Canon (Klein Brothers 2)
Finally, I just shrugged. “I vaguely remember them, but I was drunk so….”
“We were sober at that point because we met both of them just after we arrived.”
We had?
“I don’t see what’s so bad about him not noticing the women,” Reid muttered, finally angling himself to the side, so he was sitting on his right butt cheek instead of trying to get both on the chair. “It just proves how into Jacinda he is.”
At that moment, he cemented his place as my favorite brother.
“You have a point,” Bond mused. “But Heidi told me Jacinda’s sister set her up with a guy, and they’re going on a date tomorrow night. You might want to pull your hungover finger out of your ass before you lose the gorgeous lady. Hey, wasn’t she walking weirdly this morning when we saw her?” he asked Reid, who tapped his chin with his finger.
“Yeah, she was. I asked Tony about it when I saw him, but he just patted me on the head and walked away. She definitely looked like she’d been up to something, if you get my drift. A woman only walks that way for a handful of reasons, and she’s too beautiful for it not to be the best one.”
“Are you implying she spent the night with another man?” I hissed, my fists clenching tightly at the thought.
“Well, yeah,” both Reid and Bond said slowly at the same time, but it was Bond who added, “We know she’s not like that, but she had the walk that comes after a good night.”
I knew she wasn’t like that. I was the only guy she’d had sex with since she’d broken up with her ex. But man, just the thought ate away at me, leaving me feeling even more nauseous than I had before.
“Maybe she fell and hurt her ass?” Cason suggested. “That can happen.”
Rubbing his chin and making me cringe at the noise his stubble made as he did it, Bond nodded thoughtfully. “This is true. Regardless, one day it could be another man who makes her walk like that. If you want it to be you, maybe get over whatever petty bullshit’s going on inside your head, and fight for your woman, man.”
His words were blunt, but holy shit, did they carry some weight. I needed to snap out of it, he was right. And I was going to fight for her.
I didn’t care about her reasons for not wanting to get serious with me. Kids were a thought for far in the future, and just because her chances of having them were low, we had other options if we decided we wanted them.
Cason sat up straight with a sinister smile on his face.
“I’ve got an idea how to do that.”
I was all in, my fighting head finally clicking back in place. I’d been miserable for the last ten days after our night together and subsequent argument, so if there was a plan on how to get her back, I’d fight to the death.
Given that I’d been close to death the last day or so, I knew I could win that war.
However…
“Wait, it doesn’t involve alcohol, does it? I’m not sure my body would survive more of it.”
Cason gagged slightly at the mention of alcohol, something my stomach tried to do, too.
“No, and let’s never mention that shit again.”
Bond raised his hand, getting our attention on him. “Uh, how are you meant to do the cocktails for Kleins if you can’t handle the booze?”
“On a wing and a prayer, my guy,” Cason replied seriously.
“Can we eat something while we discuss this plan?” Reid asked, rubbing his stomach. Well, rubbing his Kevlar and work vests where his stomach was hiding under.
It wasn’t that long ago he’d been shot at close range, and the vests had saved his life, even if the bullet had hit him in just the right way to break his rib.
At the mention of food, both Cason and I retched, simultaneously this time.
“No food,” I begged. “I had to hold my breath when I walked into the restaurant and past the kitchen. I can’t handle it.”
“I’m never eating again,” Cason groaned.
“Go and ask for grilled cheese sandwiches and some fries, Reid,” Bond said, glaring at us now. “These pussies need to eat and get something in their stomachs. They’re giving off pathetic vibes, and I don’t allow that.”
So, while we did our best to eat the sandwiches, Cason outlined his plan, stopping now and then as his stomach rebelled. Unfortunately, those rebellions came with audible noises that set off not only mine but Bond’s sympathetic stomach, too.
It took a while, which meant Reid missed some of it because he had to go back to work, but I had to admit, Cason’s plan was kind of genius.
CHAPTER 10
Jacinda
Tuesday, the day before Canon agreed to ‘the plan’…