Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
The single word left my lips like a bullet.
It struck Colin before traveling on to embed itself in Preston’s center. He jolted and stiffened awkwardly, making it clear how uncomfortable he was hearing I was in love with him. And his reaction? It didn’t go unnoticed by my brother.
Oh, god. What had I done?
You told the truth.
I had—but I’d done it without thinking about the consequences. I hadn’t built up the courage to tell Preston yet, and I had no idea if he felt the same, or if telling him I loved him was going to send him running.
I stared at the man I loved, and my heart stopped beating because his gaze refused to meet mine. It was laser focused on my brother.
“And what about you?” Colin’s tone was harsh and demanding. “You love her too?”
Shit, I couldn’t breathe. Everything was tight with apprehension, and the longer Preston went without doing or saying anything, the more painful it became. My face gradually heated to a million degrees, and each second that ticked by, my embarrassment increased tenfold.
On some level, I understood that I’d stunned him speechless, but his silence created room for doubt. For the tiny voice to grow louder about listening to the warning Colin had given me.
Oh, my god. What if he was right?
What if Preston was going to use me until he’d had his fill, and then leave? In the beginning, he’d been clear the thing between us was only about sex. Maybe I’d gotten good at being a bad girl because I’d broken his only rule and fallen for him.
Preston’s non-answer was answer enough for my brother. Colin’s tone turned patronizing. “Yeah, I thought so.”
Finally, Preston seemed to come back to life. “Just wait a minute.”
“No,” Colin said, “we’re done.”
The friction rose between them, inching toward disaster. It filled the space between the three of us like someone had closed the lid on a pressure cooker and cranked the flame beneath as high as it would go. The room was stifling and boiling, and I wanted to flee, because deep down in my bones, I sensed what was coming.
“You need to decide what’s more important to you,” Colin declared. “Seven years of friendship and the business we built together—or fucking my little sister. Because guess what, Preston? You don’t get to do both.”
He was asking Preston to choose between us, and . . .
Oh, no. No!
I was going to lose.
In fact, by declaring I loved him, I’d probably made the choice even easier. I’d gotten too attached and freaked him out. He could use this as his exit and let my brother come off looking like the bad guy.
“Please don’t do this,” I whispered, begging Colin.
Preston’s hands had hung at his sides, and now they balled into fists like he wanted to curl his fingers around this ridiculous ultimatum and rip it apart. “You’re going to throw everything away just because I’m with Sydney?” His eyes were furious. “Who’s the selfish one now?”
Colin wasn’t fazed. “Does that mean you’re picking her?”
The question derailed Preston. He sucked in a sharp breath, like he was preparing to do or say something big, but instead . . . he simply froze. As if he could avoid having to make the decision as long as he didn’t move.
I knew it was impossible, that there were no winners here, but his hesitation was a knife in my stomach. I’d confessed I loved him, and yet he struggled with whether he should even choose me.
Shit, I couldn’t just stand here and wait for the axe to fall.
I lurched forward, grabbed the silicone lid, and snapped it back in place on the Pyrex dish.
“He’s not picking anyone right now,” I announced to everyone, including myself. “I just remembered I’ve got somewhere else to be.” I grasped the container and pulled it into my arms, no longer caring if the pancake stacks and bacon pieces became a jumbled mess on the bottom. “I need you to drive me home, Preston.”
“What?” He peered at me with dismay. Like I was trying to trap him when all I wanted to do was escape.
I couldn’t bear to look at him any longer.
It would be too hard to watch the decision I was certain he’d make—the one where I’d lose—while it formed in his eyes. So, I turned and strode as fast as my feet would carry me toward the door.
I wasn’t sure he’d follow me, but after a heartbeat, I heard his heavy, swift footsteps.
“We’re not done talking about this,” he lobbed at my brother as he went, “but you’re being a real dick right now.”
“Yeah? You’ve been a dick for years,” he fired back, chasing us out and slamming the door behind us.
I hated everything in that moment. How I’d stupidly admitted I loved Preston, how he hadn’t said it back, and most of all—how I’d come between him and my brother. This war brewing between them was my fault, and I only saw one terrible way to prevent it.