It’s almost difficult to hold his gaze.
A flash of long, blonde hair catches my attention from the hallway, and I realize Sydney is with him. For a couple of painful heartbeats, there’s nothing but silence. The harsh thumping of my heart slams against my ribcage and fills my ears until it’s like the dull roar of the ocean. Any moment, it’s going to explode from my chest.
Brayden’s hands curl into balls that hang limply at his sides as he continues to stare as if he doesn’t know who I am. “What the hell are you doing here, Elle?”
My tongue darts out to moisten my lips.
Just tell him the truth!
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Another few painful seconds tick by as I wrap my arms around my middle. When I fail to respond, his attention slides to Carson, who has silently moved to stand beside me. Once he’s close enough, his arm slips around my shoulders and he pulls me against his body. He’s bare chested with only jeans covering his lower half.
My brother’s eyes widen before a potent concoction of anger and betrayal leap into his dark depths. “What the fuck is going on here?” His voice escalates until it sounds as if it’s reverberating off the walls and inside my head. “What are you doing with my sister?”
With his arm wrapped protectively around me, Carson straightens to his full height. “We’ve been seeing each other.”
“The fuck you have!” Brayden roars, taking a menacing step in our direction.
Sydney lurches forward, grabbing hold of his arm. Her fingers curl, sinking into his bicep. He doesn’t spare her a single glance.
His gaze stays fastened to his friend. “Are you really telling me that you’ve been screwing around with my sister?”
Carson’s lips thin as his muscles tighten. “Come on, man. You know it’s not like that.”
My brother’s eyes widen as a humorless laugh falls from his lips. “You know what?” Brayden doesn’t pause long enough to give him a chance to answer. “I don’t know what it’s like because I had no idea you were sneaking around behind my back with Elle, for fuck’s sake. You knew damn well I wouldn’t have been cool with this, and you did it anyway.”
Carson’s arm tightens around my shoulders before he hauls me impossibly close. “I was going to talk to you about it after this weekend.”
“Guess we don’t need to have that conversation, now do we?”
His shoulders droop under the heavy weight of Brayden’s disapproval. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. The moment I realized something was going to happen, I should have come to you.”
“No, it just shouldn’t have happened. You had no business getting involved with her.” Brayden stabs a finger at him. “End of story.”
“I’ve always had feelings for Elle. It was never going to end any other way. It just wasn’t.”
My brother plows a hand through his hair. I can practically see the smoke pouring out of his ears.
“That’s seriously fucked up, and you know it! I trusted you to watch over her. Instead, you took advantage of her.”
I shake my head. He has it all wrong. That’s not what happened. “Bray—”
His icy glare cuts to me. “Get your shit, I’m taking you home.”
Every muscle tightens as my brows jerk together. “What? No! I’m a grown adult. You can’t tell me what to do.”
“Wanna bet?”
When Brayden takes a second step toward us, Carson mutters under his breath, “Why don’t you wait downstairs and let me talk to your brother privately.”
Leaving them alone together when there’s so much explosive tension in the atmosphere is a disastrous idea. They’ve always been such good friends. I don’t think they’ve ever had one argument and I don’t want to see that change. Nor do I want to be the one that comes between them.
I shake my head. “I’m staying here.”
“Please, Elle. Just go. Let me get this figured out. Everything will be fine, I promise.”
My shoulders slump as his arm disappears and he gives me a little push toward the door. When I stumble a few steps forward, Sydney sneaks past Brayden and slips a comforting arm around my waist before tugging me close. She gives me a look chock-full of sympathy before propelling me silently toward the hallway. What I don’t find in her expression is surprise. I have the sneaking suspicion that she was aware of the situation.
As I maneuver past my brother, his furious gaze locks on me as my footsteps falter.
My tongue darts out to moisten my lips. “Please, Bray. He’s your best friend and,” I force myself to admit the rest, “I love him.”
Another flash of anger cracks across his features as his lower jaw locks, the muscle throbbing in his cheek.
When he remains silent, Sydney breaks away from me to grab my duffle bag before steering me out of the room and into the hallway.