Page 7 of Talk About… Rivalry

All in all, she was a goddess, and I was obsessed.

Then there were times where she was quiet, staring off almost like the weight of the world was on her shoulders and god was that something I could relate to.

After my dads died, I was left to pick up the pieces. We had help back then but my brothers were falling apart, my mom didn’t move from her bed for days, and Avery was justlost.

So, I did what had to be done and made sure everyone was surviving. Especially after Cameron pushed his mate away and shut down right along with Mom.

Then it was me who cooked all the meals, made sure everyone ate, and tried to make sure Mama was trying to function at least on some level.

After that, I was the one who did what I could with the family business, keeping it afloat as soon as I was old enough to serve alcohol. Hell, before then I was helping Mom stock the shelves and manage the books before it opened for the day, and on busy nights I’d stop by to clean and close up after the doors were locked.

Now here we were years later, taking care of the same bar, only now Mom was able to step back and we kept it running.

When Avery came back to town, everything changed again—for the better this time. Not only did I have my little sister back and my family was as whole as it would ever get, she’d helped us build the business in a way that I never even considered.

PackVlog had blown up Whitaker Brews. In a few short videos and going live, she managed to double our revenue.

Now we went live once a week, all of us brothers working the shift together so we could win over our viewers.

“Maverick, keep the viewers company,” Nash said, shoving me towards the camera. For some reason people saw me as a challenge, the brother who they just needed to crack. I didn’t get on often, leaving it to the others who were far more charismatic, but when I did hop on, they went nuts.

Too bad for them, I was taken. At least I wanted to be. If she would ever look my way.

“Hey, guys,” I rumbled as I stepped closer, crossing my arms and practically glaring at the camera. I watched as the hearts flew up the screen, everybody liking the video. Our like count was nearing five-hundred thousand, which wasn’t bad for us just starting an hour ago.

Though, it could have something to do with Cameron pulling off his shirt after someone spilled beer on him. I swear anytime things got a little bit feral around here, people lost their minds.

I read through a few more comments before answering one.

“No, we’re all single,” I said, though it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Here come the marriage proposals,I thought to myself, biting back an eye roll as I read the messages. Some of the more ridiculous ones had me quirking up an eyebrow and shaking my head to show them that I saw.

“How long have we been working here?” I read out loud, picking up on one of the questions that wasn’t thirst trap related. “Pretty much our entire lives. Our dads opened this place when we were young. We lost our dads and our mom ran it until we were old enough, then we stepped in and never looked back.”

A bunch of comments rolled in, telling us they were sorry.

“Thanks, guys. It was tough but we had each other.”

Cameron was walking by and I reached out faster than he could blink and shoved him in front of the phone again.

“I did my five minutes, you’re up,” I growled at him before walking off to take more orders. He didn’t bother to put up a fight. In fact, when I glanced back he was flexing like a douchebag.

Whatever works, I guess.

My sister, Avery’s voice stood out among the crowd. Maybe it was obsessive how they were always on my radar, but I could pick her out of the chaos fairly easily.

When I saw her walking side by side with Sidney I swallowed hard, fighting off the blush that always seemed to rise when she was here.

I swear the omega was more alpha than I was.

I had a feeling she thought that I just looked out for her because she was part of our lives since being friends with Avery. That I just saw her as another little sister.

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Hey, big brother,” Avery sang out. Someone just stumbled away from the only two open barstools and they snatched them before anyone else could. I wiped the sticky bar top in front of them and put two coasters down, quirking an eyebrow at them.

“What will it be tonight?”

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