Page 27 of Darn Knit All
Nope. All I wanted was to not be a twin.
Not because I didn’t love my brother. Fuck, I’d lay down my life for the guy.
I just hated how fucking difficult it was seeing someone who looked like you, who had similar experiences and the exact same upbringing, get his shit together, fall in love, get married, have kids, and live his happily ever after.
He had the life I wanted—as a dedicated partner, with a fulfilling job, and a bundle of kids—and it sucked ass watching a guy who had your face present you with a play-by-play ofeverything your heart desired. Seeing him with Annie and the kids made me feel like a voyeur to a life I could have—if only I tried harder or made better choices.
There were seven billion people in this world, and I had yet to meet one person who cared enough to want to settle down with me.
Maybe I was the problem.
“Fuck, get it together, Garrett.” I shoved through the doors of the office building, calling greetings as I headed toward our shared office.
Our tired and worn gray office had been transformed into a colorful, warm space. There was life in these walls, people wanted to work here and enjoyed being involved with the growth of the company. I could take credit for some but not all of it. Most should be attributed to Annie and Linc, who’d put in the hard work and made the connections to drag us kicking and screaming from the dark ages.
But if anyone asked, I’d own the glory. After all, isn’t that what younger brothers are meant to do? Ride on the coattails of their older sibling.
I shoved through the office door only to be greeted by a cacophony of naked limbs.
I should have knocked first.
“Jesus!” I smacked a hand over my poor abused eyes, twirling to give my brother and his wife some privacy. “Again?”
I heard them scrambling for their clothes, knocking shit off their desk and no doubt causing an absolute mess.
“Sorry!” Annie called, sounding unsurprisingly unapologetic. “It’s just?—”
“You’re trying for baby number three, Iknow.”
God did I know. The two of them were like horny rabbits. Give ’em half a second alone and they were humping like their lives depended on it.
Though, I guess in the scheme of creating another human, one potential life did depend on their rumpy-pumpy action. Still, I didn’t need to be treated to an X-rated peep show every five minutes.
I opened my fingers a fraction, twisting to see if they’d put themselves to right. “I thought we agreed the office would be a sex-free zone.”
“I don’t remember agreeing to that,” Linc muttered, stuffing his shirt into his jeans. “Pretty sure I’d have remembered that being added to the employee handbook.”
“It’s under page three.” I reached out to pull the manual from our office bookshelf and tossed it at him. “Right under the workplace health and safety standards.”
Linc caught the book, placing it on his desk. “We should probably remove it. Or at least add an addendum that the ban only applies to the warehouse and break room.” He leaned in to kiss Annie. “God knows I can’t afford another write up.”
“Don’t like the way you’re punished?” Annie asked, laying a hand on his chest. “You didn’t have any complaints last?—”
“Enough!” I stuck my fingers in my ear, making a la-la-la sound.
Annie tossed her mass of golden hair, laughing. She reminded me of a starlet from the early years of Hollywood—full-bodied and glowing. While she lived with Crohn’s disease, in the last year she’d switched up her medication, and the change had given her more pain-free days and more energy. She practically vibrated with verve these days, and I loved that for her.
Annie flicked me the finger. “I’ve gotta get home anyway.” She blew a kiss at Linc. “Don’t stay too late.”
She leaned in to kiss me, but I screwed up my face, shoving her away gently. “Don’t touch me with those sex-stained lips, lady! You might be my favorite sister-in-law, but that doesn’tgive you the right to be spreading your sex germs all over the place.”
Laughing, she flicked the side of my head with her finger. “You’re terrible.”
“But you still love me.”
“Occasionally.”
She blew a final kiss to Linc and left, leaving me to watch my brother watch his wife walk away with a tiny love-struck smile.
