The Brothers Rule - Carolyn Faulkner Page 0,8

was generally a more serious person than either of his… any of his brothers.

Boy, that was going to be a hard concept to get her head around!

"Let me take you home, darlin'," he said, standing then helping her up and into his arms, where he hugged her tightly.

It was then that Laurie realized they all had the same hug! For guys who were all very manly men—thoroughly enlightened but distinctly and unapologetically male at the same time—they gave heart-stopping hugs, full bodied, as well as full hearted, and none of them had ever tried to take advantage at all. She had felt immediately comfortable hugging all of them, and that wasn't the usual for her with most men, either, unfortunately.

It was later on that night, which she had originally anticipated spending with Jace, that she got a text from Adam.

Hey, Laur!

He was the only one who shortened her name, so she knew without looking who it was.

Hi!

Jace had to go out and help with something on the ranch suddenly, so I said I'd text you with the answer to your question.

Okay.

I don't mind telling you that it caused a bit of a debate amongst us.

Oh, dear. I expressly do not want to be the cause of any kind of bad feelings among you. I'm sorry.

Don't be at all. We're all just very fond of you, and none of us wants to lose you.

She wasn't really sure how to respond to that. She was alone, and yet it made her blush hotly.

I'm very honored by that. Thank you.

You're welcome. Well, we decided that, although we'd each like to be the one, we don't care who you date—us, other guys, other girls—whatever. As long as none of us has to give you up.

Thank you. That information helps a lot.

Welcome. I'm going to go away now before I say something that will sway your vote, but I think you're a gorgeous, funny, wonderful, fantastic woman!

LOLOLOL. I think that's cheating, but then, Jace hugged and kissed me and fed me a great meal, so thank you. Please let the other guys know that I won't take too long. I don't want to string you all along.

Take as long as you need, hon. We'll all be here.

You're all pretty fantastic, too.

She put three hearts at the end of that sentence.

And he—generously—sent three back.

For a long moment, Laurie just lay there on her couch, wondering what the fuck she was going to do now.

She was much more comfortable with famine than feast.

Chapter 2

"The first thing I want to say is thank you to you gentlemen for coming here tonight."

It was the first time she'd ever had this many people in her house at once, and the three big men who were with her just made the place seem that much smaller. The three of the Rule brothers whom she had been involved with over the past couple of months were scrunched around her tiny dining room table the very next weekend after she'd had her talk with Jace.

Laurie had done some hard thinking over the past week, not wanting—as she had mentioned to Adam—to keep them dangling. And she had let them know as soon as she had made her decision, which was on Friday.

Since they were all dating her—or not dating her, at the moment—she thought they might be available the next evening, and they all were. Although that assumption on her part begged the question as to who all else they were dating.

All three of them had told her that if they'd had any kind of other engagement, they would have found a way to get out of it and come to see her, and that none of them were seeing anyone besides her.

She was, again, as she always seemed to be with these guys, very flattered.

So, she had spent her time, between when she had called all of them and now, cleaning her apartment and shopping, because she thought the least she could do was make dinner for them. She bought literally four times as many ingredients as she usually did in preparation for feeding three large—trim but muscular—men.

One of the things she'd been amazed by, while spending time with them all individually, was just how much they ate! She wondered how their parents hadn't gone bankrupt with five appetites in the house like that!

There was just herself and her sister in the house she'd grown up in, and although they'd both learned to cook well from their mother, they didn't eat in