Page 53 of Inked Obsession

“The answer’s etched all over your face.” Archer shook his head, a smile playing on his lips.

“Fine. We slept together. We might go on a date. It was a very intimate and weird weekend where, somehow, everything just made sense when we were together. And now that I’m home, I don’t know what I’m doing. I was supposed to go on this whole beach vacation to find myself or some shit, and I don’t even know why I went. I just found myself on a plane, and then, suddenly, I was there, and now I can’t even keep up with my thoughts. My best friend’s not talking to me. You guys are looking at me like I’m crazy, and Eliza and I told ourselves that we were going to tell people so there’d be no more secrets because they have a very bad tendency to fuck things up—in her life, and mine. No secrets between our friends. Our new rule. I didn’t tell Brenna about Eliza before she left my house because I was too busy wondering what the fuck was going on. Besides, she told me not to say anything else. And now Eliza is probably going to tell her and, once again, I’ll be the fucking asshole.”

Archer blinked and then moved behind me to a cupboard. He pulled out the tequila, four shot glasses, and poured them efficiently. “Okay, let’s begin.”

He handed out the shots, and we looked at each other and then downed them without salt or lime. No need with the kind of tequila the Montgomerys had on hand.

Archer nodded. “Okay, that’s round one.”

“We drove here, we can’t do more than that,” Benjamin added with a shake of his head.

“Oh, we’re going to eat a shit-ton of food we brought and some I’m sure Beckett has, and we’re going to be here awhile,” Archer corrected. “Tomorrow’s work, and then tomorrow night is Mom’s birthday dinner.”

I cursed. “Fuck.”

Archer gave me a look. “And Eliza will be there. And Brenna. Meaning anything that might have happened to you that people are just now hearing about will probably be spoken out in the open. Mom and Dad will find out.”

“About me sleeping with Eliza?”

“No, asshole. About the shooting,” Lee said.

I cursed again. “Fuck.”

“They know. They know that you’re okay, and it took every ounce of my will to keep Mother away from you,” Archer said. “Every ounce.”

“I should have told you guys.”

“Yes, you should have,” Benjamin said. “Sometimes, we each have secrets we need to deal with on our own before we let the Montgomerys invade,” he said.

I gave him a look, and he held up his hand. “Oh, no, this is about you, twin of mine. Not me.”

Lee pinched the bridge of his nose. “Well, since it seems everybody in this kitchen has secrets, let’s do another tequila shot and talk about what the fuck you were thinking about when you slept with Eliza.”

“It was consensual. We both wanted it. And we might do it again.”

“Okay,” Lee said, drawing out the word.

“Eliza’s my friend.”

“Brenna is, too,” Archer singsonged.

I scowled. “Not like that. I’ve always done my best not to think about Eliza in certain ways.”

“That makes sense,” Lee said as he poured tequila for all of us. “Eliza’s hot. But she was married. And then she was a widow. Though I know she told the girls that she was thinking about dating again.”

“I know,” I grumbled.

“I didn’t,” Benjamin said.

“You don’t know many things,” Lee said, and Benjamin flipped him off.

“So, you slept with Eliza. On vacation.”

“Yes, our rooms were next door to each other. Did you have anything to do with that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. Both of my brothers glared at Lee.

Lee held up both hands. “Seriously. Not me. Plus, her brother’s friend was the one who got you guys the hotel rooms. Do you really think her brother and I had anything to do with that? No. You guys were just in the two owner suites, and that’s how it works. I swear. I didn’t even know she was there until my friend mentioned it.”

“Okay,” I grumbled.

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