Page 73 of Strangers in Love

“We don’t live in L.A.,” Aline answered. “Not anymore. Exactly.” She frowned.

“So you did, but you don’t, but not exactly?” Cocking an eyebrow, Fever leaned back and put his arm on the back of the seat.

“We grew up here,” Freedom said. “But Aline and I have an apartment in Stanford because that’s where we went to school.”

“Past tense.” Bruce drummed his fingers on the table. “So, you both graduated?”

“This past spring,” Aline said. She smiled up at Dez as he put a bright orange drink in front of her. “Thank you.”

Definitely a fizzy girl drink.

“Wait a minute.” Cain looked over at me. “Didn’t your brothers go to Stanford?”

“Yeah, two of them.” I shifted in my seat and hoped I didn’t look as uncomfortable as I felt. I really didn’t want to be in the spotlight right now. “Cory and Fury.”

“Wait, Fury Gracen?” Freedom leaned forward slightly. “He spoke at commencement.”

“He went into business with a cousin or something like that, right?” Aline’s eyes darted to mine and then away again.

It didn’t matter that it’d barely been a glance. I felt that look straight through me, and my cock perked up in interest.

Shit.

“I thought your last name was McCrae,” Fever said.

“It is.” I took a sip of my drink, needing to fortify myself before jumping into an explanation. “My family’s got a whole ‘yours-mine-ours’ thing going on. Cory’s biologically my brother, so his last name’s the same as mine, but Fury is technically my step-cousin…if that’s a thing. He and his siblings lost their parents not long after my da married Fury’s aunt. So we’ve got McCraes, Carideos – that’s my stepmom – and Gracens – the cousins. It’s just a shitload to explain, and we all consider each other siblings. We don’t really bother explaining unless it comes up.”

“How many of you are there total?” Bruce asked.

“A lot,” I said dryly. “I’m one of fifteen.”

Dez let out a low whistle. “Damn.”

We all laughed. No, I corrected myself as I glanced at Freedom. She wasn’t laughing. In fact, she looked a little sick to her stomach. I hoped that didn’t mean they’d leave soon.

Cain looked impressed. “I remember you saying you came from a big family, Eoin, but I never knew how big.”

I turned my attention back to him and shrugged. “You should’ve seen the day my youngest sister, London, came home with the assignment to draw a family tree. She almost cried.”

This time, even Freedom laughed, and I relaxed a bit. They’d stay a little while longer. Even as annoyed as I’d been with Aline since I’d woken up in an empty bed, I was strangely reluctant to see her go.

“Your brothers are one of my favorite Stanford success stories,” Aline said, her cheeks pink.

I wondered if the color was from the alcohol or something else. Someone else. And then the thought hit me that she might’ve been blushing because she had a crush on Cory or Fury, and that just sparked the sort of jealousy I’d never experienced before. The thought that followed was worse. Could she have slept with me because of who my brothers were? Had fucking me been the consolation prize because she couldn’t have them?

No, she hadn’t known the connection before right now. Sure, she’d known Cory’s last name was McCrae, and there was a little family resemblance, but she’d only seen Fury at graduation. Plus, there was also the little thing of how she’d probably been a lot more focused on how she’d just been rescued from a hostage situation and seen people killed right in front of her.

Self-loathing filled me. How fucking self-centered was I that I was thinking about whether or not she’d really wanted to sleep with me after everything she’d been through?

I shoved all my selfish shit aside and responded to her comment. “Yeah, we’re all really proud of them.”

Well, shit. That just made me sound like a pretentious asshole.

I tried again, this time with what I hoped was a good-natured smile. “You should hear our parents bragging about them all the time.”

“They must brag about you too,” Freedom said, surprising me. “Not everyone who serves gets a Purple Heart.”

I wasn’t the only one surprised by her comment. Everyone looked at her, and she flushed. Even if she’d asked about my background, Cain wouldn’t have told her about my medals. Hell, I didn’t even know if he’d heard about the Silver Star Medal I’d been awarded as well.

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