Page 85 of My Brother's Best Friends
His fist catches my jaw, pain shooting through my skull as I stagger back.
Kellan gets between us. “Stop, Bryan, don’t!”
“Fuck you, too!” Bryan swings at him, but Callie locks her arms around his waist and hauls him back. “Callie…”
He’s angry and hurt, but he won’t risk injuring the woman he loves in this fit of rage.
“Baby, don’t,” she pleads. “Please. They’re not worth it. The truth is out now.”
Oscar lifts his hands. “Callie, I swear on everything I hold dear—you’ve been lied to.” I’m still blinking away stars. “Melanie approached us. We had no idea who she was. Things heated up fast, but everyone was enjoying it. She left smiling, and she wanted to see us again.”
“I don’t believe you,” she says, shaking her head.
Kellan lets out a long breath. “We have proof—texts, call logs. Melanie twisted everything because she knew we didn’t want our private lives splashed across the tabloids.”
“My sister,” Bryan snarls. “She was off limits. You had to have known that!”
Oscar lifts both hands. “Bryan, she’s different, okay? It wasn’t like that with Kay—not at all.”
“We made love,” I say. “I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth.”
He lets out a strangled sound and storms into the nearest conference room, putting distance between us.
We trail after him. He stalks to the window, raking his hands through his hair while I scramble for a way forward. It’s not just our friendship on the line—it’s everything we’ve built.
“We have feelings for Makayla,” I add.
“For fuck’s sake, I put her in your suite because I thought she’d be safe!” he shouts. “You’ve known her since she was yay high and fresh out of braces, Alex. How could you?”
I look at Oscar for some help. He shakes his head slowly. I glance over at Kellan, but he is just as quiet. Truth be told, I can’t excuse what we did. Not if we’re to follow Bryan’s reasoning, anyway.
“I agree, it looks bad,” I say. “But we’re in love with her. It wasn’t a one night stand, or even a casual relationship. We were really considering settling down.”
“Unbelievable,” Bryan says, staring me down. “After everything with Melanie, you bring this trouble into what’s left of my family, too?”
The words get stuck in my throat.
Oscar spreads his hands. “What happened with Melanie was purely physical—and, for the last time, consensual.” He meets Callie’s gaze. “You know your sister better than we do. Don’t tell me this is the first time she’s pulled something like this.” Heturns to Bryan. “When we saw Makayla again, everything felt different. None of us expected it to grow into something this big, but it did. I’m not apologizing for falling in love with your sister, and neither will my brothers.”
“Okay,” Bryan takes a step back, somewhat mollified. “Let’s say I’m buying this. Your honorable intentions and all that bullshit. Where is Kay, then? Why did she leave like that?”
“Melanie,” Kellan replies, crossing his arms. “She’s been scheming against us from the moment she landed in Stockholm. She wanted more money. She’s been threatening to tell you—to tell Kay—about what happened, but my brothers and I know she would never tell the truth. She’s never told the fucking truth!”
“Right,” Oscar says, backing Kellan’s passion with cold logic. “You know us, man; you’ve known us for a long time. Yes, we like to share women, but we would never hurt anyone, least of all your little sister. You were right to put her in our suite because we would never do anything to hurt her.”
“Yet she’s gone,” Bryan says with a sigh.
I draw a deep breath and try a different angle. Turning to Callie, I ask the question that matters.
“Callie, what did Melanie tell you about her and us?”
“She told me enough,” Callie informs us, crossing her arms over her chest. “She told me that you forced her into a foursome and then paid her to stay quiet about it.”
I close my eyes. This is going to be so delicate. I can’t insult Melanie because I’m talking to her sister, but I can’t let those accusations go unanswered.
“We didn’t force your sister to do anything,” I say calmly. “We enjoyed a night together and then she started blackmailing us, claiming that she was going to tell people just what she told you. We refused, and she went to the cops and filed a complaint against us. We got in trouble with the law for a short while, but our lawyers managed to sort this out. It ended before it reached the court. With a settlement.”
“Oh, a settlement,” Callie scoffs.
