Page 155 of The Nicest Thing
Dex tilted his head, taking in the black-and-white suit Archer was wearing, the shiny black shoes."And that's different for you, how?"
"I was thinking the same thing," Baylor said.
Laughter filled the room as Archer's frown grew, but I saw the corners of his lips twitch.He was amused even if he didn't want to be.That was good because I needed them all on board.
"Okay, listen," I said, drawing their attention, "the signing will last two hours.I promised Rose we'd stay the whole time, so that's what we're doing."
"Anything else, Boss?" Dex said sarcastically.
"You have to stay in your character costumes until the end."
Groans went up all around—except for Baylor who grinned.
"I love mine," Bay said, adjusting his baseball jersey—which of course was worn open to show off his abs."Hot baseball player with secrets?Please, I could play this in my sleep."
I tried to swallow my laughter, but it came out anyway.
"Archer's the one you gotta worry about."
My oldest brother did look a little squirrely, but he scoffed.
"Honor loves me in a suit, and she wouldn't like it if I left early."Archer gave me a nod."Besides, like I said, I'm here for you, Finn."
"We all are," Chase added.
The other two nodded, and I smiled."Then let's get out there and sell some books."
The girls were all chatting by Rose's signing table when we walked out.I knew they were smiling, could see that out of my peripheral vision, but my eyes were on Rose.The reaction she was having to seeing me was more than satisfying.Her pupils darkened as she took me in.The blush that appeared on her cheeks made her look even more beautiful.She bit her lip, making me want to groan, and when I reached her, the smile she wore was brilliant.It was like she reached into my chest, put her hand around my heart, and squeezed.
"You look good, O'Brien," she said softly.
"Not as good as you," I said, lifting her hand to my lips and kissing her there.
Rose shivered before turning to the others.
"You all look awesome.Thanks for doing this," she said.
My brothers nodded, said "of course" and "no problem" and "anything for a friend."Knowing how they'd been jawing at each other only moments ago, their words meant more to me than anything.The way they made Rose's eyes light up fed my soul.
"What do you need from us?" Archer asked.
"Once the signing starts, just stand there and look pretty."Rose released a quiet laugh."You guys do that on the daily, so it shouldn't be too hard."
Baylor beamed."We all know you're talking about me, so thanks, Rose."
"Yeah, right," Dex said."She obviously meant me."
"I don't think so."
"Want to see who can sell more books?Loser has to buy the other dinner."
"You're on."
They shook and set off to…I didn't even know.But it looked like they went behind the signing table and were posing.
"Good luck, Rose," Chase said with a smile."We'll do our best."
"The Stetson work out okay?" she asked.
