Page 33 of Hold On Me

“Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time, Son.” Pops claps him on the back as he sighs and places the hat on his head.

“Whatever this is, it’s bloody brilliant.” Ben’s voice is close to my ear, and even though shivers are cascading down my body from it, I turn to him and smile.

“It gets better. Watch.” I quickly grab my phone and hit record just in time to capture the greatest thing known to man.

“Hi, my name is Jenson Brady, and I am a dunce.” He points to the hat as the people around the table giggle as one. “You may know me as a professional football player, but in this house I’m now known as the dunce.” He sighs and lowers his head in defeat as Angie cackles loudly. “My punishments include this little dance.”

He stands and starts to shake his butt and twirl around the kitchen as Ben chokes on his drink and Angie clutches her stomach through the laughter. I lock eyes with Jameson who grins smugly back, both of us knowing what the finale is.

“And I need to apologise to my gorgeous girl for being a dunce. I’m sorry, Kitten.” He grins and then his expression falls into a grimace knowing his punishment is far from over. “For the rest of the afternoon, I will follow all of your commands— Mama, this isn’t fair, now. Normally it’s just you and Pops that we’re servants for. You can’t make me wait on everyone.”

“Yes I can and yes you will. You said what you said in front of everyone, even our guests, so now you’ll pay the price.”

“Guests? Who? All I see is family.” Jenson locks his gaze on Ben briefly before turning it back to Mama to continue their conversation.

With everyone occupied, I glance at Ben quickly and notice the stiffness of his shoulders. I don’t know his backstory, but I know that meant something to him. And I also know how overwhelming it can be becoming a Brady.

I scoot a little closer to him so our thighs are touching once again and it seems to break him out of his thoughts. He pushes back with his thigh, pressing it completely against mine and jumps into the ribbing along with everyone else. I’ll take it.

I quickly hit the send button on my phone and smile knowing Jaxson will get to see his brother’s humiliation when he wakes up.

18

BEN

“We’re going for a Thanksgiving day walk. Need to enjoy the heck out of this weird warm weather we’ve got going on at the minute, so we could be a while. Anyone wanna join?” Pops asks the room as I look around to take my cue from the rest of them. When they all shake their heads, I politely decline, too.

“Better get some exercise before they slice and dice me.” Hank chuckles, grabbing his coat from Pops’s outstretched hand as Penelope scolds him for being so blunt. She’s next to me again, sitting on the small sofa in the living room while Jameson and his husband are on another sofa and Angie is curled into Jenson’s lap on the armchair. The TV is on—another game—but I’m not paying attention to it. I’m focused on her.

My arm rests along the back of the sofa again, and I desperately want to brush my hand through the strands of her hair like before, but I can’t. Now I get to look at her face without seeming like I’m staring, because she’s facing directly toward me rather than away.

Her eyes dance with happiness and her lips wear a perpetual smile. She’s relaxed and calm. This is what it must be like to be around family. People who accept you, love you, and who you feel safe enough to open up to.

Which makes me wonder if she’s told them what happened at the school? And if she hasn’t, why?

As the parental trio leaves, silence descends, and I look nervously to Penelope, not knowing what’s coming next.

“Now we play.” Jenson rubs his hands together in glee as I gulp down the fear swarming through me.

A soft voice floats into my ears as her body leans against me. “Don’t worry, it’s justMonopoly. The Brady brothers are very competitive.”

I bring my eyes up to meet hers and she's grinning conspiratorially at me like she’s let me in on a family joke. I don’t know what everyone else is doing in the room, not when she’s smiling at me and sitting this close. I want to reach out and touch her face, cup her cheek and bring her lips to mine, but I can’t. I clear my throat and nod to chase the thoughts away.

“Right. Okay,MonopolyI can do.”

Jameson has swiped everything off the coffee table and Jenson places the game on it and casually sits on the floor. The rest of us follow, but Jonathan lays on the sofa and grabs a book from the side table.

“You’re not playing?”

“Nope.” He shakes his head to hit his point home and goes back to his book.

“Jonathan doesn’t like playing games,” Jameson lets me know, and I nod my head, a little confused.

“I like playing games fine. I just don’t like playing with you heathens. Plus, Mama is going to kill you all. You know this game is on the banned list.” The assembled Brady siblings, Penelope included, clutch at their chests, mocking outrage in unison. “You’re all as bad as each other. Ben, Angie, good luck.”

I lean into Penelope’s space and lower my voice so only she can hear. “Should I be worried?”

She laughs softly and shakes her head. “Nope, I’ll go easy on you. Wouldn’t want your precious ego taking another hit. Not after the carnival fiasco.” She winks and I’m a little speechless.

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