Free The Best Thing by Jaci Burton Page B

ear, “I’m not talking about just the Christmas party, Tori.”
    She leaned back, her gaze shooting across the room to a gaping Wyatt and Ethan. “Brody. Your brothers are watching.”
    “Let them watch.” He brushed his lips across hers, a long slow kiss that melted her to the chair. She clutched his shirt and soon forgot where they were. She might have even forgotten her own name.
    “Get a room,” Wyatt said.
    “Jesus, is it hot in here or what? I need to go outside, where it’s cold,” Ethan said.
    Brody pulled his lips from hers, his smile and sparkling eyes as devilish as always. “Screw you guys,” he said without looking at them. “I’ll call you later,” he said to her.
    “Okay.” She released the death grip she had on his shirt and watched him as he grabbed his coat and his bag and walked out the door, his brothers following behind. They both gave her a knowing grin as they left her.
    She finally exhaled.
    Well. That was unexpected. And she supposed she should stop worrying about all the things she’d worried about this morning. Like whether anyone in town would find out. From their trip to the donut shop to Brody kissing her in front of her brothers, that cat was most definitely out of the bag.
    As far as the weekend spent with Brody being a one-time-only thing? From the kiss he just gave her, she’d guess probably not.
    Brody had changed everything.
    She just didn’t know what to make of it all.
    * * *
    “What the hell was that about?” Ethan asked as they walked out to their trucks.
    Brody clicked the remote on his key ring. “What was what about?”
    “You might look dumb, but we know you’re not,” Wyatt said. “That kiss with Tori in there.”
    “Now who’s dumb?” Brody threw his briefcase in the passenger seat and turned to look at his brothers.
    “So what’s going on?” Ethan asked.
    “None of your business.”
    “If it’s Tori, it’s definitely our business.” Wyatt laid his briefcase down and folded his arms. “So, spill.”
    “Whatever’s going on with Tori and me doesn’t concern the two of you, so butt out.” He climbed into his truck, but before he could shut the door, Wyatt grabbed it.
    “She’s family, Brody. Don’t screw this up.”
    “And don’t hurt her,” Ethan said.
    Brody rolled his eyes. “Don’t you two have jobsites to get to?”
    “I’m serious,” Ethan said. “She means something to us.”
    “She means something to me, too, so leave it alone, okay?”
    He finally pulled the door shut and his brothers walked away. As he drove off, he shook his head.
    First they wanted him to make peace between him and Tori. Now that he had, it was like they wanted him to back the hell off.
    Christ. He raked his fingers through his hair as he made the turn onto the highway.
    First he pissed her off and he was the bad guy. Now he brought her in close and he was still the bad guy.
    It was a no-win scenario, and no matter what he did he was going to be skewered.
    He and Tori had had a great weekend, even better than he could have imagined. He wanted more time with her, because a few days of her sweet smile, her genuine laughter, her smartass wit and her gorgeous body just wasn’t enough.
    He had no idea where it was going to lead, and he didn’t waste time imagining the future. He preferred to live in the present and let things roll out how they were going to roll out. There was no sense in trying to predict how a relationship was going to go.
    Hell, he never even had relationships, so this was uncharted territory for him. Hopefully he and Tori could just take it a day at a time, without anyone butting their nose in and offering unwanted opinions.
    He eased into the fast lane and hit the gas, switching his mind over to business, where it belonged.
    Though a certain redhead kept popping into his head, making him smile as he worked throughout the day.
    That was a first, because once he settled on business, that’s usually where his mind stayed. But stray