Love Triangle Six Books of Torn Desire - Willow Winters Page 0,236

why Brian doesn’t tell girls who his brother is.”

“I get it, too.”

“Especially after what happened with that Kendra girl.”

“What happened?” I ask.

She covers her mouth. “I’m sorry. I’ve already said too much.”

“No, not at all.” I think fast. How can I get her to tell me more?

Time runs out on me as I hear footsteps approaching. Brian’s sleepy head appears from the hallway. “There you are,” he says. He walks over to me and kisses the top of my head. “Morning, Hazel.”

“Good morning, Brian,” Hazel says. “How are you this morning?”

“Better now,” he says, wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning down to press his lips to mine.

I wrap my arms around him, too—an automatic response after being with him for a month. He holds me in a hug and I look over his shoulder out the window. The view here is the same as the one from Mark’s bedroom. I think back to last night when he told me he loves me as we looked over a different view. At least this view still belongs to Mark and me.

More footsteps approach, but this time they’re from a different hallway.

My heart squeezes as I try to untangle myself from Brian’s arms, but he doesn’t let me go.

“Morning.” I hear his familiar voice, that sweet sound that’s kept me company for so many hours of my life. I want to turn, want to look at him, want to see what emotions are on his face, but Brian still has me locked in his embrace.

“Good morning, Mark,” Hazel says brightly.

“Morning,” Brian says. He kisses my temple and finally lets me go.

I finally turn and smile over in his direction. He looks tired, dark circles shadowing those green eyes, and he won’t look at me.

“Did you end up with Delilah or Miranda last night?” Brian asks his brother.

“Neither,” Mark mutters, walking past us and toward the refrigerator. He pulls out a bottle of beer, pops the top off, and proceeds to drink down half the bottle with one long pull.

Hazel looks over at him with disappointment in her eyes, but he doesn’t look at her, either.

“Couldn’t close the deal?” Brian asks.

“Fuck off.”

Hazel remains quiet during their exchange, but I can tell she wants to jump in. It’s easy to see she cares about both of them like they’re her boys. I wonder if she has a family, kids and grandkids, a husband. I wonder what her life is like.

Mark takes his bottle and heads back to his bedroom, and I can’t help but wonder if he didn’t end up with Delilah or Miranda last night, who did he end up with?

* * *

I don’t see Mark again that day. Brian takes me home, and I spend the afternoon dissecting his words over and over again. I never expected to see you here. Least of all with my brother.

I go over them with Jill a hundred times, too. Jill claims Mark gave me a smoldering look when he walked in, but what the hell does that even mean? And does it even matter?

Brian has plans all day Saturday, but he comes to my place afterward, which is probably the better route. It’s easier to push Mark out of my mind, to pretend like I didn’t feel an intense heat between us in the three seconds we shared last night. It was awfully convenient that Brian walked in when he did, though.

I don’t get to see Lizzie again before she heads back home to Chicago, which is unfortunate. She’s a breath of fresh air, someone I could see myself being friends with. Brian doesn’t mention her, but surely he got together with her again before she headed home. I feel a little insulted that I wasn’t invited along, but it’s purely me jumping to conclusions. If Brian wants to be dodgy and secretive about his family, that’s his prerogative.

Another week passes, and I’m torn between the feelings for Mark that won’t seem to go away and my blossoming feelings for Brian. I keep wondering if it’s love between us. He hasn’t said it again since that night against the window in his bedroom, but the words have been on the tip of my tongue as he kisses me, as he makes love to me, as he caresses me with a gentle touch.

I haven’t brought up Mark to Brian, and he hasn’t mentioned him, either. I wonder if he thinks it’s strange I haven’t asked about his brother, but then I think he might prefer