Page 97 of Worth the Chase

“You’re not wrong about that.” He glanced at me and grinned. “She’s way too good for me. But listen, I’m not the same kid who left for the NHL all those years ago. I’ve grown up.”

“You’ve grown up?” Leo laughed, but not because it was funny.

“You’re kind of starting to piss me off,” Matthew grumbled in response. “And just to be clear, I don’t want this to come between us, but I’m in love with your sister. You’ll either figure out a way to accept that or you won’t. It’s up to you.”

I stood there and filled my lungs with air. Matthew had taken control of the situation without backing down. It was sexy as hell, watching him fight for us. I wished there were more people he needed to convince.

Leo looked like Matthew had hit him right in the stomach. He deflated, his bad mood seeming to evaporate. “You love her?” he asked.

“Of course I do.” Matthew reached back for me, and I gave in willingly, stepping into his arms like it was exactly where I belonged. “She’s my endgame.”

“Damn. I didn’t know it was this serious. Why didn’t Mom and Dad tell me this was going on?” he asked before he walked to the cupboard, opened it, and grabbed a glass. He filled it with water and downed it in one gulp.

“They told me they weren’t getting involved,” I answered.

Leo nodded before putting the cup in the sink.

“I thought I was going to have to hit you there for a minute.” Matthew sounded like he was teasing, but there was a seriousness behind his words. He would have hit my brother if it had come down to it.

Leo smiled. “That wouldn’t have gone over well,” he said before shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you two are actually together.”

“Me neither,” Matthew said before pressing a kiss to the top of my head. I winced with the pain, and he looked down instantly. “I’m sorry. It’s still sore?”

I nodded. “It’s tender, yes.”

Leo glanced between the two of us, trying to figure out what else we weren’t saying.

“I know you have questions, but do you mind if I call Mom and Dad over so I can tell you all at the same time?”

Leo pinned Matthew with a glare. “If you knocked up my sister already.”

“Nah.” Matthew threw his hands in the air. “Not yet anyway. By the way, bro, you kind of look like shit.”

Leo exhaled long and loud. “All I do is work. Six days a week. And I usually sleep on my day off.”

“If you want to move back, I could always get you a job at the resort,” Matthew offered, and I actually felt myself get excited at the idea.

“That’s really nice of you, but I have a ladder to climb. The resort ladder only hits O’Grady men and stops.”

I’d always known in the back of my mind that my brother wasn’t going to move back to Sugar Mountain once he left. He loved the city too much, even if all he did was work. He barely came home as it was, and he didn’t seem to miss being here. It was weird how little desire I had to leave our small town and howothers were consumed by it. My brother and my best friend both loved being gone.

“You’re not wrong about that,” Matthew agreed before he tapped my shoulder. “Call your parents, babe.”

“Okay.” I blew out a breath.

I guessed the quicker I got this over with, the quicker we could all move on from it.

MY LAST NAME ON YOUR BACK

MATTHEW

Bella’s parents came over, and she was just as strong and brave as she’d been when she talked to Chief Marin last night. She answered all their questions, and when her mom started crying, she did her best to try to calm her down. And when her brother looked like he might spin right the fuck off like an out-of-control top, I did my best to do the same for him.

It was a horrible situation, but we were in it together.

All in all, the conversation went well, but my girl looked so damn tired. I let them know that I planned on having daily check-ins with the chief and that I’d keep them up-to-date. The last thing I wanted was for Chief Marin to get phone calls from ten different people all day long. I assigned myself as the point of contact, and no one fought me on it. When it came down to it, we all wanted the same thing—for Bells to be safe and for this piece of shit to never step foot in our town again.

My brothers arrived with the last load of Bells’s things right as her family was getting ready to clear out. Patrick and Thomas walked through the door, carrying boxes that they set on the kitchen counter, Jasper following close behind.

---