Free One Night With a Santini by Melissa Schroeder

decided to give the man a break. He’d heard the story of Anthony showing up and finding his best friend at their sister’s apartment early in the morning. Brando thought he would give the guy a break.
    “Where is she?”
    “Upstairs in bed resting.”
    Before he could finish, the behemoth put the box on the coffee table and made his way up the stairs. He sounded more like a herd of elephants.
    “Kitty Kat,” Declan yelled.
    With a sigh, Brando shut the door and followed him up the stairs. He heard Declan demanding to know what was wrong with her and just why the hell Brando was at her house. At least he could take some comfort in that. Apparently her brothers weren’t used to finding a man at her house. When he got there, he found Declan sitting on the side of Kaitlin’s bed.
    “I’m fine,” Kaitlin said as she gave Brando a dirty look. He shrugged. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t hide the fact that she had been barfing just a few minutes before.
    Declan looked at Brando, then back to Kaitlin. She still looked pale to Brando, but she looked much better than she had just a few moments earlier. “You look fine but soldier boy there told me you were sick.”
    “I’m a Marine.”
    He shrugged, much like Aeden had the night before. “Same thing.”
    “No, there is a difference. Or maybe I should call you a short order cook.”
    The look he gave Brando would have withered a weaker man. Of course, Brando was a Marine and a Santini. With an older brother like Anthony, not to mention a cousin like Vicente, Brando was able to put just about anyone in their place.
    Declan turned around to face Kaitlin. “When is he leaving?”
    Kaitlin rolled her eyes. “Quit being rude.”
    “I’m just being me.”
    She laughed. “Go downstairs. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
    “I think you should stay in bed,” Brando said. “You had that dizzy spell last night.”
    She gave him a look that was scarier than her brother’s. He was definitely going to pay for that later on.
    “You were dizzy? What the hell, Kaitlin? Why haven’t you been to the doctor?”
    “I was tired. Go downstairs, Declan. We’ll join you in a second.”
    He didn’t want to go, but apparently, he wasn’t going to fight it. He hesitated for a moment, then he walked out the door. After they were finally alone, she crossed her arms.
    “What in the world do you think you were doing telling Declan that I was sick?”
    He shrugged, completely confused by the direction of the conversation. “Because you are sick.”
    “The worst thing in the world is to tell any of my brothers I was sick.”
    “Why?”
    She sighed. “Of course you don’t understand. I was kind of a sickly child. The guys get a little overprotective when they find out I feel unwell. Add in my failed engagement, they can be horrible.”
    “He’s just trying to look out for you.”
    And while he might not like Declan and Aeden’s methods, he had to appreciate them. It spoke of a close family, and that was one thing a Santini understood more than anything. Family was everything.
    “I know he is, and it is sweet. But I don’t need it. I’ve been kind of off the last couple of days, but I feel better now. I plan on spending today and tomorrow in bed for the most part.”
    She gave him a sexy smile that told him she expected him to be there with her.
    “So, let’s keep this under wraps if we can. If not, you’ll have all the idiots not on duty over here bugging us. We won’t get any…rest.”
    He returned her smile. “Okay. Your brother had some donuts or something downstairs.”
    Her eyes widened. “Oh, he made me some yummies. Can you do me a favor?”
    “Sure.”
    “Can you go down there and make sure he isn’t messing with anything? Like calling family members?”
    He nodded and got dressed. She rose out of bed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”
    She turned away, but he caught her and pulled her closer. “That’s not the kind of good