The Brothers Rule - Carolyn Faulkner Page 0,29

I've seen so far. She seems very nice."

"And damn, can she cook!" Tanner marveled. "I'm so sick of grilled food I could spit!"

They always "sampled"—ate—every bit of any leftovers before he could get to them. Jace rarely got so much as a bite of all of the food that he brought home when she'd cooked for him—or them.

And he'd told her about that, so Laurie had gone so far as to ask them what they liked, so when she cooked for Jace, he got what they wanted, not that he objected, and she got into the habit of making enough that he didn't have to fight his brothers off for it.

"Yeah, she can stay as long as she wants."

"Well, it's going to be a bit crowded again, because, while she's here, so are we going to be," Ryan informed them.

Nick nodded. "I'm not surprised, considering that ménage you guys have already got going on."

Jace's tone wasn't friendly in the least. "We do not have a 'ménage' of any sort going under any circumstances, and you are never to say anything like that around her, either."

His younger brother frowned just as fiercely at him. "Of course not. I just find it very interesting that you're all dating the same girl."

"Well, not technically anymore."

"Really?" Tanner asked. He'd love to find out more about what was going on with them, too, but wouldn't have asked.

Nick didn't have any such compunction. He figured that if they didn't want to talk about it, they'd let him know in no uncertain terms.

"She asked us for some…" Ryan thought of the best term, "…time off. She's having a hard time choosing among us."

"Why should she?" Nick shrugged.

"Why should she what?"

"Why does she have to pick just one? You're all happy, right, the way things are now? I mean, you might be a bit jealous of your brothers, but they're still your brothers. I'm assuming that you all love her, and she loves you. Don't let society tell you what to do with your lives. Enjoy it. It seems to me that this fire—granted, it's horrible, of course—might just have a silver lining. She's here; you're all apparently perfectly fine with living here, maybe she should just stay here with you guys."

He said it casually, as if it was absolutely no big deal, but his brothers—except for Tanner, who was in complete agreement—looked bemused, bordering on insulted, especially Mr. Conventional, Jace.

"I-I'd never thought of that option," Ryan mused.

"Don't think of that option, because it's not an option," Adam stated firmly. He was only a little bit less conservative than his older brother was.

The three youngest put their hands up in the air. "I'm just sayin'." Nick couldn't resist teasing a bit. "You know, maybe if you two don't want to, it would work out with the three of us and Laurie—me, Tanner, and Ryan."

"No!" Adam and Jace both yelled at once, and everyone shushed them loudly.

But Nick and Tanner laughed, too, while Ryan looked pensive, before he opened his mouth.

Jace saw that move and pre-empted him, though, pointing his finger at his middle brother. "Now, don't you start," he warned.

Not in the least scared, Ryan said, "I was just thinking that it sounds like a viable solution to me."

"What does?" Adam was afraid to ask.

He shrugged. "That we all live here—the three of us," he said, glaring at his younger brothers, "and she lives here, with us. I don't know about you guys, but I love her. And she loves us. I know you love her, too. None of us wants to lose her, and she doesn't want to lose any of us. She doesn't ever have to go back to her own apartment, as far as I'm concerned, and neither do I. Bing had a good idea, for once in his life."

Nick scowled fiercely. "Still not a virgin! Haven't been for a while!"

Ryan patted his arm with dripping condescension. "Save your breath. No one cares."

Adam and Jace were scowling even more fiercely than Nick was.

Jace even opened his mouth several times as if he was going to say something of great import, but then he closed it again seconds later without imparting any wisdom.

Then he got up. "I'm heading to bed. I'll check in on her."

Well, none of them could let him do that alone, of course, so they all crowded around the door as he opened it silently.

She was lying there facing away from them in the soft light from the hall, on her side with