Page 5 of Secret

"Who was the asshole?" I ask Harley, trying to act cool.

"Blake. The twins’ best friend. I’m sorry, he’s just a flirt. You looked like a new girl, and they are always interested in new girls. He won’t do anything like that again," Harley says and smiles at me. Harley’s phone starts beeping, and he quickly types some messages to someone on his phone, ignoring me.

I’m kind of happy and sad at that news. Happy, because I’ll get to see him again, and sad, because he’s my brothers’ friend, which I’m guessing makes me off-limits. I remember when Devon and I started dating. Devon is one of Tilly’s four brothers. She was mad because she was afraid it would be weird if we broke up, that it would affect our friendship. It was lucky for us that Devon and I broke up a month before her parents made them all move. I don’t want to make problems, it’s probably best if I stay away from the hot asshole.

I said ‘probably,’ right?

It takes about an hour before everyone is gone, and Sebastian joins us in the living room, sitting close to me. Sebastian tells us the others are cleaning up and will be down soon. Harley asks if he said anything, and he said he hasn't yet but looks over-excited.

“So, sis, you’re blond. Must be from your mother, as you clearly have our outstanding looks and eyes,” he grins and ruffles my hair.

I laugh slightly and agree. “She was a little less blond than me, but, yes. I must look more like you guys. She had blue eyes, but I got her height,” I say as I look at my two giants of brothers.

At that moment, a tall, black-haired man walks in. He has very similar looks to Sebastian–except he has darker-green eyes and unkempt, wavy, black hair. The man looks just as muscular as my other brothers but with more of a swimmer’s build and a smaller waist than Sebastian. The man sits on the sofa next to us, then looks me up and down, frowning.

When he tries to speak, Harley holds his hand up and says, “Wait for Luke, and we will continue this.”

I look back at him, running my eyes over his black jeans, black top, and leather jacket. I think he looks like a typical biker dude, whereas Sebastian looks like a rich, prep-school boy in his blue polo shirt and normal jeans.

A second later, a drunken-looking, brown-haired guy stumbles in. The guy sways a little before dropping onto the sofa next to the other guy, who I’m now guessing is Elliot.So, this must be Luke.

The twins and I are the same age, meaning his dad must have cheated around the same time he got my mum pregnant. I shudder at that thought, but if Luke is younger, he must have left my mum.I remind myself to ask for the twins’ birthday later.

He has light-brown hair, which is shaved on each side of his head but thicker on top, and the same green eyes. What really stands out are the tattoos on both of his arms. One looks like a dragon curled around his muscular arm, and the other is more of a Celtic design. Luke mumbles something to Elliot, who just nods before he looks at me super quick with a frown and turns to his brothers, and then Luke talks.

“How come she can stay, but my girls had to leave? That’s not fair,” he says as he flops back in the seat with a huff.

Harley mutters something about God helping him before answering, “This is Izzy, your sister. Dad’s secret daughter. I wasn't sure I had found her, so I didn't say anything until I brought her back to live with us.”

There is silence as I glance at each of my brothers. Sebastian grins, pulling me into another side hug. Because he, and the rest of my brothers, are built like rocks, it's hard to breathe again.

“I can't breathe, Sebastian.” I stutter, and he drops me quickly.

“Sorry, I forgot you’re so small. What are you, like, five feet?” Sebastian laughs.

Before I can answer, Elliot says a little rudely, “You sure it's her? She has our eyes, and maybe she looks a bit similar, but she is small. She is also blond, and I don’t know anyone in our family that is blond,”he says, his tone far from nice.

It's true, all the brothers are well over six-feet, and I'm tiny. They all have dark hair, whereas mine is a white-blond colour, and if it wasn’t for the eyes, I wouldn’t believe it either.

“Yes, I'm certain. I checked her medical records.” He glares at Elliot as if challenging him to say anything else, and Elliot looks away with his jaw ticking.

“Right, we have been on the road for hours, and I need to sleep. Izzy, you can sleep in my bed until we order you a new bed tomorrow. My room is the only one clean after the party because I keep it locked.” Frowning at my other brothers as he stands up, he ends up shaking his head at their grins.

“Sure, I could do with some sleep. It’s nice to meet you all,” I reply, standing up and following Harley until a drunken Luke picks me up from behind. Luke turns me around to face him like a doll and hugs me before swinging me around and making me dizzy.

“Welcome to our crazy family, sis,” he says and lets me go. Luke stinks of booze and what I think is sex, so I’m damn happy to get away now. I look at Elliot on my way out, and he just turns away.Well, I couldn't expect everyone to like me.

I hear Sebastian shout, “Night, sis,” as I leave the room, and I follow Harley up the impressive, dark-wooden staircase in the entrance hall.

We end up in a large corridor with many wooden doors, which look like the same wood as the stairs. Harley opens the third door on the left with a key from his pocket, then holds it open for me as he flicks a switch for the lights on the wall. It's a large room, but I don't take in much other than the massive, king-size bed with dark, clean sheets. An enormous window overlooks the trees outside, and a large picture, which looks hand painted, hangs above the bed; it's of a woman overlooking a bar.

“I’ll be sleeping in the den, which is in the attic. The stairs are down the corridor to the left, okay?” Harley informs me, and I nod at him as words escape me. Damn, it’s not the time to start feeling a little shy now. I have to live with these people.

“Come and get me if you need me.” He goes to leave before stopping at the door.

“Oh, I forgot, please borrow one of my tops to sleep in if you want, as your stuff is in the car and the house is a tip until the cleaners come in the morning.” He gestures to a walk-in closet.

Harley grabs some clothes and says goodnight before he shuts the door. I walk over and lock it, just to make me feel better, then I grab a top from one of the drawers in the closet and put it on. It’s so big it falls to my knees, but it will be fine to sleep in. Leaving my clothes on a chair in the corner of the room, I pull myself into bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow, sleep takes me.

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