Page 48 of Off Limits
“Can you give us a few minutes?” He smoothed his thumb over her bottom lip.
Rex growled. “Stop touching her.”
“Shut up.” She twisted her head to glare at her brother.
Rex muttered a curse and paced like a caged animal. He yanked the freezer drawer open and grabbed a gel ice pack, pressing it to his reddened knuckles. “Fuck.”
“Serves you right,” Jane muttered. Then she turned back to him. “I don’t want to leave you alone with my insane brother.”
“I can handle it. I need to. He and I—we’ve got to settle this.”
Her jaw tensed. “Fine, but I don’t like it.” She kissed his cheek, slow and deliberate. “I’ll be right down the hall. If I hear even one chair scrape the floor, Rexford, I will throw your ass out.” She pointed her finger at her brother. “Is that understood?”
Rex grunted. Jane gave him one last glance before she strolled out of the kitchen.
Brady exhaled. “She wanted to tell you. She hated sneaking around. That was on me.”
Rex crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course she did. Jane doesn’t lie or sneak around. But you? You didn’t want me to know because you knew I’d be pissed. Because knowing would mean you had to be accountable. You’d be held to a standard you’re not used to.”
“You’re right,” Brady admitted. “I asked for time. I wanted to make sure this was real. That she wanted this as much as I did before I blew up your world. If she didn’t...” He cleared his throat. “If she wasn’t all in, then I would have walked away. Quietly. You never would’ve known.”
Rex narrowed his eyes on him. “You talk like Jane is the one who would have walked away. Likeyou’rethe one at risk.”
He met Rex’s gaze. “Because I am. I’ve never been this deep in anything, Rex. Not even our goddamn brewery. Yes, I’ve done and said things that have made me look like I wouldn’t take relationships seriously. I get it. But I’ve never been serious about anyone because none of them were her.”
Silence settled between them.
“She’s not a fling. She’s not a rebellion. She’s it.” His voice broke slightly. “And I know I should have come to you sooner. But I was afraid I’d lose both of you.”
“Jane is good down to her core. And she has crushed on you since I first brought you home. You can’t give her what she needs, Brady. And I don’t want to have to pick up the pieces of her heart afterwards. You need to leave her alone.”
“I can’t do that, Rex.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Rex slapped the ice pack on the counter, stepping forward. “There’s a difference.”
He didn’t flinch. “Does it matter?” He rested his hands on the countertop. “I can’t give her up. She’s my whole damn world.”
“You’re going to break her.”
“Honestly, it may be you who actually breaks her.” He straightened.
Rex stilled. “How’s that?”
Brady turned halfway, just enough to catch Rex in his peripheral. “She looks up to you. She wants you to be happy for her. For us. Taking this hard line? That is going to hurt her.”
“My only job as her brother is to protect her.” He stomped toward the front door.
“Protect her from what, Rex?” Brady barked. “She’s not a kid anymore.”
“From you, Brady,” he bit out, yanking the door open. “Protect her from you.”
The door slammed behind him, rattling the frame.
He stood still for a moment, the echoes of Rex’s anger lingering. He exhaled slowly. Rex had a point ... if he were the Brady of the past. But he wasn’t that man anymore.
Not since Jane.
