Page 68 of Your Secret to Keep

I smile as I brush my teeth; it feels like we’re taking a step out of the Rebecca woods. I know other things may come up, but I was completely honest and transparent. With nothing to hide and everything to prove to Lia, I’ll take on the challenge any day.

Starting with breakfast.

Chapter 41

Lia

Ididn’tseethiscoming. Really, that could be said for the entire previous twenty-four hours. Food poisoning. The game. Rebecca. Flooded apartment. Brooks taking care of me. And now, my secret boyfriend is meeting my brother.

Even when I asked Brooks if we could drive in silence, my brain needing the quiet, all he did was smile, grab my hand, and kiss the inside of my wrist. What is that? It’s so sweet, when I tell Shelbie about it, she might literally gag.

I’m fucking nervous about my apartment. I haven’t heard from the landlord yet, but I’m sure they’re still figuring it all out. I have renters’ insurance, but it was the cheapest plan I could find and knew it was more of a formality than anything else. You never think you’re going to need something like this until it happens. This is going to sting financially.

Maybe there’s more I can do for the Jags? I already manage my Jags account and the teams, and sometimes it’s tough to get everything done, but I’ve always found a way to make it work. Or maybe I could do more yoga classes during the week?

I can’t even think about losing that space. I left a piece of myself in those walls with every project; through all the sweat and tears of trying to do all I could to have something I was proud of. Tears cloud my vision as I look outside the window, trying to tame my emotions. It’s not thatI don’t want to feel them but now is not an ideal time. Doing my best, I barter with my brain.Listen, we can cry until there is nothing left but that needs to be later—not before breakfast with Wes and Brooks. Sound good?

I look over at Brooks, who smiles as he drives the thirty-eight minutes for diner food. He holds my hand, resting the other on the steering wheel, and I try to get a handle on everything between us. He was honest when it counted, and I could feel the nervousness roll off him as he walked me through the entire Rebecca saga. He kept stumbling over his words, talking too fast and needing to stop and take full breaths.

I don’t ever want to be a partner who feels the need to check someone’s phone or social media, but him offering it—almost begging me to look—screams volumes. I do trust him. What he’s shared about her, and the way she showed up uninvited but like she belonged, kind of tracks.

Brooks parks the car and looks over at me. “How much do you want to tell Wes? Like, are we hanging out for a work thing, or do you want to let him in on the secret?” he asks sweetly.

There he is, thinking of everything again, because my mind didn’t even get this far. I take a few seconds to contemplate and when Brooks squeezes my hand, I know the answer.

“Let’s let him in. It’s always been Wes and me. He can handle this.”

The grin Brooks wears has my stomach flipping. Good god. He only lets go of my hand to get out of the car and walk over to my side.

We walk in and to my relief, no one cares. I don’t know if they don’t recognize Brooks or what, but I’m thankful. Wes sees the two of us and his eyes go wide. I texted him on the way here and told him I had a surprise for him.

The first thing Wes does is wrap me in a hug, one that soothes me to my core. Being in his presence is almost like having a security blanket. He knows my apartment flooded but we didn’t get into the details. He rocks me back and forth for a second until I push away because I know he’s itching to be introduced.

“Brooks, this is my baby brother, Wes.”

Brooks reaches for a handshake and Wes grabs it, but slowly, like he’s in a trance.

“Good to meet you. Thanks for letting me crash your breakfast,” Brooks says to a hundred-watt-smile-wearing Wes.

“Anytime. Brooks Pittman. You can come to breakfast. Whenever you want.”

I laugh at Wes being starstruck, and I’m excited to spend time with my two favorite men. Brooks slides into the booth, I sit next to him, and my brother sits across from us.

“Lia, I heard you were on TV last night,” Julie, our regular waitress who we adore, says as she drops off orange juice for Wes and coffee for me.

“Yes. Wild circumstances, but it was a blast.” I know she’s not a sports fan, but she’s been a fan of ours ever since we started coming in here when I was a teenager.

She gets Brooks’ drink order and drops off menus.

“Lia, we’ll get to you, but I have to start with Brooks.” Wes turns his attention from me. “First question of many. Sorry in advance. But how does it feel to have a basketball in your hand and just will it to go in, every time you touch it, and score fifty points? Like you did last night?” Wes beams at the two of us, and when Brooks smiles back, I’m practically apuddle on the floor.

We’ve been done with breakfast for a while and I know we’re going to need to leave a big tip, considering we’ve taken Julie’s table for longer than planned.

“Do you have any college plans yet?” Brooks asks Wes.

He shakes his head. “Not yet. It’s going to depend on if I can get an offer.”

“Well, I’d love to watch you play. Lia and I could come to a game. If you’re anything like I’ve heard, I’d love to get you connected with my alma mater. I also have some friends on the team who are still connected to their schools.”

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