Priceless

“You do as she asks. Always.” Major finally speaks.

The man, who is probably my age, maybe a few years older, darts off. I grab Major’s hand, pulling him back into an office with my brother following suit. I already know without him saying anything that he has no plans of leaving this office unless I’m with him. He often forgets that I’m a grown woman who can make my own choices. I know I’ve leaned on him a lot over the years but he’s taken it upon himself to watch over me. Maybe it is time that I started to venture out from the bubble he’s crafted around me. I’ve grown used to staying there because it’s easy and safe. I couldn’t get too mad at my brother because he is only trying to look out for my best interest.

I push Major down onto the large sofa in the random office I’ve pulled us into. It might be a conference room for all I know. He starts to pull me down with him but then stops. It shouldn’t bother me that he didn’t pull me down into his lap but it does.

“Why are you here?” I repeat, looking over my shoulder to my brother.

“To get him out of your life. You showed up distraught last night.”

I let out a long sigh. Of course Gavin jumped to conclusions. This is exactly why I went to talk to Levi to begin with. “I was not distraught.”

“It was two a.m. What was I to suspect?”

“That I couldn’t sleep and I wanted someone to talk to,” I rebuff. “A conversation I’m guessing you listened in on.”

“I might have overheard a few things.” My brother stands a little taller, straightening his tie. It is something he does when he’s trying to play it cool, like he’s done nothing wrong.

“I would have helped you sleep,” Major says. I’m still holding his hand and he gives it a squeeze, drawing my attention back to him.

“You motherfucker,” Gavin growls.

“Don’t,” I snip over my shoulder at him, knowing without looking that he is charging our way.

“I shouldn’t have said that.” Major looks down almost sheepishly. I don’t care for that either. I set my flowers down next to him. They arrived this morning, bright and early. I drop down into his lap, the way I know he wanted to pull me into it earlier.

“Why is my brother here and did he hit you?” I form a small smirk as I press my chest into Major. He is, after all, the one who taught me about my secret weapon. I might as well use it. Finally I get one of those smirks that a week ago I wanted to smack off his face but now warms my insides.

“He came to issue me a restraining order that you wanted against me.” I turn to gape at my brother.

He shrugs unapologetically. “You said you needed to stay away from him,” he points out.

I likely did say something along those lines when I first arrived at Levi and Gavin’s last night. I was all over the place and I thought space from Major was what I needed but the more time I’m away from him the worse I feel. This weird hollow feeling has taken hold in my stomach.

I look back to Major, my finger brushing along his jaw where the red mark has started to form. “Major didn’t do anything to me that I didn’t want,” I say. Major leans into my touch. It is the only reason I can think of to explain why my brother would hit him.

“Besides forcing me into working for him,” I add with a small tease.

“You don’t have to make the necklace,” he gives.

“Damn you, Major Bennington. That only makes me want to make it more.”

“My mother is hard to say no to.”

I smile. “That she is.” I don’t tell him I’m starting to have that same problem with him. He doesn’t need to know that.

A moment later the man from before comes rushing back in with a bag of ice, handing it to me. He starts rattling off a list of things he will be doing at Major’s request. I sit there in shock at all the things my brother had gotten Major to do. I swallow back the lump in my throat. He was willing to throw everything away because he thought he’d truly hurt me. Behind all those arrogant smiles, suits and fancy cars is a man with a heart as sweet as they come. I’m starting to think Major is a little like my brother. He puts on these fronts to protect himself. To keep people at bay. Then when he finds someone that he doesn’t want to keep at arm’s length they are not really sure how to handle it.

“You will be doing none of those things,” I tell the man as if I have any say in Major’s business. The man’s eyes bounce between Major and me.