Waterfall Kisses (The Kisses 9)

“So, I was thinking...” Leo ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end.

“Uh oh.” I dropped my fork. “That's not what a girl ever wants to hear after her boyfriend has done something nice.”

“This has nothing to do with that.” Leo chuckled, moving to sit beside me. He swiped a piece of bacon off my plate. “I think we should tell your brother about us.”

“I didn't know you had a death wish,” I replied with a grin. Inside, I was doing cartwheels. We were going to go public. Everyone would know. He could kiss me in front of Toby and it wouldn't matter. We could hold hands. We could go out on dates without having to sneak out of the house. It would be fantastic... if he survived my brother.

“You're worth it. Besides, I think it's time.” Leo ruffled his hair again. “I timed myself on my run this morning, and I'm pretty sure I'm faster than him.”

I giggled. “And you have Murdoch. I'm pretty sure Murdoch could take Eli, but if it's Bastian and Eli, you're screwed.”

“Wow. You're filling me with confidence.” He rolled his eyes.

I fiddled with my breakfast for a moment. “You remember what he did to my first boyfriend?”

“The one he caught coming out of your college dorm room at six am?” Leo let out a low whistle as he remembered. “He did not look good with a broken nose. Though, I wanted to beat the guy to a pulp, too. That smug smile still makes me want to hit him.”

A warmth filled me. Even then, Leo had liked me.

“Yeah, well thanks to Bastian, that guy never called me again.” I shook my head. Bastian could be very scary when he wanted to be. Especially when it came to his little sister. I frowned. “If Bastian beats you up, you'll still call me, right?”

Leo planted a kiss on my forehead. “As long as you come see me in the hospital.”

I laughed, but it was more of a nervous titter than humorous guffaw. I wasn't sure what Bastian was going to do. Leo was his friend, but I was his little sister. He'd scared off more guys than I could count and he wasn't afraid to lose his temper. I loved that he wanted to keep me safe, but at the same time, I was a full-grown woman now.

I hoped Bastian would be okay with Leo.

“We'll break it to him easy,” I said. “In a public place. With Ava.” I paused. “I bet she'd even be willing to tie him down for us.”

“I don't want to think about Ava tying Bastian down, thanks.” Leo stuck his tongue out at me and I giggled. “But, you're right. Some place public, with Ava there, and preferably when he's in a good mood.”

“Oh, so like... never.” I sighed.

“Tonight.” Leo kissed my forehead again. “We'll tell him tonight.”

“Okay.” A delightful pressure was growing behind my breastbone. I loved this man. He was willing to face the wrath of my brother for me. It was going to be scary. But, he was going to do it for me.

We had a plan.

Without warning, the bedroom door opened. I turned, expecting it to be the housekeeper or maybe Murdoch. Instead, to my absolute mortification, in walked Bastian and Gabe.

I tried to pull the sheet up a little higher, but the breakfast tray made it a little hard to do. I was incredibly glad I had decided to put on some clothing, but even so, having my brother walk in on me in Leo's bed wearing Leo's t-shirt, wasn't exactly the way I had planned on informing my brother that Leo and I were a couple.

This was not the plan.

“Hey, Charlotte,” Gabe greeted me, walking in and leaning against the far wall without a care in the world. I stared at him, clutching the sheet like a shield. I could feel my blush searing down my skin and was half afraid I was going to light the bed on fire I was blushing so hot.

“Hi, Charlotte,” Bastian echoed, coming in and sitting down on the foot of the bed like everything was completely normal. “Sorry to interrupt, but we just got good news.”

I stared at my brother sitting calmly on the edge of the bed while I sat there with sex sleep hair.

I couldn't be more mortified if I tried.

“The phone application is basically user ready,” Gabe gushed excitedly. “The beta group loves it. Leo, you and Charlotte did a fantastic job.”

“Charlotte gets most of the credit,” Leo said quickly. Somehow he wasn't bright red, but he was carefully putting distance between himself and Bastian. “She's the one who made me keep working at it until it was perfect.”

Bastian and Gabe continued to talk about the app as I looked back and forth between them all and Leo's jaw hung open. He stared openly at Bastian, his head cocked to the side as if he wasn't sure this was real.