Page 85 of For the Promise

And then I’ll mend my broken heart. Because Jaxon ghosting me would hurt worse than Alan not accompanying me to my parents’ funeral. Somehow, in one short weekend, he’s lodged himself deeper into my heart than Alan ever managed.

Jaxon thrusts another finger into me and I forget all about the future. Allowing myself to enjoy this moment with him is not going to change our future anyway.

Chapter 27

“If it was possible to divorce your siblings, I would.” ~ Jaxon

Jaxon

Istifle a yawn as I swirl the whiskey mixture. I haven’t been this tired since I was in college and decided I could handle twenty credits a semester. And I could handle seven classes during the semester. Surviving exam week was another matter entirely.

But I’m not exhausted from spending all night studying for an exam. I’m exhausted because I didn’t get much sleep this weekend. Although Blossom and I spent all day Sunday in bed, there wasn’t much sleep happening.

Blossom. The woman I’m now dating.

I frown. I don’t know how to keep a vibrant, outgoing woman like her interested in me. Despite her reassurances, I worry she’ll be bored of me and my simple life in record time. My heart stutters at the thought. It’s entirely too attached to her already.

I rub a hand over my chest as I move to my computer. I click on the folder I created this morning.

The door bursts open and Kai, Zane, and Miles rush inside.

“Happy Friday!” Kai shouts.

“It’s Monday.”

He shrugs. “I refuse to be constrained by society’s views on days and time.”

“It’s not society’s views. Day and time is not a construct. A year is based on the Earth’s revolution around the sun. Days and months are then—”

He whips up a hand to stop me. “Enough. I’ve heard your lectures before. It changes nothing. I don’t care what day you call today. What I care about is how it’s time to hit up theRumrunnerfor drinks with your brothers.”

I scowl. My younger brothers are always finding reasons to skip out on work. “I have work to do.”

“Please, come with us,” Kai pleads.

“Kai is anxious to visitRumrunnersince his girlfriend works there,” Zane says.

Kai glares at him. “Harper is not my girlfriend.”

Miles chuckles. “Not for lack of trying on your part.”

“How to Woo a Woman.” Crap. While Kai and Miles were arguing, Zane crept up on me.

My brothers gather around my computer to read my screen. I try to click away from the book I was reading but Kai steals my keyboard and Zane, my mouse.

“Chapter one,” Miles reads out loud. “Be chivalrous.”

“Chivalrous?” Kai snorts. “What century was this book written in?”

Zane sighs. “And you wonder why Harper won’t give you the time of day.”

Kai glares at him. “As if you’ve been chivalrous a day in your life.”

“Yeah.” Miles nods in agreement. “Isn’t your motto ‘leave while they sleep’?”

Zane shrugs. “I always thank a woman before I leave. I don’t wait for them to fall asleep.”

This is exactly why I didn’t ask my younger brothers for advice. Kai is hung up on an older woman who won’t give him the time of day. And Zane and Miles are players.

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