Page 51 of Whatever Happens

Char rolls her eyes. “You’re both adults. You should be able to make decisions for yourself.”

“You don’t know my father.”

“Are you sure you do? Have you tried talking to him? Telling him?”

“Tell him?” I laugh so hard, I snort. “You got some sort of death wish for your brother? If my dad finds out, if he realizes,”—I lower my voice—“that it was me in that video?”

“You don’t have to be completely honest. What I don’t get is why you’re giving up rather than trying to figure something out when you clearly love my brother?”

“Even if I wanted to, Carter made that decision for me.” I down the rest of my drink.

“Carter is the kind of guy who goes after what he wants at all costs,” Char informs me.

Well, isn’t that lovely? “Then obviously, we’re both wrong, and he doesn’t really want me after all.”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Char says. “There’s something else holding him back.”

“Like what?”

“Ladies,” a voice from next to me.

We both glance to my right, where Cody is standing. It’s almost as though it’s a sign—the reason Carter’s reacting to me the way he is.

But why?

The moment I realized things between them were strained, I kept as much distance from Cody as I could without being rude. The last thing I wanted to do was draw their parents’ attention to their clearly tense relationship when they were obviously trying to keep it from them. Or at least Carter is.

Right now, Cody looks like a far cry from the man that I met my first day here. There is no kindness in his eyes.

“I hate to be like this, but you need to leave, Cody,” Char tells him.

“Yeah, sure you do. As long as you’re protecting Carter, that’s all that matters.” Cody shakes his head.

“Actually, I’m protecting you. If Carter sees you here, he’ll kill you.” Char leans forward. “Care to tell me why?”

“What? Your favorite brother didn’t tell you? Come on, gorgeous, let’s dance,” Cody says, taking hold of my arm.

“No, thanks.”

“Oh, come on. What’s the harm in having a little fun?”

“She said no.”

My head whips around to see Carter standing behind me with another man. His voice is dark and commanding as he clenches and unclenches his fist at his side as he stares at his brother. The intensity in the glare, the hatred that oozes from it, has me trying to move away from Cody, who doesn’t seem to want to let go.

“That means get your hands off her.” There’s distinct possessiveness in Carter’s voice that makes my heart swell.

“Make me.”

“Okay, well, as much fun as this is, we should get out of here,” Char suggests, tugging on Carter’s arm.

“Agreed.” I yank my arm away from Cody. “Let’s go, Carter.” I press my body against his, trying to get him out of the bar.

His feet are moving, but so is his mouth. “You never did play with your own toys. You were always trying to take mine.”

“Thought she was just your therapist?” Cody laughs.

“It’s none of your damn business what she is to me.”

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