Brendon (Alluring Indulgence #8)(83)
Author: Nicole Edwards

The problem Brendon had was in the fact that he was ready to settle down. He was ready to put a ring on her finger and give her his name. He had no intentions of trying to halt her career, but he wanted to find a way to tie her to him, to show her that he was in it for the long haul.

“Why’s that?” Braydon questioned.

“She’s still gonna be out on the road,” Brendon said.

“Doesn’t mean you have to stick around here,” Braydon told him. “You know, you’re still gonna make money on Walker Demo, regardless of whether or not you’re there. You’re a partial owner. You could go out on the road with her.”

“I could,” he said slowly, lifting his gaze to meet Braydon’s once more. “If she’d want me to.”

“Man, I know this is the pot callin’ the kettle black, but you’ve gotta talk to her. So much shit went down between me, you, and Jessie because we couldn’t talk to each other. And then I couldn’t figure out how to tell Jessie what I wanted, how I felt. It doesn’t work unless you talk.”

“I’m figurin’ that out. And I will,” Brendon told him. “As soon as we get this fuckin’ asshole off our backs.”

“So someone was lurkin’ around here? How come I didn’t know about it?”

“Because I didn’t tell you?” Brendon retorted snidely.

“Obviously. Any leads on where he is?”

“Somewhere in Austin, most likely. However, he’s not the guy. At least Z and RT don’t seem to think he is. They believe Cheyenne’s stalker is gettin’ closer. If they know more, they’re not sharin’.”

“So, what? Y’all are just gonna hunker down here until they find him? How are they gonna do that if they’re hangin’ around?”

“I trust Z, Bray. He knows what he’s doin’.” Brendon knew that Z wouldn’t have invested this much of his personal time—Sniper 1 was doing this off the grid, intentionally keeping things on the down low within their own organization so that Cheyenne stayed off the radar—if he didn’t think they were getting close. Not wanting to dwell on the subject for too long, Brendon opted for a question of his own. “Have you told Mom and Dad? About the weddin’ date?”

“Nope,” Braydon said, his earlier smile returning. “We’ll announce on Sunday.”

“Well, I’m really happy for you. I know you don’t believe me, but even before this,” Brendon motioned toward the house, referring to Cheyenne, “I would’ve been able to handle you marryin’ Jess.”

“I know you would have. But I’m not sure I would have.” Braydon’s eyes dropped to the floor and he pushed off the wall, his hands thrusting into his pockets. “This is weird for me too, Bren. This separation between us … it hasn’t been easy for me, either.”

Brendon’s eyebrows lifted into his hairline. That was the first he’d heard that his twin wasn’t willingly running headlong into the future, which in Brendon’s head meant he was running away from him.

BRAYDON WATCHED AS surprise registered on Brendon’s face. Considering Braydon had spent the last few days thinking hard on all of this—what he was going to do as they both moved on—he understood his twin’s reaction. Maybe it hadn’t become real until Braydon realized that Brendon was falling in love and Brendon’s life was about to change drastically, which in turn would affect Braydon.

Brendon was falling in love with a famous country star who spent the majority of her time on the road. That meant—more than likely—Brendon would be on the road with Cheyenne, and Braydon wouldn’t see him all that much. Although he knew it would be what was best for Brendon and Cheyenne, Braydon didn’t like it.

Selfish? Maybe.

Whatever the reason, his gut churned when he thought about spending so much time away from his twin. Braydon had no right to insinuate himself into any of Brendon’s future plans because he’d all but pushed his brother away when his own confusion had gotten the best of him. That didn’t mean it didn’t pain him to realize how things were going to end for them.

Brendon sighed, drawing Braydon’s attention back to him.

“For as long as I can remember, it’s been the two of us against the world. Sure, we had the others and Mom and Dad, but it’s always been you and me.” Braydon sensed the emotion in Brendon’s tone, realized he wouldn’t look his way as he continued. “Never in a million years did I think that we’d go our separate ways. It might sound childish, but I always thought we’d live together under the same roof. No, I wasn’t thinkin’ about the future, about settlin’ down, gettin’ married, all that shit. I wasn’t even sure I’d ever want that. Then Jess came into the picture and I felt the chaos as it began to stir inside. Almost instantly, I realized she was different. She was special. And shortly after that, I realized why.”