Free Command and Control by Shelli Stevens Page B

sound came from the waves slamming into the beach.
    Todd let him go and took a quick step backward, obviously sensing his intent.
    Trevor dragged in a lungful of sea air and glared at the two. They were smart, keeping their distance now. The urge to fight and destroy was ripping through him, and he had to remind himself they were his brothers. They were blood.
    He glanced at Tyson, saw the red mark on his jawline and hoped it wouldn’t be a bruise by his wedding day. Guilt pricked at him, not deep enough to make him want to apologize, but enough to make him regret not taking a deep breath before he’d attacked.
    “You gotta calm down, Trev. I don’t really want to fight you.” Todd grinned. “Though, it might be a fairer fight now than when we were younger. Think I’m just about as big as you now.”
    “Might even be bigger,” Tyson murmured.
    Trevor muttered curses at them both and turned away to cast his glare at the ocean, anything so he wouldn’t have to look at the amusement on their faces. But he saw beneath it, could see the concern lingering, and for some reason that bothered him even more.
    “Megan loves you, Trevor,” Tyson finally said tersely. “For the past couple of days you’ve been giving everyone hope that you two might be able to work things out.”
    “Mom and Dad have been giddy with the idea,” Todd agreed with a sigh. “But you’re fucking it up. Sure as the sun sets, you’re fucking it up, Trev.”
    Good. He’d been stupid to think for one moment that he could make things work with Megan. What the hell had he been thinking? Sleeping with her had felt so right, so normal, but they could never have normal. Megan sure as hell couldn’t if she stayed with him.
    “Megan deserves better than me,” he said wearily, the anger seeping from him like a tiny pinprick letting the air out of a balloon. “You know this. She knows. I know. Everyone needs to stop pretending that we’re meant to be together.”
    Todd and Tyson both broke into laughter, like he’d just made a hilarious joke. Their amusement grew so loud that nearby seagulls took off into the air with a cry.
    A moment later Todd shook his head and grinned. “That was a good one, Trev. Seriously. You and Megan go together like peanut butter and jelly.”
    Nice. Only Todd, whose main thoughts tended to lean toward either food or women, would compare him and Megan to peanut butter and jelly. His lips twitched with a reluctant smile, and unfortunately his brothers saw it and they beamed, their posture relaxing a little more.
    Trevor sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “You don’t understand. What’s between us, it’s not what it once was.”
    “And it’ll probably never be. So you start over,” Tyson argued, glancing down and kicking a foot in the sand. “You’re going to have to do it with someone, why not Megan?”
    Trevor didn’t reply, didn’t have the energy to keep up with an argument his brothers would never win. What was the point? But Tyson seemed to take his silence to mean he was thinking about it.
    “You can earn her trust back, Trev,” he urged. “I know you can. She loves you. And I’m pretty sure you love her too.”
    “Oh without a doubt he loves her,” Todd agreed.
    Glancing out at the dark blue of the Pacific Ocean, Trevor clenched his jaw. The question wasn’t whether they loved each other. It had never been about that. Sometimes love just wasn’t enough. It was so much more complicated. He had to say something in response to his brothers. They wouldn’t leave him alone until he did.
    “When the hell did my little brothers get so wise?” He allowed a fleeting smile. “Thanks for the talk, guys, but I’m going to head out. Skipped breakfast this morning.”
    “Food? Great idea.” Todd slapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll join you. I’m starving.”
    “I could go for something to eat, too,” Tyson added lightly. “I told Ellie to sleep in and relax and I’d grab something on my