“Should’ve hit him harder,” I comment, sipping my tea and glaring daggers at his twin. “Maybe aim for the mouth next time.”
“Sorry!” Caleb’s voice is followed by the sounds of footsteps running down the hall. “I was parking the car.”
“Why’d you bring him?” Ethan asks as Caleb enters, winking at me when he sees me.
“Didn’t have much of a choice. We were at Mom’s. She’s been emptying out one of the guest rooms. She tried to rope Nick into it, but he had a work thing and bailed at the last minute.”
Jake rests his elbow on Caleb’s shoulder. “I wasn’t going to rip off that wallpaper by myself. So, what’s going on with you two lovebirds? Are we dating? Are we engaged? Are we ‘we’re sleeping together but it’s complicated’?”
“We’re ‘it’s none of your business.’” I bare my teeth at him. “And I didn’t call anybody. Ethan?”
“I called Caleb to help move some of your things. A moving truck will attract too much attention. That’s what I came to your room to tell you when you gave me the mail.”
“I haven’t packed anything yet, and Sarah’s coming home. I think I’m just going to sell this place.” I cast my eyes around the living room. Sarah and I have spent three years here. Three very wonderful years, and now things are changing in a way that still doesn’t make sense. I’m moving in with the one man I could never have fathomed doing so with.
I let out a shuddering breath. “I don’t want Sarah living here either. If my mother or Lucas show up—I’d be constantlyworried about Sarah. I think I’m going to just call a moving truck. I have a storage unit. I’ll put everything there?—”
“My apartment is big enough for whatever you have.” Ethan’s voice is low, and he touches my arm, forcing my attention back to him.
I meet his gaze. “I have a lot of stuff.”
“And I have a lot of room. And if we don’t have room, I’ll throw away some of my belongings. We’ll make room for yours.”
Behind him, Jake makes a gagging motion, pointing towards his mouth. Caleb just looks entertained. “Wow, Ethan. I didn’t take you for a romantic.” He looks towards his brother, batting his eyes. “Hey Jake, I want to move out of my place, but I have too many things. What do I do?”
I glare at them as Jake gives him a beaming smile.
“It’s okay, Caleb.” His tone is exaggerated, his hand on his heart as he pretends to swoon. “I’ll throw everything I own away to make space for you because you are just so important to m?—”
Ethan turns around, his expression not even flickering, and punches his brother in the stomach. Jake goes down with a groan while Caleb quickly jumps out of the way, backtracking. “That’s not funny, Jake. Don’t be rude.”
I look between the three of them. Jake is loudly cursing at Ethan while Caleb is making sure he stays out of reach of the latter. I wouldn’t say they are goofing off, but it shows me that I was wrong about Ethan’s relationship with his family. They’re definitely close.
Feeling a little out of my element, I mutter, “I’m just going to call a moving company and?—”
Ethan glances at his brothers. “These two are already here. Don’t bother. They’ll be doing all the driving today.”
Caleb stretches his arms over his head. “I don’t mind. As long as Ethan’s paying for gas.”
“You and Jake can split it,” Ethan says coolly.
Caleb makes a face. “What? Why?—”
“Consider it punishment. Natalie, pack your essentials first. Caleb will drop them off.”
“Hold up.” Jake straightens up and looks between the two of us. “Wait just a minute. Why is she moving her things to your apartment? Is she moving in with you?”
“I thought that was obvious.” Ethan takes my cup of tea from me and puts it aside. But Jake isn’t done.
“Why? Are you two together?”
Caleb chooses this moment to intervene. “Dude, they were practically making out at dinner that day. And they’ve been sleeping together ever since they went to Chicago.”
I feel my face grow hot, and Ethan snaps, “I didn’t call the two of you here to give a play-by-play.”
Jake ignores his twin and focuses on Caleb. “How do you know?”
“Megan.” Caleb smirks. “She told me everything. Although, moving in together this fast feels like overkill.”
