Welcome to My Arms

Chapter 4, Welcome to My Arms

"So did you forget to tell me something?"

Alaric was staring at his laptop keyboard, his fingers hovering over the keys as he deleted a pile of emails that were filling up his inbox. He was still stuck on one from his lawyer about the project delays, and he didn't want to get into anything with his brother, Morgan, who was standing before his corner table, blocking the sun. They were at an outdoor restaurant looking out at Whitefish Lake, an out-of-the way place where he was supposed to be decompressing on this forced holiday.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Morgan, but I do have a pile of contracts here and some fires to put out, so spit it out. Or, better yet, pack your bags, because taking time off is actually creating more problems and delays. I can't get anything done here, and the internet keeps cutting out every five minutes. I never should have agreed to this..."

He dropped his gaze to an email marked urgent from his secretary just as the waitress settled a drink in front of him. "Hey, I didn't order that," he said and took in the startled expression in her blue eyes. She had light hair and wore a white blouse and black skirt, and she shot a nervous glance to his brother, who was still standing at the tableside, blocking his sun.

"I ordered it for you. Leave the drink," Morgan said to the waitress, who then quickly left.

Alaric took in what looked like Coke over ice with an umbrella stuck in it. He pulled out the stick and lifted the glass, smelling the rum. He took a swallow and put it down.

"So, again, thought you said you were done with women," Morgan continued.

This time Alaric closed up his laptop, taking in his brother's dark complexion, his full lips, and his close-cropped hair. He was a big guy in a cream-colored shirt and tan pants, holding out his phone to him as if trying to show him something, but the problem was that there was always something. Instead, Alaric reached for the drink and lifted it, leaning back in the patio chair.

"I am," he replied, "so what is this, and who is it this time?" He hated guessing games, and he had a project that was about to come to a standstill unless he packed up and got back home, where he could actually do something.

"Heard you're getting married, so kind of wondered when you were planning on telling me the good news." Morgan pulled out the steel patio chair across from him and slid his phone across the table. Alaric still didn't pick it up.

"I'm not getting married. Not sure where you heard that."

His brother leaned forward, lifted his phone, and powered on the screen. "Well, on this photo of you and the dark-haired babe you're kissing, the one who's wrapped her almost naked self around you, all the comments say she's your fiancée."

This time he took in the photo of him and that hot babe he'd kissed earlier. It took him a minute and then another to remember what he'd said at the time. "Oh, right," he said, then took a bigger swallow of the rum and Coke.

"Come on, Ric, what the hell?" There was nothing remotely teasing in his brother's dark eyes, and Alaric knew he half expected yet another mess he had to clean up. It was always the same. Ever since his brother had come to live with him, it had always been Morgan looking after him.

"It's not as you think," he said. "She was just some girl being hassled by a bunch of useless pricks. I was getting tired of listening to them cut her down, and when one of them took something that belonged to her, I just had to step in, and I may have said she was with me. She's pretty, so yeah, I kissed her, and those assholes took off like toddlers caught doing something they shouldn't. Was no biggie. I saved her in the moment. All is well. I may have added she was my fiancée." He slid the phone back to Morgan and shrugged.