His to Love (His #3)

Chapter 24

"Uh ..." she lets out unsurely. "Yeah, we did talk a bit, actually," she tells me slowly, quietly, not sounding sure of herself. She takes another big sip of the water.

My mouth forms a smile. "Don't worry, I won't ask you what you talked about," I tell her. I'm not sure if Rory knows how much I actually know about them. But my hearing is pretty good and they're pretty loud in the room next across the hall at night. 

And I really don't want to think about this right now.

A relief appears on Rory's face and I give her a knowing, secretive smile.

She puts the knife and the fork down and I look at her questioningly and then down at her plate. "Are you finished? You didn't even eat half of it," I point out incredulously.

"I'm not hungry anymore," she tells me.

I squint my eyes. "Does it have anything to do with me mentioning my brother?" I ask her innocently.

She huffs. "Nope," she says with a high voice. I notice how stiff her body is. What a terrible liar you are, Rory Warren!

"Rory," I start, looking her deep in the eyes and I see it makes her squirm. "I wouldn't be mad if you and my brother would have anything going on, just so you know," I say with all the sincerity. I've noticed how nervous she was for some reason and I got an idea that it had to do something with this.

Rory nods. 

"So ..." I casually say. "Do you have a thing for my brother?" I ask with a smirk on my lips, not moving my eyes from hers.

"Oh, my God," she yelps and puts her palms against her cheeks. "Can't you just stop?" she asks.

I laugh. "Nope. I already know that answer, but I want to hear it from you ..." I trail off, looking at her expectantly.

Rory takes a deep breath through her nose and huffs it out through her mouth. "Fine! He's really hot," she admits, pursing her lips. It's cute how much she starts to blush at her admission.

I nod. "Mhm ..." I'm still looking at her, waiting for her to continue because I have a feeling there's a lot more of him that she likes.

She narrows her eyes. "And he's nice. And charming. Good looking. Has a nice smile. And I adore his eyes ..." She puts her palm over her mouth, looking embarrassed about telling me all this.

I'm not smiling anymore, my expression turning serious now as I study her intensely. "Seems to me like you're in love," I finally say. The signs are all there, after all ...

"In love?" her eyes bug out. "No, no ... no. I'm not in love with your brother. Please don't mention this conversation to him, Brooke." I see the panic rising on her face. "Please," she pleads me.

I nod. "I won't mention anything to him." And I also knew that if Braden found out about this, he might destroy the good thing that's right in front of him and he's too stubborn and blind to even notice it.

Rory lets out a breath she was apparently holding. "I'm not in love with your brother, Brooke," she tells me more firmly this time, catching me by surprise. "I'm attracted to him, yes. But it's too soon for love," she tells me, her voice slightly shaking.

Oh, Rory, dear ... You'll soon find out how fast love really can find you ... Love doesn't have a timer. It happens when you least expect it to. 

I clear my throat. "So, you admit you two have a thing going on?"

She looks down at the table and the back at me. "Yes," she tells me in all honesty. "But I think you already knew that."

"Yes, I did, actually. Braden talked to me about it." When I see her face, I have to laugh. "Oh, God, not that, just about basic things!" I rush out. "I don't want to know any other stuff." I'm pretty sure it's now me who's blushing in discomfort. "Plus, he looks so funny asking me for an advice. I mean, the big Braden Campbell asking his sister for an advice about a certain woman." I snort.