The Imperfections

My eyes narrow at him, but before I can say anything, Alyssa surprises me by jumping in. “He stopped over one day when I was babysitting.”

Like a hawk with his eye on prey he doesn’t want to get away, his gaze jumps back to Alyssa. His voice flat, clearly skeptical, he says, “Brant did?”

Alyssa swallows and nods her head earnestly. “To visit and see the boys. He didn’t realize you and Bri were at work, but you were so I was here instead. Nothing happened here, of course, but I thought he was attractive and I guess he thought the same about me. Anyway, I asked for his number, and now here we are.”

“You asked for his number.”

Laughing a little uneasily, Bri says, “You don’t have to repeat everything, honey. It’s not that hard to grasp.”

“It’s a little fucking hard to grasp,” he disagrees. Pulling his gaze from Alyssa to me, he says, “Can we talk for a minute?”

“I don’t believe that’s necessary,” I tell him, holding his gaze evenly. This fucking bastard better not mess this up. I’ll rip his head clean off his shoulders.

“You come in here telling me you knocked up our barely legal babysitter and now you’re marrying her and we aren’t allowed to have questions? Fuck that, Brant. I have questions,” Theo states.

“Why don’t you go back to your guests,” I suggest firmly.

“If you don’t want to talk, why don’t I talk to Alyssa instead?” he asks, holding my gaze.

Alyssa’s hand squeezes mine, her anxiety growing.

“Theo, come on,” Bri says, trying to rein him in.

Looking over at Bri, Theo points in our general direction and demands, “You support this?”

She hesitates, then says diplomatically, “It’s not my decision to make. I was a little stunned at first, too, but if they’re happy—”

“When?” Theo interrupts, looking back at us. “When did you meet? The boys never mentioned Brant stopping over any of the times I was here after Alyssa babysat.”

What the fuck is he doing, raising questions like that when he knows the truth?

Attempting to put an end to this before it gets any weirder, I look over at Alyssa. “I’m sorry, baby, I didn’t realize we were gonna get the third degree or we wouldn’t have come.”

Forcing herself back into a position of control, my sister finally says, “All right, that’s enough. Alyssa and Brant are both adults, they can make their own choices. Let’s stop making them uncomfortable and have a nice holiday together.” Without giving anyone else a chance to weigh in, she looks at Alyssa. “The boys are going to be so thrilled to see you. Why don’t you come outside with me and say hi.”

Alyssa looks up at me uncertainly. I did tell her to wait for me, but that was because Theo was outside. Now he’s standing here in the kitchen, looking at me with a challenge in his eyes.

“Go on,” I tell her, nodding toward the door. “Take Scout outside, I’ll be out in a minute.”

My sister casts an uncertain look at Theo, clearly wishing he’d come outside with her, but he doesn’t budge. She knows I can handle her husband, so she leaves us here and takes Alyssa and Scout out to play with the boys.

The door slides shut, but neither of us speaks for a moment. I watch out the window until Bri and Alyssa are far enough away I won’t have to worry about them overhearing anything we’re about to say.

Finally, my gaze slides to Theo. His eyes are colder than I’ve ever seen them before. Given the look on his face, I expect him to toss a barbed comment my way, but then he stares at me for so long I start to think he legitimately doesn’t know what to say.

I guess that makes sense. I don’t like to think of things from his perspective because I dislike him so much, but I suppose if a woman I impregnated came strolling in a short time later, engaged to the man I sent to kill her, I’d have some questions.

Of course, none of that would ever happen to me, because I wouldn’t make the choices he has. If he expects any sympathy, he’s looking in the wrong damn place if he’s looking at me.

“You lied to me,” he finally says.

It’s not what I expected him to lead with. He says it like it’s unfathomable, like we’re close friends or something.

“I didn’t lie,” I answer. “I told you I took care of it, and I did.”

“With your cock?” he demands, raising a dark eyebrow in skeptical confusion. “You weren’t supposed to fuck her, Brant. You were supposed to—” He stops and looks over his shoulder, checking to make sure Bri is far enough away. When he sees she is, he looks back at me, but he lowers his voice. “You were supposed to kill her.”