Page 110 of For the Promise

Miles grins. “Excellent. Another evening of watching Kai get rejected by Harper.”

Zane rubs his hands together. “How many times do you think she’ll reject him?”

The two saunter off discussing the odds.

“Close down. We’ll follow them,” Eli says.

I fiddle with my glasses. “Do I have to come? I’m busy.”

“It’s Saturday night. You shouldn’t be working. I thought you’d relax more since you’re dating Blossom.”

Blossom. Why does every conversation lead back to her? Why can’t I get her out of my mind? Or my heart?

“I’m in the middle of an experiment. I’ll meet you there.”

Eli crosses his arms over his chest. “This news involves you.” He leans against my desk. “I’ll wait while you finish.”

Unfortunately, I lied. I’m not in the middle of an experiment. I switch off my computer.

“Let’s get this over with.”

We arrive at the speakeasy less than thirty minutes later. We join the rest of our brothers who are sitting at a booth near the stage where a band is setting up.

“What’s this news?” I ask once I’m seated.

“Not everyone’s here yet,” Eli says.

“And we need to toast first.” Kai grins as Harper arrives with a bottle of moonshine and shot glasses. “How are you, Harper?”

“I’d be better if I didn’t have to stock shelves on a Saturday night.”

“Can I help?” Kai stands but she glares at him.

“I think you’ve helped enough,” she mutters before returning to the bar.

“Does that count as one rejection?” Miles asks and Kai hits him upside the head. “What? I was merely asking.”

“We can’t figure out who wins the bet without proper guidelines,” Zane says and Kai growls at him.

Miles pours us shots of moonshine and passes them out. “Here’s to the bootleggers. Masters of sneaky sips and secret stashes. Thanks for keeping the party alive.”

“Thanks for keeping the party alive,” my brothers repeat before downing their shots.

I sip on mine. Getting drunk when my brothers are around is a bad idea. Besides, I prefer to keep my wits about me. I have never enjoyed getting drunk and losing control of my thoughts. I like to keep control of my thoughts the same way I prefer my emotions to be steady and controllable.

“We’re here,” Rhett announces as he arrives at our table. I frown when I notice he isn’t alone. Dakota, Paisley, and Blossom accompany him.

“What are they doing here?”

“Rude,” Blossom mutters. Zane stands and offers her his chair. She smiles at him before sitting next to me. “Hey, nerd boy.”

“Hello.”

Her brow wrinkles. “What’s wrong? You usually lose your mind when I refer to you as nerd boy.” She waggles her eyebrows.

“Eli has important news.”

She immediately sobers. “Is everything okay? Has something happened? Where are your parents? They’re okay, aren’t they?”

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