Page 106 of Tempting Promises
Brynn cuts in. “Mom was.”
“No, Brynlee, you are. When Mom moved here, we didn’t come with her—you did. It wasn’t until she died that I came here, and then Rowan. Grady is here for the free babysitting.”
He scoffs. “Yeah, because Brynlee never watched Olivia.”
My sister sighs heavily. “This is going to go off the rails real quick. I love you all too and I already said I wasn’t going to California. You can all calm down, okay?”
Asher pulls her into his arms. “We’re all happy for you.”
Grady and I flank him, doing what we did to her as a kid and squeeze until she yells at us. Once we let her go, my brothers head to their women and I’m lounging on the couch as Brynn reads some boring document.
She finishes and looks up at me. “So I heard a rumor.”
“That’s nice.”
“It’s about you.”
I look away from the TV and smirk. “Is it a good one?”
“Depends what you think is good.”
“Out with it,” I say, tiring of this game.
“I told everyone there was no way it’s true, you hate Charlotte,even though you guys seem to be civil enough to ride into New York without anyone being tossed from a moving vehicle.”
I laugh. “What makes you think she’d ever be able to toss me?”
“Because my money is on her. Anyway, the rumor is about you and Charlotte.”
My stomach drops a little, but I keep my features schooled so as not to give anything away. Not that it’s any of my sister’s business anyway.
“This should be good,” I say flippantly.
“The rumor is that someone saw you both coming out of the storage room at Peakness together—disheveled.”
I absolutely can’t let this spread. It needs to be put to rest right now. “Yeah, that’s totally possible. In the middle of my birthday party where there were a hundred people, I snuck into a closet with...Charlotte.”
“I know, I said that it’s completely ridiculous. Charlotte would never do something as stupid as that,” Brynn says and then grabs another stack of papers.
“Wait, what? You defended her?”
Betrayed by my own sister.
Brynn shrugs. “Of course I did. She’d never sleep with you, let alone do it in a closet in a bar on your birthday. Which reminds me, I have to get her a gift.”
“For what?”
“Her birthday is tomorrow. I’ll have to head to the outlets and see what I can find. That girl doesn’t buy herself anything.”
Shit. Tomorrow is the sixth. I didn’t even think to ask what month her birthday was in. I’m a fucking idiot.
Brynlee watches me and sits there with a smile. “Well, well, maybe the rumors are true.”
“Maybe you need to shut up.”
“Oh, not a denial.”
“Fine. I did not sleep with Charlotte in a closet at my birthday party.” Technically, I’m not lying to my sister. I didn’t sleep at all.
