Page 105 of My Brother's Best Friends
And she’s smiling. It’s all that matters, at least in this moment.
“I want to apologize for running out on you,” Makayla begins.
“No, no, no,” I hurry to say.
“No, really,” she insists, holding up a hand. “I should have stayed and talked to you about the whole thing. Instead, I took Melanie at her word and ran away. But in my defense, I thought I overheard you guys saying that you slept with her.”
“We did,” I answer before my brothers can stop me.
“But it was long ago,” Kellan interjects.
“I know that now,” she sighs, lowering her gaze. “Your past is yours and yours alone. I should’ve thought twice before holding it against you.”
I lean forward, beckoning her to meet my gaze. “Kay… it meant nothing, and it spiraled into something we couldn’t control, let alone fix. Melanie is wildly unpredictable, and back at the resort we had no idea how to handle her. We were afraid of losing you—and we did.”
“Callie and Bryan came to visit me at my vineyard,” Makayla continues. “And Callie explained everything to me. She has proof that Melanie was blackmailing people. It wasn’t just you; apparently there are at least three other people who are paying her money to keep quiet.”
I exhale, feeling vindicated at last.
“I’d like to say I’m shocked,” Kellan mutters.
Oscar’s frown deepens. “Melanie played her cards well, just not as well as she thought.”
Makayla nods. “Her biggest problem is thinking she’s smarter than everyone else and immune to consequences…”
“You’ll be happy to know we’re taking legal action,” I say with a half smile. “The stunt she pulled at the resort breached our?—”
“Non-disclosure agreement, yes,” she cuts in. “I read that, too. And I support your decision. If you need me to testify in court, I’m your gal.”
An uneasy silence settles. Sunlight floods the living room, filling my chest with fragile hope, and for the first time in weeks I can breathe.
“So, you believe us?” Kellan asks.
“I don’t know what happened between you and Melanie, but yes,” Makayla assures us. “I believe you. I believe that you didn’t sleep with her recently, and that for whatever reason, she’s been playing everyone.”
“Maybe she’s always been the troubled type, hiding in plain sight. Pretending to be in perfect control of herself until she lashes out and shoots herself in the foot,” Oscar muses.
“Callie says their parents often bailed her out of trouble. That could be why she kept thinking she could get away with her miserable whims. but… whatever the reason,” Makayla says, “I’m just glad I know the truth and that she won’t be able to manipulate me anymore.”
Kellan nods slowly, his gaze sweeping over her. “Good. We’re glad to hear that.”
“Does that mean you’re sticking around?” I ask, maybe a little too eager.
Oscar shoots me an amused glance. “What my brother is trying to say is—would you like to stay here with us for a while?”
“If that’s okay with you,” she answers. “I thought maybe we could start over.”
“Start over?” he replies, raising a curious eyebrow.
Makayla giggles softly as she looks at him. “Or pick up where we left off before everything went to hell. Either way works for me, as long as we get to be in each other’s lives, Oscar.”
“Sounds good to me,” Kellan says.
“I mean, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” she adds. “Who knows, I might even entice you to come up to my vineyard and check it out.”
Pride swells as I grin at this spectacular woman. “Your vineyard?”
“Well, I just planted the saplings. It’ll be a while before the place looks like a real vineyard, but yes,” she says.
