It was just too bad he was having a hard time convincing his heart of that.
♂♀♂
Braydon
Standing behind the couch, Braydon kept one hand on the small of Jessie’s back. She was sitting partially on Brendon’s knee, so he had to be careful in case his brother moved, but he couldn’t help himself. He needed to touch her. The feeling was overwhelming him. Suffocating him to the point of exhaustion.
After their rendezvous that morning, it seemed to be getting worse. He needed to find a way to distance himself from these two. As much as he hated the idea, he knew it was what he needed to do. While they’d been sitting at dinner, he had watched Brendon and Jessie, saw the way they laughed together, smiled at one another. He’d never felt more like an outsider than he had right then.
Only he would catch a glance from Jessie every so often and what he saw reflected in her pretty blue eyes seemed to be reserved exclusively for him. God, he wished he knew what she was thinking.
But, it was Christmas, and he was here with his family and he had made a promise to himself that he would enjoy the day. Tomorrow was a different story.
The game continued, more gifts being opened, more faces turning vibrant shades of crimson over and over, but ultimately everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. By the time the last gift had been opened, people were beginning to mull about, going back for dessert, chatting in corners and he noticed that Zane and V had disappeared upstairs, probably thinking no one saw them.
When Brendon and Jessie snuck back to the kitchen, he planted his feet firmly on the floor and refused to move. He wasn’t going to follow them around like a stray puppy that was fortunate to have found a home.
“You all right, boy?” his father asked, coming over and slapping a firm hand down on his shoulder.
“Good,” Braydon said with a grin. “You?”
“Never better.”
Braydon stood beside his father as they watched the others in the room. He had to agree with his father, compared to last Christmas, this was something they should all be grateful for.
Peering over his shoulder, he saw Brendon standing in the kitchen, his arm around Jessie as they talked to Gage and Kylie. A spear of jealousy stabbed him right in the gut, and he was surprised he didn’t double over from the pain. Forcing himself to look away, he turned his attention to Ethan. Or rather Ethan and Beau who were staring at each other from opposite sides of the room.
Hmmm…
Well, the only positive note in all of this was that Braydon wasn’t the only one who seemed to be involved in some convoluted love triangle. The only difference was that Ethan was strong enough to walk away.
Braydon prayed that he could find the strength somewhere. Because if he didn’t, his world was going to come crumbling down around him, and he didn’t think his family was ready for that.
Chapter Twenty Four
♂♂
Ethan
By the time most of the guests had left, it was late, but Ethan and the rest of his brothers still had one last gift that they needed to give. They’d been chatting nonstop ever since the interesting round of secret Santa had concluded, not trying to encourage anyone to go home, but Ethan was actually looking forward to the night being over.
He was ready to go home.
Alone.
A few minutes ago, he’d managed to send Blake on his way without confrontation, although he originally thought there was going to be a problem. Considering Beau was still there, and Zane didn’t want him leaving, Blake had originally been gearing up for a tantrum. Ethan had quickly put a stop to that. He couldn’t stand that whiny bullshit, but he had to admit, he had handled it better than he thought he would have.
“We’re going back to the living room,” Kaleb informed him as he passed through the kitchen, coming back inside after taking Zoey’s father home a few minutes ago.
Ethan nodded his head in understanding as he turned to see where everyone was. He needed to ensure he stayed as far away from Beau as possible because as the night progressed, it was getting more and more difficult to resist the guy.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have anyone to blame but himself. For the entire night, Beau had been the perfect gentleman, never once taunting him. They might’ve shared a few passing glances, but it appeared Beau was trying hard to avoid him.
Ethan had to assume that was because Blake had been there. Now that Blake was gone, he was feeling entirely too vulnerable. As it would seem, having spent years in Beau’s company during the holidays, Ethan had never actually paid much attention to how respectful the man was. He was literally the epitome of what Ethan wanted. Strong, quiet, mature. Not to mention sexy as fucking hell.
Making his way to the fireplace once again, he took a seat, hoping Sawyer would take his original seat beside him. As he watched the others return to the living room, he was disappointed right off when Sawyer took a seat beside Zoey. When each of his brothers took an available seat on the couches, his anxiety level rose.