Headlines (Prime Time #3) - Ella Frank Page 0,60
it just seemed weird because it was—”
“Dick?”
I looked over to where Sean was laughing at something Kieran said. “Yes. I’ve known Sean my whole life. It was strange that I was reacting to him the way I was. But when he started to feel the same way, one thing led to another, and—”
“You started fucking.”
“Oh my God. I need more alcohol than this.”
“Nah.” Henri laughed. “I’m just messing with you. A little payback on Bailey’s behalf.”
I winced and lowered my beer to the table. “I deserve that, for sure. I hate how he found out.”
“So do I. You two should’ve talked to him before then. Always sucks to feel like the last person to know. The fool in the room, you know? But I get it. A lot was going on, and he understands that now too.” I nodded, and as we looked over at the three brothers shooting the breeze with one another, Henri said, “You’ve changed him, you know.”
“Who? Sean?”
“Yep.” Henri tipped his beer up and drained it. “He was a miserable, surly pain in the ass when I first met him.”
“How did you two meet? Whenever I ask, he always changes the subject.”
Henri scoffed. “Probably for the best. That story doesn’t really show either of us in a particularly good light. But these last couple of months, it’s like he’s a totally different person. He laughs, smiles, and, let’s be real, actually gives a shit about how he looks these days. You did that.”
“He did that.”
“Because of you. You bring out the best in him. You know how I know that?” Henri looked at Bailey and smiled. “Because Bailey did the same for me.”
I looked across the deck, and when Sean’s eyes caught on mine, my heart thumped a little faster. I might’ve brought the best out in Sean, but that worked both ways. He’d taught me how to stop and slow down. How to unplug from the rat race and take time to enjoy who and what was around me—not just work, work, work. That was an invaluable lesson.
“Careful there, Xander.” Henri’s voice brought me back to the present. “Your eyes are all hearts and rainbows right now.”
“Good.” I didn’t bother looking away from Sean as he headed my way. Didn’t bother trying to hide it. I was finally able to look at him the way I’d wanted to for the past two months, and I wasn’t about to feel ashamed of it now.
When he got to the table, Sean slid the tray of hamburger patties and buns on the end, and then sank down into the seat beside me and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Oh God.” Kieran groaned as he dropped into a seat opposite us. “I don’t know if I can deal with a sappy Sean. It’s kind of nauseating.”
I grinned against Sean’s lips before he pulled away from me and flipped off his younger brother. “You’re just jealous because you’re the only one sitting here solo tonight.”
Kieran scoffed. “Sure, that’s it. You don’t actually think this is my last stop on a Saturday night, do you?”
Bailey came out of the house carrying a tray full of chopped tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and every condiment known to man, and slid it down next to the burger and buns.
“I don’t care where your last stop is,” Sean said. “As long as it’s nowhere near me.”
Everyone laughed as Bailey moved into the seat beside Henri. Kieran picked up the tray of patties and passed it Sean’s way. “Feel like a little meat tonight?”
Sean rolled his eyes and took the tray from his brother. “You’re an idiot.”
“Aw, come on, you have to know I’m gonna give you shit about this for at least six months, right?”
Before Sean could respond, Bailey threw a bun at his younger brother. “Why don’t you stick something in your mouth instead of flapping it all night.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s on Sean’s agenda tonight, not mine.”
“Kieran.”
“Geez, okay. Sean comes out of the closet and suddenly we all have to act like he’s got a sensitive side.”
Sean laughed. “You’re such a shit.”
“And who do you think I learned that from?”
The brotherly bickering went back and forth around the table, and Henri eyed me and winked, the message clear: See, changed for good.
He was right. I hadn’t seen these three so relaxed in years, and as we ate our way through dinner, the jovial camaraderie continued.
“So Bailey tells me you’re moving out of the mansion in the sky.” Henri sat back and rested an