Broken River - Ruby Shae Page 0,6

like a bug under a microscope.

The men were handsome, and the family resemblance was apparent in all four siblings, but the two men didn’t make her pussy ache the way Liam did. Even though he was the oldest, Levi stood about an inch shorter than Liam, and his other brother, Lael, was about two inches shorter. They were both muscular, though, with short brown hair instead of the man bun Liam wore, but their sculpted bodies didn’t impress her.

Which was…really, really weird.

Not that she was desperate to fuck every hot guy she saw—because she definitely wasn’t—but since when was she not impressed by a tall, muscular, gorgeous man? Or two of them for that matter? Her reaction to the men didn’t make any sense, and she glanced up at Liam to see if he still turned her on.

The hard lines of his face were unmoving except for a tick in his jaw, and she realized that while his brothers stared at her, Liam was staring at them. She wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but she was definitely still attracted to the man standing next to her.

The tension in the room grew with the silence, until Lacey finally stepped forward. Elle smiled at the siblings’ younger sister, and admired the beautiful woman. She was taller than Elle by two inches, and she had just as many curves, but unlike Elle, she was way more muscular. She wasn’t hard everywhere like the men, but Elle could see the power under her softness.

“Did your brother…” Lacey started. “Did Gavin die?”

Suddenly, all the tension left the room, and the hard faces staring her down softened a fraction. It was as if the others hadn’t completely heard all of Liam’s words, and instead only focused on the marriage part of his speech. Elle hadn’t even been sure these people knew her brother until Lacey had asked the question.

“Yeah,” Elle started. “He was hit by a truck a month ago, and died instantly.”

“I’m so sorry,” Lacey said. “I didn’t know him well, but I know he was a good friend to Liam, and a good man. He will definitely be missed.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Levi said, glancing between them. “For both of your losses. Lacey is right. Though we didn’t know him well, or see him often, your bother will be missed.”

Lael nodded in agreement, and Elle was actually glad the younger man didn’t try to add any more condolences to what his siblings had already said. She was glad that they all held such a high opinion of Gavin, but he was her brother, not theirs, and talking about him so much still made her heart ache.

She needed a small break.

“Thank you all so much,” she said. “I…Where’s the restroom?”

“I’ll show you,” Lacey said.

Liam watched the women leave the room, and took a deep breath before turning back to face his brothers. He knew they would start in on him before Lacey returned, and though he didn’t totally blame them, his mind was already made up.

“I know Gavin was your friend,” Levi started, “but—”

“You’re really going to marry this girl?” Lael asked.

Lacey joined them again, but she didn’t say anything as Levi fired off more questions.

“How do you know that she’s even telling the truth? Or that Gavin is even really dead? She could be anyone, and if she finds out our secret—”

“She could ruin us, and everything we’ve worked so hard for.”

Lael was usually the calmest of the three brothers, but Liam understood what the other man didn’t say. Out of the three of them, it was Liam who had exposed their secret once before, and now he was potentially putting them in danger again. It didn’t matter that the person who had witnessed his mistake—the one who could have torn their lives apart—had been Gavin. In fact, that tiny detail probably made them more wary, maybe making them wonder if his friend had created this plan to somehow, ultimately betray all of them.

He didn’t believe any of that, though. Granted he’d only known her for a short time, but he believed Elle was good and decent, just like Gavin had been, and maybe it was too soon, but he trusted her…the same way he’d trusted his friend.

“We exchanged id’s before we signed the contract,” Liam told them, “and she showed me the death certificate. I understand why you guys are concerned, I really do, but I’m doing this, and I hope you’ll support us.”

“Shit,” Levi swore. “Of course we’ll support