Holidays with the Walker Brothers (Alluring Indulgence #4)(38)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Could she get what she needed from Braydon? He was by far the twin who needed the most from her. Based on their previous conversations, Jessie knew that he was looking for a permanent relationship. Someone to love him for him.

While, in the same sense, she felt as though Brendon wasn’t looking for something longstanding, even though his actions tonight contradicted that assumption. Based on her history with relationships and the fact that she had recently gotten out of an exceptionally miserable one, Jessie was inclined to go the route of Brendon’s way of thinking.

Permanent was scary. Feelings were too. And Jessie was scared to death already that she was falling for Braydon.

Taking a deep breath, she searched Brendon’s gaze, needing to make sure she understood where he was going with this. If she opted to go this route, she was going to devastate Braydon, and that thought alone broke her heart into a million tiny pieces.

So the question was… Was she going to do it?

Chapter Fifteen

♂♀♂

Braydon

Why the fuck was he having a hard time with this?

Braydon could barely swallow past the lump that had formed in his throat and nothing had actually happened yet. But he knew it was about to.

Pushing up, he sat on the edge of the chair, watching Jessie and Brendon, his heart pounding like he’d just run a marathon. For some strange reason, he felt like he’d been punched in the solar plexus, his breath stolen from him.

When Jessie reached for the hem of her shirt, he knew he was done for. She was signing up for a one-on-one with Brendon which would forever change things between them all. Rather than sitting by and watching her shatter his heart into a million pieces, Braydon knew he had to move forward. He needed to get out of here.

“Where’re you going?” Brendon called out as Braydon passed him by.

Glaring at his twin, he didn’t even offer an explanation. This was what his brother wanted, and Braydon damn sure didn’t have to sit by and wait for Brendon’s point to be made. He was feeling it already.

Retrieving his boots from his room, Braydon slowly pulled them on, forcing everything from his mind, including the two people in the other room.

Why the hell did Brendon insist on punishing him? It wasn’t like he planned this. He never would’ve purposely chosen to fall for a woman that Brendon was with. He knew the rules of the game, knew what was expected of him.

Once he was presentable, he sucked in a deep breath and forged ahead. Making his way across the living room, he didn’t look at them, but he heard them. The sound of their breathing was louder than even his own thoughts racing through his head.

Grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair, Braydon knew he was making the right decision. He had to leave, had to walk away and let Brendon make his point. This was nothing more than he deserved.

Just as his hand touched the knob on the front door, Jessie’s voice rang out behind him, stopping him in his tracks.

“Don’t go, Braydon.”

He glanced over his shoulder to see her standing in the middle of their living room, her hair disheveled and her lips swollen from kissing his twin. She looked magnificent. Then again, she always did. Even when she was sandwiched between them, Braydon had never felt jealousy when it came to her being with Brendon. He just hadn’t been able to stop himself from falling in love with her.

“I have to,” he said quietly, turning back to face the door.

“Let him go,” Brendon agreed, his voice strained with fury.

“I don’t want him to go,” Jessie argued.

“What do you prefer him to do, Jessie?” Brendon questioned, his anger prevalent in his tone.

“Did you forget what you told me when this all started?” she asked, the frustration in her tone surprising him.

Braydon turned around to watch the two of them as they stood face to face in the center of the living room.

“Which part?” Brendon questioned.

“The part where this wouldn’t happen without him,” she said evenly. “Do you remember that conversation? The one where you freaked me out by telling me that if I wanted to be with you, your twin brother was going to join us.”

Brendon had the decency to remain quiet, but Braydon waited on pins and needles to see where she was going with this.

“Well, if you’re changing the rules, I’m not sure I want to play anymore.”

“What the fuck do you think this is, Jessie? A goddamn game?”

“Isn’t it?” Jessie’s wrath mirrored Brendon’s.

“No, it’s not a fucking game. Not to me.”

“No? Then what the fuck are you doing right now? You’re pushing your brother away because of me, are you not?”