened to her.

“You want to talk about it?” Ace asked after a few minutes of silence, taking a seat in the chair facing him.

BJ poured more gin into his tonic. Honestly, the tonic had disappeared long ago. Nothing left in the glass but gin and a rapidly melting cube of ice. “Not particularly.”

Ace didn’t push. His twin never did. They both knew when to push and when to wait. A twin thing or a them thing, he didn’t know. He grabbed another glass from the tray on his desk, pouring a healthy amount and pushing it across to his brother. Ace grabbed the glass, holding it, but not drinking.

BJ stared into his glass, the clear liquid offering no solution to his problems. “Penny told me she’s in love with me.”

“No duh.”

He glanced up into a face that could have been a mirror if not for the constant scowl and lack of beard.

“Come on, man. Everyone can see it.”

“I didn’t.”

“Yeah, well, you were too close to the situation to notice.” Taking a sip from his glass, Ace shook his head. “Penny has always had a kind of hero’s worship thing going on for you and you love playing her savior.”

“I do not.”

“Can’t bullshit me, brother.”

It wasn’t bullshit if it wasn’t true. Her savior? That was ridiculous. They were friends, not some damsel in distress and a knight in shining armor. His armor was far from shining, and Penny could damn well handle her own distress. He simply…preferred to handle it for her. That’s what friends were for, right?

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, I do.” Ace took another sip before placing his glass on the desk and scooting forward. “But you want to hear something I really know? Something you know, yourself. You’re in love with Penny, too.”

Like hell he was! He didn’t do romantic love. He’d promised himself that at seventeen. No love and no marriage. It wasn’t for him.

“Before you deny it,” his brother held up a hand. “Think about it. You and Penny have been close for years. You talk every day, know everything about each other. She sent you care packages every week you were deployed, and you helped her when she wanted to start her web-design business.”

“So what? Friends help each other.”

“Yes, but do they do it at the sacrifice of their romantic relationships?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Ace crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair. BJ knew this look. It was his brother’s ‘no bullshit’ gaze, and it never meant good news for anyone.

“You’ve never had a serious relationship. Every woman you’ve ever dated has been blown off whenever Penny needed you.”

Something dark and unpleasant curled in his stomach, mixing with the booze, creating a churning sense of doom. “I don’t do serious. You know that and those women did too. If they can’t handle the fact that my best friend is a woman, then that’s their insecurities, not mine.”

“Normally I’d agree, but you don’t do serious relationship because you’re afraid of them. You keep Penny on the backburner. The fixture in your life, the woman you love, but won’t let yourself be in love with, in order to protect yourself.”

Uncomfortable laughter snorted out of him. “When the hell did you become a sappy movie of the week? Tell me, Alfa, what am I protecting myself from?”

Identically large shoulders shrugged. “Rejection? Pain? Loss? Hell if I know. We’re twins. Not like we share the same brain.”

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