Page 54 of Keep My Heart
We all look back and see a guy coming into the brewery.
‘What the hell you doing here?’ Sawyer asks, smiling at the guy.
‘I was invited. Your dad didn’t tell you?’
Nick and his brothers walk over to the guy.
‘He said you couldn’t make it,’ Nick says. ‘Something about being behind on one of your renovations.’
The guy nods. ‘We brought in a crew to finish it up so we could be here for Aunt Martha’s party.’
Aunt Martha. So this guy is Nick’s cousin, one of the Wheelerbrothers. I’ve only heard about them. I’ve never met any of them until now.
Two more guys walk in.
‘Nash, here’s your keys,’ one of the guys says, tossing the keys to Nick’s cousin.
So that’s Nash. I’m guessing the other guys are his brothers. I think Nash is the oldest. He’s about as tall as Nick, with short dark hair and gorgeous blue eyes. He’s really hot, like Nick and his brothers. This entire family was blessed with good genes.
‘I’ll take an amber ale,’ one of the guys says to Sawyer. He looks similar to Nash—tall, dark hair, really hot.
‘Help yourself,’ Sawyer says. ‘You know where to go. You put the taps in yourself.’
‘When’d you get here?’ the guy says to Nick.
‘Yesterday. I’ve been hiding out here so Mom doesn’t see me. Dad wanted to keep it a surprise.’
‘With us too. She doesn’t know we’re here.’ The guy glances back at me at the bar. ‘Is that your girlfriend?’
‘No. She’s a friend from high school. Lyndsay, get over here.’
I walk over to him, feeling overwhelmed being surrounded by seven very tall, very hot guys.
‘Hi.’ I smile at Nash and the other two guys. ‘You’re Nick’s cousins, right?’
‘So you’ve heard about us,’ Nash says with a laugh. He shakes my hand. ‘Nash Wheeler. And these are my brothers, Jake and Bryce.’
‘Nice to meet you.’ I shake Jake’s hand and then Bryce’s. They both have huge hands and firm handshakes, like Nick and his brothers. I feel like I’m drowning in testosterone with all these guys.
‘Where’s Austin?’ Brody asks.
‘He’s coming up later,’ Nash says. ‘He’s bringing the band. They’ll be playing tonight.’
‘Did that just happen?’ Sawyer asks. ‘Dad didn’t tell us Austin was doing the music.’
‘It was a last-minute thing,’ Nash says. ‘Austin had another gig, but he cancelled so he could be here tonight. Keep that between us. Dad doesn’t want Aunt Martha knowing Austin cancelled a gig to do this. You know how she is.’
‘Never wants anyone being inconvenienced because of her,’ Nick says to me. ‘Drives us all crazy.’
‘Just wait until she finds out about all the work Dad did for this party,’ Brody says. ‘I bet she yells at him for it.’
Nick shakes his head. ‘She won’t. She’ll probably cry because he’s never done anything like this before.’
‘Want a beer?’ Jake says to Bryce, who is also gorgeous—big and tall and covered in tats.
‘Yeah,’ Bryce says. ‘Get me a lager.’
Jake takes off for the bar.
