Page 99 of You Don’t Kiss Your Brother's Best Friends

“W—We can’t,” choked Jeremy. “There’s no way. We’ll barely be able to—”

“Keep talking and you’ll be paying her interest,” growled Andre. “We’ll make sure of that.”

I’d had so much hatred for these people over the past year. I’d seethed and I’d plotted, just imagining the sweet karma of such as reunion. Replaying; in my mind’s eye, all the vengeful things I would say.

And now I was actually here. I could say anything. Do anything. I could finally, at long last, take my revenge.

Instead, all I could do was stare down at the gentle swell of Ashley’s belly. A slightly larger version of my own.

“Forget it,” I said. “We’re even.”

All three of the guys turned toward me at once. By the looks on their faces, I might as well have been speaking in a different language.

“Wait,what?”

“I said forget it,” I repeated. “We’ve been in their home, we took their savings…”

“We tookyoursavings,” grunted Bishop.

“I know,” I admitted. “And you’re right. But at this point, what’s the difference? We’ve been very, very blessed. In more ways than one.” I nodded at Ashley’s baby bump. “Them, too.”

The hard edges of their handsome faces softened, one by one. First Bishop, then Kayden, and finally, even Andre. I nodded, and they made their way toward the exit. I couldn’t help but chuckle as Bishop reached down and swiped a shot glass on the way out.

“Good luck with all this,” I told my former business partners. Shifting my gaze to Ashley, I allowed myself a smile. “The baby too.”

“Thank you, Jocelyn,” she sniffed.

“Don’t thank me,” I told her. “Thank whatever’s in the air today. Australia’s beautiful enough, but ever since I woke up this morning, I’ve been feeling extra generous.”

I walked out without looking back, into the sun-splashed streets. Two steps later, a hand slipped into mine. Kayden squeezed my fingers in his, while looking down at me proudly.

“You’re a bigger person than I’d ever be,” he lamented.

“Yeah, right.”

“No, I’m being serious,” he shook his head. “After all this time. And to think you came all this way…”

“Wecame all this way,” I corrected him. “Besides, we needed the vacation. Especially since I won’t be able to travel for very much longer.”

Up ahead, I could see Bishop and Andre at a small cafe, retrieving what looked and smelled to be delicious coffee. Decaf for me, of course. But coffee was still coffee, and tricking my undercaffeinated brain was fun.

“I also think I just needed the closure,” I added. “More than I needed the money.”

“Money’s always good though,” Kayden pointed out.

“Yeah. True.”

“I mean, we’ve already blown through three-quarters of what we had, just setting up the restaurant. We still have permits to pay for, vendors to advance. Some of the lighting isn’t quite perfect yet. And don’t get me started on—”

I pulled him down and kissed him, shutting him up. If I didn’t, Kayden would go on about the restaurant well past lunch. I couldn’t blame him. We’d found the perfect place in the perfect spot, and he’d been on cloud nine ever since.

“YO!”

We broke the kiss reluctantly, just as it really started to heat up.

“Quit hogging the mother of our child!”

Bishop bounced over and slid a coffee into my hand. Not to be outdone, he kissed me for good measure.

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