I jump forward and put my arm around his neck, throwing him through the wringer like I always do. We fight like brothers, forcing each other to surrender before stopping. And I always win.
But he’ll never admit that.
“Fine, fine, keep sulking here, for all I care,” Luca says when I finally release him from my grip.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I quip, sitting back down again to take a much-needed sip of my drink. “At least I’ve tried.”
“Yeah, by being a nice guy,” he retorts, shoving more peanuts into his mouth. “Don’t you know nice guys never get what they fucking want?”
I roll my eyes and try to ignore him, but he keeps ranting.
“You’re trying to be too good for her, but it doesn’t work that way. Not with our family,” he says. “We take what we want.”
“Yeah? Like you’ve taken Jill?” I scratch my chin and watch him boil over.
“This isn’t about her,” he spits.
“No, but I’m making it about her,” I say.
I don’t need my little brother to tell me how to charm the ladies.
Jasmine will come to me on her own terms; I just know it. I just have to be a patient gentleman. Not everything in this world needs to be conquered.
Suddenly, he shoves his elbow into my side. “Shh.”
I follow his gaze to see Jill approaching us out of nowhere, and it’s making Luca shift in his seat. He runs his fingers through his hair and licks his lips, but then her eyes home in on me, and I’m just lounging back in my seat to watch.
“Hey, Liam,” she says, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Hey, Jill,” I reply to be courteous, but I can’t stop grinning because of the devil’s look my brother throws me.
“I was just wondering if you wanted to … dance with me?” The blush on her cheeks intensifies.
The second my lips part, Luca intervenes, scooting his chair a mile forward so it’s between her and me. “He doesn’t want to fucking dance with you, Jill.”
And he grabs a handful of peanuts and shoves them into his mouth.
Jill looks incensed. “What the hell is your problem?”
Not again.
“No, I’m good, thanks. Got a bit of a bad leg today,” I say.
It’s a lie, but I don’t want to make her feel bad.
“Oh …” The smile dissipates from her face, but my brother only looks more pissed off than ever.
“Go run back to your parents,” Luca scoffs.
“I didn’t ask you, asshole,” Jill retorts, sticking up her middle finger at him before turning her back on us and prancing right back into the crowd.
“Way to go, dude,” I tell Luca. “You had to go and piss her off again.”
His nostrils flare. “Shut up. You know she gets on my fucking nerves.”
“Because you let her,” I reply.
“Just like you let Jasmine,” he retorts.