Braydon (Alluring Indulgence #6)(30)
Author: Nicole Edwards

“Umm . . .” Jessie was at a loss for words.

“Quit messin’ with her.”

Jessie turned in time to see Brendon—yes, that was his name—walking back toward her, a glass of clear liquid in his hand.

Holy crap. These two were the spitting image of one another. Well, except for the hats and their clothes. But their faces, their builds, even their voices . . . Yeah, Jessie was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to tell them apart if it weren’t for the hats.

“Braydon Walker,” the second guy said, his hand sliding down to meet hers.

“Jessie Prescott,” she answered, still stunned.

“I’m the better-looking one,” Braydon offered, and Jessie laughed. And then all her tension dissipated.

That was when she realized she was in so much trouble.

chapter SIX

“I didn’t mean to run her off,” Braydon stated halfheartedly when Brendon returned through the front door. The moment Jessie’s car started up, his twin had set a world speed record to get back outside.

“Fucking shit,” Brendon groaned. “I should’ve known.”

“Should’ve known what?” That Jessie would feel awkward being around the two of them again? Uh, hello! Braydon could’ve told him that.

Hell, Braydon didn’t necessarily blame her. The last time he’d seen her, he had been standing behind her, buried deep inside her warm body . . . Fuck.

And then he’d disappeared without a good-bye, all because of his own desperate need to make sense of everything that was going on. And to top it all off, he had ignored her calls and texts because he was too scared to talk to her. Too scared he was going to tell her just what she meant to him.

“I told her we needed to talk,” Brendon said, unusually calm.

“You mentioned that,” Braydon stated, standing stone still in the entryway. Although technically this was his house, he felt like a guest. And since he wasn’t even sure he was staying, he didn’t want to lead Brendon to believe otherwise. “I’m here. Let’s talk.”

“No, I meant the three of us. We needed to talk.”

Braydon stared at Brendon, waiting for him to continue.

Brendon glanced around, appearing confused as to why they were still standing just inside the door. He finally met Braydon’s eyes again and said, “You want somethin’ to drink?”

“Sure.” Braydon didn’t move, waiting for Brendon to lead the way.

When his brother finally did, heading toward the kitchen but not before glaring back at Braydon, he fell into step behind him. Once in the kitchen, Braydon caught sight of the clock on the microwave. Yeah, so it was only ten in the morning. The type of drink he needed would be frowned upon this early in the day. When Brendon asked what he wanted, Braydon opted for a Dr Pepper instead.

“Do you need to go check on her?” Braydon asked, resting against the granite countertop after he popped the top on the can, one hand clutching the edge while he held his drink in the other and stared back at Brendon.

“Shit. She doesn’t want to see me,” Brendon huffed.

Braydon’s heart came to a sudden, jarring halt as he watched his brother, confused. “What are you talking about?”

Brendon cocked an eyebrow, then followed it up with one of his infamous scowls. “Are you serious right now?”

Braydon stood there, unable to speak. Clearly he’d been out of the loop for far too long. No one had mentioned that there was any sort of rift between Brendon and Jessie. Not his mother. Not his father. Not even Travis during their brief yet volatile conversation.

“Man, I haven’t talked to Jessie in nearly three months. At least not enough for it to matter.”

Braydon nearly dropped his can. Placing it on the counter before he had a mess to clean up, he twisted back to face his brother. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Goddamn, man. You think you just disappeared and life moved on without you? What? Did you think that all of a sudden she wanted me just because you weren’t here?” Brendon laughed incredulously. “Fuck, man. You’re the one in love with her. Not me.”

Suddenly, all the frustration and resentment that had been bottled up since he walked out of this house the last time came rushing back. This time it was targeted at Brendon. How the hell could he treat Jessie like that? How could he possibly just . . . “You haven’t talked to her in three months?” Braydon yelled, unable to maintain even a fraction of his control. “What the fuck?”

Brendon stood up straight, and that was when Braydon realized he was nearly face-to-face with his brother.