Page 118 of Chasing Forever
“Lots of time left,” I say, patting her outer thigh.
It’s a great night and just what I needed after hearing the shitty news about my brother that I really should have predicted. Of course my dad would summon him home. And forever the obedient son, he comes.
Ben knocks his elbow against mine and nods behind me.
Lottie’s laughing with the girls about how crazy Poppy seems to be about the tattoos on the players, and Lottie’s hand runs along my arm where mine are. I glance over my shoulder. I’m not sure if I still or something, but Lottie straightens and turns around to look at me, sensing somehow that something is amiss.
“Tomorrow just became tonight,” I say, and she looks over my shoulder to see Holden at the bar with his friends.
“The Colts better win,” she mumbles, lifting off my lap, but I place my hand around her middle to keep her where she’s at.
“We don’t have to give him any attention.”
She tilts her head in a way to say I’m crazy, but she doesn’t fight me or get off my lap.
No more than two minutes later, a familiar voice sounds from behind us. “Look who we have here.”
“I knew it,” Lottie grumbles under her breath.
Holden rounds our table to come front and center. “The Noughtons. I feel as if I should bow.” He actually does bend at the waist like an asshole.
No one smiles. No one laughs. They all look as if they’d like to tie him up and get a swing at him.
“I see Dad commanded you home?” My voice is flat.
“Can you blame him? His other son just leaves him high and dry. Endorses the competition.”
I don’t bother telling Holden I’m not his son. He’ll find out, or he won’t. I really don’t care.
Holden’s gaze falls to Lottie. “Hi, Lottie.” He holds his arms out to his sides. “Hear I should welcome you to the family.”
“Just go off with your friends, Holden,” Jude says.
“Come on. I haven’t seen my brother for a few years. He never comes to visit me. Now I hear he’s marrying my sloppy seconds.”
“Fuck,” Ben says with a sigh, knowing this is about to escalate.
I tap Lottie’s ass, but she’s already getting up, and I follow suit.
“Go to hell, you piece of shit.” Lottie pokes Holden in the chest. “Crawl back in that hole you squirmed your way out of.”
He releases a condescending laugh. “That’s fresh coming from you.” He looks her up and down and gives her a look like she comes up lacking.
I fight the urge to step in. Sadie’s kind of giving me a look like I should. Ben stands on one side of me and Bennett comes up along the other. My guess is the rest of the guys are close. I keep telling myself that Lottie needs this, with the safety of all of us here, but damn I want to push her out of the way and beat the shit out of my brother just like I did the night of their wedding that never happened.
“I figured you married her just because you wanted to be a Noughton. I didn’t know it was because you were mad at me for stealing the girl you always wanted. Dad and Mom filled me in when they broke the news that my little brother married the girl I left at the altar.”
He’s purposely choosing his words to inflict the most damage.
“Oh, Lottie, you’ll like this—did you know your little knight in armor beat the shit out of me that night? Is that how he got you to agree to marry him? Told you he defended your honor all those years ago?”
Lottie turns to me. I’ve alluded to that but never told her the full story.
“So, tell me, how long did you want Lottie? The entire time I was fucking her?” Holden crosses his arms and gives me a smug look.
“You act like I stole her from under you.” My fists are clenched at my sides just to keep me from using them.
He laughs again, but nothing about it is genuine. “Well, we all know that’s not the case because it’s been well over ten years. You took a long time to take your shot, little brother. But I never expected anything less. You always were the weaker one of us both.”
