on top of all of that, he was gorgeous. That was the trifecta that every woman wanted, and somehow she'd ended up the lucky one?
And he was calling her his girlfriend.
More than that, she had a boyfriend. Her first, and it felt so good. She wanted to smile like an idiot, but that always raised questions. Still, that one little fact played on repeat in the back of her mind. She was dating Braden Mathis. Screw all the potential problems. Fuck the things she should be worried about. Maybe it wouldn't even work out, but none of that mattered. For right now, she was enjoying this.
Right up until Braden parked in her drive and Tyler was waiting on the porch. "Shit," she breathed.
"And the brother strikes again," Braden grumbled. "Text me and let me know how..." But he trailed off when Tyler stood and headed closer.
"Fuck," Rhaven breathed. Hoping to delay the inevitable, she pushed open the door.
"Was wondering if you were still alive," Tyler called to her.
"Nope. Got my ass kicked." And she closed the door, but Tyler wasn't headed to her side of the car.
He walked up to Braden's window and gestured for him to roll it down. "Dinner tonight. Here. We're grilling."
"Tyler," she groaned.
His eyes never left Braden. "Any friend of Ethan's is a friend of mine, right?"
"Sure," Braden said. "I'll get the beer. Have a preference?"
"Nope," Tyler said. "Should probably tell you that Dad's going to be here."
"Ok, and?" Braden asked.
"Well, just figured that since you're so friendly with my little brother, he might have some questions."
Braden turned off the car, opened the door, and stepped out. "Look, I'm not an idiot. You think you're making a point. The problem is that you're not. Instead, you're making yourself look like a dumbass."
"I see how you look at my brother," Tyler countered.
Braden just leaned his ass against the car door. "You scared of the gay?"
"Fuck off," Tyler snapped.
"It was an honest question," Braden assured him. "You know I date men. You can only guess what that means, but I'm pretty sure you assume that means I take it up the ass and have a thing for twinks, right? So, that one little line, and you're convinced you know all about me. So, I'll ask you again. Are you scared of the gay?"
"No, I'm scared of my idiot brother being too nice. So far as he cares, you're some bigshot celebrity. Thing is, you aren't that cool, and he's too nice, so I'm willing to be the asshole. If this is all on the up and up, then come to dinner. Hang out. Let us get to know you. I mean, since you're such good friends, right?"
"Sure," Braden said. "And no one really answered about the beer. Is that cool?" He looked at Rhaven.
She shrugged. "Sure. Dad'll have one, maybe two. I think I drink more than my brother. Well, at least at the conventions."
Braden chuckled. "Most of us do. But are you cool with this, Rhave? I know I dropped in, and you don't have to babysit my ass."
"No, it's cool," she promised. "Hopefully, my brother won't be an idiot all night. Dad's pretty laid back, though. He also hasn't read your bio and tried to assume that because I'm not dating it means I'm gay."
Tyler sighed. "What the fuck do you expect me to think?"
"That it's none of your business?" Braden offered. "That when a person is questioning their sexuality that it might be awkward to get blindsided? Granted, I'm only talking from personal experience here, but those are my first thoughts. It also doesn't fucking matter."
"Does when he's spending the night in some guy's hotel room!" Tyler snapped.
Braden dragged a hand down his face. "I'm not pissed, because I get it, ok?" Then he sighed. "I do. I know what it's like to want to protect someone you think is smaller, weaker, or nicer than you. Thing is, a lot of those people want to protect themselves first, ok? So dial this back, and trust me when I say that we're on the same side. Your 'little brother' is someone I respect a lot. We run in the same circles. I'd like to say we've gotten to be pretty good friends over the last year. So take a breath, Tyler, and stop embarrassing your brother, because I promise he won't thank you for it."
"Oh, but you're not embarrassed? So, I'm right? You're into him, huh? Because if you weren't, you'd be pissed," Tyler countered.
"Ten years