Brandon: The Wilde Brothers (Excerpt Only) - BWWM Billionaire Romance

Brandon: The Wilde Brothers (Chapter 3)

CHAPTER THREE

Stanley. What kind of name was Stanley anyway? What was this guy, eighty years old?

Brandon felt like a personal affront had been made against him. How dare Erica drop news like that on him out of the blue? Then again, what did he think, that she had joined a convent?

Brandon had never imagined what kind of guy Erica might date before. He had never seen her with one or even thought of her belonging to someone else. He had never heard of her being seriously into anyone all the while he had known her; in fact, he had the distinct impression she only pretended to get over her crush on him once he got with his first girlfriend, Tara, when they were about fifteen.

Erica talked with him about Tara like any friend would and was never mean about her or anything, but he still sensed something almost wistful about Erica after that, whether they were talking about Tara or not.

Erica was such a bad liar—her eyes gave her away every time. And the rest of her body language did too. With every too-wide smile and every excited request she made for details, Erica was lying, pretending like his new relationship didn't bother her. She always seemed a bit too happy when he came over, and her eyes a bit too open—almost drinking him in when they settled on him.

She acted like she wasn't hurt when she extended an offer of friendship to Tara and Tara barely acknowledged her.

Erica was probably still in love with him, he figured, and this guy, Stanley, was just lucky to be there for her in the meantime.

Brandon caught himself.

What the hell was he thinking? In the meantime for what? He had no intention of being with Erica himself. What was wrong with him?

Protective big brother instinct for an old friend, he decided. I just need to feel this Stanley guy out—make sure he's good for her and being good to her. That's all there is to it.

* * *

"So how was it? Just like old times?" Jennifer asked, smiling wide at him, her skin glowing as it usually did when she returned from a spa. At times like these, he almost thought she was beautiful.

"She was kind of mad at me actually, so we had to sort that out."

"Oh?"

"I pretty much haven't talked to her in three years; I never bothered to try to reach her."

"Oh no! Well, it's understandable she would be upset. Glad you guys figured it out." Jennifer reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

Brandon turned his head a bit to kiss her on the forehead and watched her light up.

Guilt flooded him again.

Whatever Jennifer felt for him was real—whether it was infatuation brought on by the life he led, his exterior, or whether she actually cared about him as a person, this girl felt a need to look after him.

The guilt stuck with him for the rest of the day. No matter how many times he told himself he was doing Jennifer a favor and that she would at least have this time to look back on fondly—a time when she could live like a princess if she wanted—he started to have doubts about whether or not she would actually think the tradeoff was worth it after all, considering the emotional investment.

He kept getting the feeling that even without all of his money, Jennifer would want to be with him, and that ultimately, she would ditch all material belongings in a heartbeat to own his heart.

"Hey babe, what do you think of a double date?" he asked her.

"Sounds great! Is this with your friend and her boyfriend?"