Page 93 of You Don’t Kiss Your Brother's Best Friends

“Boston, eh?”

Bishop and Andre looked at each other and smiled.

“That might not be bad, actually. Maybe on the outskirts, to pick up more rural customers too. I’ve got an idea for a place that’s more laid back. Slower-paced.”

“Slow-paced would be nice,” I agreed with a chuckle. “After the past few weeks.”

“Past few years for us,” added Andre.

“True.”

“It all sounds great to me,” said Bishop, his fingers slowly tracing my curves beneath the water. “Maybe I’ll co-chef.”

“Maybe you’ll go to cooking school first,” insisted Kayden.

“Maybe you should shut your mouth,” Bishop shot back. “I cook just fine.”

“I’m pretty sure we’re not shooting for ‘fine’,” mused Andre. “But don’t sweat it, I’ll go with you.”

Bishop contemplated for a moment. “Yeah?”

“Sure. If we’re going to run a successful fine dining establishment, we’ll need to know more than how to field strip our rifles,” reasoned Andre. “We’re leaving that stuff in the past, now. Remember?”

The boys stopped talking for a moment, and even the silence was comforting. I turned and looked out; to where the sky kissed the horizon. Everything was turning purple around the glow of the setting sun.

“Wherever you end up, I’m sure you’ll run the best restaurant around,” I told them proudly. “I’m sure—”

“We.”

Kayden’s interjection was so firm, it confused me.

“What’s that?”

“He said ‘we’,” Andre declared. “As in wherever we end up, you’ll be right there with us.”

“Yeah,” I rolled my eyes. “Okay.”

“Jocelyn…”

Bishop pushed me gently forward, then spun me around. He was no longer smiling. In those stormy hazel eyes, I saw a heartfelt depth.

“We’re talking about ‘we,’ because everything from this moment on consists of the four of us. You’re coming with us.And not just as our friend, or Jason’s little sister, or someone we grew up with.”

“But—”

“You’reoursnow,” Kayden agreed. “We love you. We need you. You’ve always been interwoven in the fabric of our lives, but never like this.”

All of a sudden, I could feel every beat of my heart. And it was going fast. Crazy fast.

“We’re not going back,” continued Kayden, “because thereisno going back. Besides, you have nothing left to go back to. You’re starting over, just like us. You said it yourself.”

So if you’ll have us…” said Bishop. “If you’re into it…”

“You’ll come to Boston, or wherever, and you’ll throw your lot in with the three of us,” smiled Andre. He sighed and shrugged. “I mean, what could go wrong?”

“What could go wrong,” I repeated numbly.

“Exactly.”

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