Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
I frowned. Shit. Did he really feel that way? I mean, Griffin did, obviously, but not everyone. “I don’t treat you like you’re helpless.”
“Oh, yeah, okay. That must be the other Chase Hawthorne who’s best friends with my brother. My mistake.”
Did I treat Kellan like he was helpless? I never thought I did. Hell, I hadn’t seen him in so long that I hadn’t treated him like anything in years, but I hadn’t ever meant to treat him like I didn’t think he could take care of himself.
Before I could say any of that, Kellan added, “So…Jasmine thinks you’re hot.”
“She’s not wrong,” I teased, and Kellan laughed. Fuck, I’d missed the sound of his laughter. The kid had never had it easy, but he’d never stopped laughing.
“Well, you’re cockier than you used to be.”
“I’m a lot of things I didn’t use to be.” I winked…then groaned because I was fucking flirting with Kellan, which I had no business doing. “Were you here to work out or just so your friend could paw you all over?”
“Tsk, tsk. If you’re not careful, someone might think you’re jealous. I mean, I obviously know that’s not true, as I’m simply Griff’s little brother, but not everyone knows you only see me that way.”
For the second time in less than a minute, I groaned. I had a feeling Kellan would make me do that a lot. There were so many things to unpack in what he said, but it wasn’t smart, and honestly, I planned to ignore the ways I wanted to take apart what he said, tell him he wasn’t only Griff’s little brother. It was a whole lot easier to let it slide. “You want to work out with me?”
Kellan’s brows pulled together as though he hadn’t expected that, which made two of us. He was good at making me do and say things I knew I shouldn’t do or say.
“Yeah, sure,” he replied.
We spent the next hour exercising. The whole time I tried to ignore the way Kellan’s muscles moved when he did, muscles he didn’t have ten years ago.
Kellan never stopped talking or laughing, and I realized I’d missed that. He’d been good at making me forget other shit, even when we were kids, and he apparently was still good at it.
When we finished, he was wiping the sweat off his face, and my mouth opened and words tumbled out. “You still like horror movies?”
“Yes.” He crossed his arms and cocked a brow at me.
“If you don’t have plans with your bodyguard, you’re welcome to come over tonight. I can grill some dinner, and we can watch a movie. I figure I owe you one since the last one ended the way it did.”
Bringing up the blowjob probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but hell, neither was asking Kellan over. I’d never been the smartest guy around, and I did owe him after how our last movie night had ended.
“Why?” Kellan asked, studying me, and I shrugged.
“Not sure.” It might have been a non-answer, but it was the truth.
“Yeah…okay.” He pulled his phone out of the pocket of his shorts. “What’s your number? I can text you so you’ll have mine, and you can send me your address.”
We did exactly what Kell said, and then I watched him walk away…right over to Josh, who stood behind the counter, watching me.
What the fuck was I doing? Kellan Caine screwed with my head.
CHAPTER FIVE
Kellan
“What was that?” I asked Josh when Chase left and we went into his office together. I crossed my arms and tapped my foot for emphasis.
“First, you look ridiculous, and second, I don’t know what that was. I guess I was defending your honor.”
A sharp laugh jumped out of my mouth. “Defending my honor? Have you lost your fucking mind? I don’t need you to defend me in anything. That’s not how we work. Unlike my brother and Chase Hawthorne, you actually see me as the grown-ass man I am.”
“Why do you call him by his full name?”
“I don’t know…to put some distance between us? And that doesn’t matter. What does matter is I love you and appreciate you, but please don’t become someone else in my life who thinks I can’t take care of myself.” It didn’t matter if it came from love or not. I couldn’t deal with that shit. It made me feel like they saw me as weak, and that was the last thing I was or wanted to be.
“I’m sorry, babe. You’re right.” Josh wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head, and for the millionth time I wished I could see him as more than a friend and that he saw me that way too. “I get what you see in him. He’s fucking gorgeous.”
“Right?” I pulled away and sat in his desk chair. “He always has been, but it’s more than that. I can’t even put my finger on exactly what it is, but Chase has always been different to me. He’s always been more. He lived with a shitty, alcoholic dad, and his mom left him, which made Chase fiercely loyal and protective of those he cared about. He’s the only one who can ever talk sense into Griff, and he tried for me more than once. I’d pull something crazy, and Griff would freak out, and Chase would simply tell me he’d take care of it and did.” Somehow Chase always made me feel like I was someone better than I was, but I couldn’t share that with Josh.