Nash Brothers Box Set - Carrie Aarons Page 0,225

Fletcher walks into my living room after entering through the back door and stops dead when he sees Ryan sitting on my couch.

“Hey, Fletcher.” I can practically see the giggle she’s holding in as she greets my twin brother.

He runs a hand through is hair, a pinkish blush marking his cheeks. “Oh, jeez, didn’t know you had company. Uh, hey, Ryan. I … didn’t know you were coming into town.”

“Neither did I, but your brother apparently needs help and just can’t resist admitting his failure to me,” she jabs at me.

“That’s not what happened,” I grumble. “The foot cream is in my bathroom.”

Fletcher’s face deepens to an even redder shade. “Uh, yeah, thanks. So, Ryan, how long will you be here? How have you been?”

One look at my twin and you can tell he’s so into Ryan, it’s pathetic. Not that I blame him if I can’t be I guess it’s great that someone appreciates her for how awesome she is.

I’m just heartbroken and sulking in my dark web corner.

My coding counterpart sits up a little higher, assessing my brother with a furtive head-to-toe glance. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, right now that’s confidential. But I’ve been good. Just got back from a consulting gig in Thailand, and before that, I spent about a month in London. Happy to be home though, I need a little bit of downtime.”

“Can’t get much more down-home than Fawn Hill.” Fletcher grins, but I see the signs of something I can’t describe lurking in his eyes.

“How about you? Presley sent me a picture of the art piece you made them for their wedding. It looks incredible. That’s what you’re doing now?”

Fletch shrugs. “It’s just a hobby. I’m no artist, just a recovering alcoholic trying to make some extra cash.”

I frown at his description of himself. I might be a selfish jerk, but I do know my brother is good at what he does. “Don’t listen to him. He’s fucking talented. Someday, he’ll make it a career.”

My brother gives me a sheepish grin. “Well, I’ll leave you guys to it. If I don’t see you before you go, it was … uh, nice seeing you.”

And then he runs out as if his balls are on fire. My typically smooth-talking, crowd favorite brother just acted like a stuttering pre-teen unable to properly speak to a girl he has a crush on. If he was trying to succeed in lifting my mood a little, he’d outdone himself.

Ryan looked particularly entertained. “Your brother always that awkward?”

“Honestly, no. I think you might scare him.” I chuckle, going back to work.

“Me? Scary? No way. I’m just slightly aggressive and have an easily triggered temper. Nothing to be scared of,” she tells me. “I don’t think any guy that gorgeous has ever run away from me like that.”

I turn to her, assessing the tone in which she said it. Ryan looks somewhat affronted, as if she wants to do something about my brother sprinting away from her.

“Word of advice, Ryan? My brother is recently sober. He’s had a wreck of a past and needs all the focus he can get to put his life back on track. You don’t live here, and if you don’t have even the purest of intentions … then stay away from him. Yeah?”

For a beat, she considers me. “Yeah. For the record, I think you’re way more loyal and caring than you ever let on.”

The scowl I throw her resonates through my whole body. “Don’t tell anyone else that.”

34

Penelope

Checking my phone, I home in on the last text I sent Forrest.

Penelope: You’re really doing this? Leaving without any explanation. My goddamn kids have been asking about you, you piece of shit. How could you do this to them? How could you do this to me? All of your ‘I want a life with you’ talk was fucking bullshit. You’re just as much of an asshole as I always thought you were. Choke and die.

Okay, so maybe my sign-off is a little harsh. But, I am fucking pissed. The first guy I dare to let into my life in the last three years, and he fucking ghosted me. Forrest Nash was, as usual, all talk and no action. The minute things start to get serious, of his own doing, by the way, he ran away like a little boy. No, worse than a little boy, because at least I raised my kids to be more mature and honorable than him.

It has been a whole