Page 58 of My Ex's Brothers

Dane rolls his eyes at me. “Really?”

I shrug, laughing as I sway back and forth with Lyla resting on my shoulder.

“Do you…” Dane runs a hand through his hair. “Are you…”

I can tell what he wants to ask, his struggle evident.

“I don’t know,” I answer him honestly. He leans closer to me, his hands in his pockets. “I just…don’t want to question what feels…comfortable, I guess. So I don’t.”

Dane sighs, his warm brown eyes glistening like amber amid the dying sun. “And Tripp feels…comfortable?” he asks evenly, though I can hear the pain etched in his voice.

“Yes,” I admit. “He’s…like a kid himself, but it’s more like he brings out the kid in me, when I’m around him. I don’t feel like I’m fucking thirty.” I shake my head.

Dane chuckles. “I suppose that’s how Richie feels around all of us,” he says.

I bump his hip with mine, realizing I’m closer to him now than I was before. He doesn’t move, though. Instead he just settles his hand against my hip, holding me steady. Supporting me.

“So do you,” I say honestly, looking up at him.

“Hmmm?” he asks, his gaze falling to my lips.

“You feel comfortable too,” I say. “You feel familiar, but strange. Old, but new.”

“I know the feeling,” he says, leaning his forehead against mine as he sucks in a deep breath.

And then I feel it. His lips grazing mine like a ghost gracefully floats through a hallway. His kiss is surprising, but not surprising at all, given how many times we’ve been here, just like this.

Lyla in my arms, and me under his spell.

His mouth presses against mine softly and he makes the faintest motion to draw back, but I don’t let him. With one free hand, I grasp his neck, holding him in place, and I kiss him back.

But I don’t just gracefully ghost my lips over his, no. I kiss him, fully, needing him to know just how comfortable he makes me feel. This man who is some amalgamation of my deepest dreams and desires, who saw me first.

Time moves slowly as he kisses me back, as our mouths and tongues dance together in a haunting waltz. And then it’s over. He breaks away, his amber gaze holding me still. Lyla is quiet and the sun has set, and my heart feels like it’s going to explode out of my chest.

“I’ll put her down,” he says, his voice dark and smooth. Warm like hot fudge.

“No, I can take her, I?—”

“Sit down, Mia. You’ve been moving all day. Just…relax.” He gently pulls her from my arms, cradling her carefully. “Sit down and relax. I’ll grab you when dinner’s ready, okay?”

I nod, not knowing what else to do, watching with my heart in my throat as Dane Rose takes my daughter and leaves me standing on his porch, my heart racing a million miles a minute. I don’t know how long I stand there, my fingers grazing my lips. I can still feel them buzzing from his kiss.

Somewhere inside I know this—this whole situation, me, the boys—it’s absolutely crazy.

Tripp just left, my skin still buzzing from where his lips kissed my skin, and only moments later I let Dane kiss me.

I’m not sure what any of this means, other than I’m a mess, clearly.

I try and shake off the thoughts, seeking refuge anywhere but this porch. I figure now is as good a time as ever to make myself better acquainted with the house.

I walk along the porch, following it around back. The yard is big, the kind of yard you could play kickball or baseball in. The deck makes way to a paved, semi-fenced patio complete with fire pit, seven chairs, a grill, and a small garden.

And the sight of the sun, setting over the trees out here…it’s breathtaking.

I close my eyes, breathing in the air deep, and I let myself relax.

I know I’ll have to contact my landlord in the morning and close out my lease, since I won’t be paying the next month’s rent.

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