The lake, the rehearsal dinner—and later?
Brett in her bed.
What more could a girl ask for?
…
A few hours later, Brett leaned back on his elbows, the sand cushioning the bulk of his weight. Christopher lay on one side of him and Wyatt on the other. Next to Chris was Nina, followed by Cole, Eric, and finally Anna. They had insisted on this setup. Did they really think he would fuck her on the sand right in front of them, or what?
Although what she suggested came pretty close to that.
And I definitely want to christen the damn lake.
He cleared his throat. “It’s a nice day out. I hope it’s like this tomorrow.”
Christopher pushed his shades up his nose and turned to Brett. “It’s supposed to be even better. We checked the Weather Channel last night.”
Cole snorted. “Since when do you watch the Weather Channel?”
“Since I told him to,” Nina said, adjusting her sun hat.
Eric snapped his hand and made a whipping sound. “Crack the whip harder. He’ll like it.”
Chris grinned. “You have no idea.”
Cole shuddered. “TMI, bro. TMI.”
“It’s your fault, technically.” Nina chuckled. “You brought it up.”
“Can we please change the topic before I barf all over myself?” Eric asked, making a gagging sound. “Do you think Mom noticed our escape yet?”
As if on cue, Chris’s phone beeped.
He picked it up and flinched. “Yep. I think so. She just sent me a text.”
“What did it say?” Anna asked from the other side of their group.
“That we have three hours to ‘get our sorry asses home, or we will pay.’ She doesn’t detail the punishment.”
Cole winced, looking a hell of a lot younger than he actually was. “Last time I owed her, she made me scrub the toilet with a toothbrush. My toothbrush.”
Eric checked his Rolex. Brett couldn’t help but wonder if he wore that to impress the judges in the courtroom. “So…we have to leave by two. If we push it back too far, we might hit traffic.”
“We could speed,” Anna said.
“Not on my watch,” Chris replied. “If the precinct hears I got a speeding ticket, I’ll never live it down. I’m already one point from losing my license.”
Cole sighed. “And I can’t afford to get in trouble on leave. The CO is already all over my ass over some other issues I’ve had lately.”
“Oh?” Anna asked. “What issues would those be?”
“Ones that have nothing to do with you,” he replied.
“Let me get this straight.” Brett rose up on his elbows and stole a glance at Anna. He removed his hat and scratched his head. “So you can rip her life apart, including her love life, but she doesn’t need to know why you’re skating on thin ice?”
“Yeah.” Cole glowered at him. “That’s about right.”
“Sounds fair,” Brett muttered.
Cole flipped him off.
“Who cares?” Christopher snorted. “Why do you care if we’re protective of our sister?”
“Because you treat her like a kid. That’s why.” He slammed his hat back down on his head. “And she doesn’t fucking like it.”
Chris turned to Brett slowly, as if he were a robot or something. “Again…what’s it to you?”
“Everything,” he said simply.
Nina cleared her throat. “So, who is going in the water?”
“Not me,” everyone but Anna and Brett replied.
They all stared Brett down in different degrees of anger and shock.
Chris narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to see that pretty little blonde from the other night again? The one you went home with?”
Anna shook her head.
“No. Why would I?”
“You went home with her.” Christopher shrugged. “I thought you might want to see her again. Maybe bring her as your plus one.”
Brett bit back a few curses.
He knew what Chris was doing.
Reminding Anna that Brett was a player to be avoided at all costs. But she knew where he spent that night. In her arms. “No, I don’t want her to be my plus one. We danced and talked, and I went home alone.”
“Bullshit,” Eric said, sitting up. A woman from across the beach shot Eric an inviting smile, but he didn’t even see it. “You stayed behind with her. We left you there alone. Don’t lie because Anna’s here. The only reason you would stay behind is if you wanted to get fucked, and you did.”
Anna made an annoyed sound. “Oh, leave him alone. If he doesn’t want to talk about her, then leave him his secrets.”
Eric frowned. “You two are acting awfully protective of each other today. Anything you want to tell us?”