Anna released a pent-up breath she hadn’t even realized she held.
For a minute, she thought he would leave with the woman to get back at her or something. If he had, she would’ve lost the fragile hold she had on herself right now. When he reached Wyatt’s side, he said something to him. He turned red, and then Cole did the same exact thing.
With one last look at Anna, he pulled off his bow tie and walked out into the garden.
What was he doing?
Was he leaving?
She didn’t even hear Chris approach, so when he slid an arm over her shoulder she jumped in surprise. “Your makeup is smudged, little one. Have you been crying?”
“Well, duh.” She turned into his arms and hugged him tight. The familiar comfort of his arms closing around her soothed her. He still wore the same cologne she bought him in high school—Old Spice. “I just watched you get married. Of course I cried.”
He chuckled and smoothed her hair down. “I’ll probably cry at your wedding, too. I’m sure of it. That is, if I even let you get married. From what I’ve seen so far, no man on earth is good enough for you. Trust me. I would know.”
Anna swallowed past the lump in her throat, eyeing the door that led into the gardens. Was Brett out there waiting for her to come out and talk? If so, why?
And why did she want to go out there so frigging badly?
Forcing her attention back on her brother, she smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m not thinking about getting married any time soon.”
“I know. But you will someday.” He kissed her temple. “If the man you choose passes the test, that is.”
“And what is this test?”
Christopher shrugged. “We grab him. Take him prisoner. And then we—”
Eric came up behind her. “Then we rough him up until we scare him away. If he runs, then he didn’t really love you. If he stays, then we let him marry you.”
Anna swallowed hard. “Good thing I haven’t brought anyone home to meet you yet, then. That sounds pretty damn brutal.”
Eric raised a brow. “What, Brett doesn’t count?”
“Brett?” Chris’s voice went hard, and his hold on Anna grew too tight. “What the hell does Brett have to do with Anna?”
“Wait. You didn’t tell him about you guys yet?” Eric asked, his eyes wide. “When I heard your conversation, I assumed you did.”
“How do you even know about us?” Anna asked, going stiff. “Who told you? Brett?”
Eric shoved his hands in his pockets and rolled back on the balls of his feet. “Yeah. Brett told us when we caught him outside your room last night. Didn’t he tell you all of this? And didn’t you get Wyatt’s text? We kind of kidnapped him last—”
“Motherfucker,” Chris snarled. “I’ll kill him.”
Brett’s words came crashing back into her head. I didn’t come to your room last night because of your brothers.
She held a hand to her rapidly beating heart. “Oh my God. That’s why he didn’t come last night, isn’t it? You wouldn’t let him?”
“Uh. Right.” Eric cleared his throat. “Wyatt texted you and told you all of this.”
Cole and Wyatt came over, talking quietly. As they reached her side, Cole gave her a weird look. “Can you tell me why Brett just told me to leave you alone next time you bring a guy home?”
“He said the same thing to me,” Wyatt said. “And he ordered me to tell Chris and Eric the same thing. Said you deserved to be happy, and you never would be if we scared all your boyfriends away. What happened between you two, and why did he leave?”
Her heart twisted.
He’d told them that, even after she sent him away?
Rejected him?
And if he hadn’t stayed away from her out of disinterest…then had he actually wanted to be with her? Had she just told him she didn’t want to be with him—when he wanted to be with her? Please, God, no.
Fate couldn’t be that cruel.
Could it?
She looked at her brothers. Everyone but Christopher watched her with wide eyes. “Are you saying you all knew about us?”
“We found out last night,” Eric said. “After we kidnapped him.”
Cole nodded. “We told him after the wedding, he could come clean to Chris. That we would leave him alone as long as he waited until after the wedding to confess. We just didn’t want to distract Chris on his wedding day. He’s the only one who doesn’t know yet.”
“Chris, did you—?” Anna broke off. Not only was Christopher gone from her side, but he was gone from the room, too. “Oh God. He went after Brett.”