The Better Brother

by Rye Hart

  “We met at that little café in town,” Michael said simply. “Julie had just moved to Ennis.”

  “And she found you?” Joshua asked, shooting me a look.

  There it was. That was what he was getting at.

  “What?” I asked. “You think I tracked down your brother and seduced him?”

  “I never said that,” Joshua said firmly.

  “You didn’t have to.” I scoffed and looked away. “You couldn’t be more wrong, Joshua.”

  “It’s just an odd coincidence,” Joshua said, sarcastically. His eyes, so much like Michael’s, narrowed dangerously as he considered me. “You left Dallas and somehow ended up in the same small town as my brother? How does that happen, Julie? Especially since you helped me find him.”

  “It just did,” I snapped. “Contrary to what you might think, my life has never revolved around you. It sure as hell doesn’t now.”

  “And yet, you ended up with my brother.”

  “Apparently,” I said.

  My face flushed with anger as Joshua continued to stare at me.

  “Okay,” Michael said loudly. “That’s enough, Josh. She didn’t know who I was, okay?”

  “That’s hard to believe,” Joshua said.

  “How could I have known?” I snapped. “You refused to let me meet him.”

  “That doesn’t mean you didn’t snoop or—”

  “Snoop?” I laughed loudly, throwing my head back. “My god, you’re insane.”

  “I’m not insane!” Joshua’s eyes flashed with rage.

  “Enough,” Michael said firmly

  “Yes, I’ve had enough,” I said. “I’d like to go now.”

  Joshua didn’t say a word, just stood staring at me as Michael shifted beside me.

  I rolled my eyes and pivoted on my feet without a word. Michael wrapped his arm around my waist, and we hurried to the car. Once we were safely tucked away inside, all my emotions hit me at once. I felt like the car was spinning beneath me.

  “Listen,” Michael said. He put his hand on my knee. “Are you all right?”

  “Can you please take me home?” I asked without looking at him.

  Michael hesitated for a second. I knew he wanted to talk about what just happened, but I couldn’t. Not yet.

  “Sure,” he finally said. “I’ll take you home.”

  CHAPTER 18

  Michael

  I barely slept at all Monday night. After I dropped Julie off at her house, I drove around in circles until the early hours of the morning. As much as I wanted to talk to Julie, I knew she needed space. Still, that didn’t stop me from thinking about her nonstop all night. When I finally made it home, I was too wired to rest. I lay in bed and stared at my ceiling, barely drifting off just before the sun came up.

  Marcy wasn’t yet at her desk when I arrived at the office. I hurried to my desk and let my head fall into my hands. Today was going to be a long day. I had a lot of work to do, but I already knew I wouldn’t be able to focus.

  I could still see Julie’s face in my mind. When she got out of the car, she looked so confused and hurt. Her entire body seemed to have deflated. She barely made eye contact with me when she said goodnight. I wanted to kiss her, but I knew better than to try. She was upset. I didn’t know if her anger was directed at me or just the situation. Either way, I told myself to stay away from her for a while. At least until she came to me.

  “Good morning,” Marcy said when she arrived. “Is there anything you need, Mr. Smart?”

  I looked up and shook my head. “No, I’m fine. Thank you, Marcy.”

  She smiled and stepped out of sight. I could hear the springs in her chair squeak as she sat down. Then there was silence.

  The silence pressed in on me as the morning dragged on. I fired up my computer and hastily answered a few emails. Marcy gave me some messages from the day before, but I couldn’t bring myself to return them. The thought of talking shop was almost too much to bear when Julie was still dancing circles in my mind.

  After lunch, I knew I wouldn’t be able to work another minute. I transferred all my emails and phone calls to Marcy so no one would be ignored. As I hurried out of my office, Marcy looked at me with a startled expression.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked nervously.

  “Everything is fine,” I lied. “I just need to take the rest of the day off. I’ll be available on my phone if something comes up.”

  “Okay…” Marcy said slowly.

  I didn’t give her a chance to question me further. There was only one thing I could think about and that was Julie.

  I jumped in my car and drove like a maniac toward her house. We hadn’t spoken since the night before. I thought about calling her before just showing up, but I wanted to see her face. On my way, I stopped in town and picked up a bouquet of flowers. If I was going to make this thing work between us, then I needed all the help I could get.

  My head was still spinning as I pulled up to Julie’s house. I hadn’t heard from either her or Josh since the night before. I thought my brother would at least call me, but nothing. Silence.

  I pushed him to the back of my mind as I hurried up to Julie’s front door. My hands were shaking, gripping the flowers so tightly that I thought I might crush them. Luckily, Julie answered the door after just a few seconds.

  “I figured it was you,” she said with a shy smile. “Come on in.”

  “Are you okay?” I asked quickly. “I thought about calling you a thousand times last night, but I—”

  “I’m glad you didn’t,” Julie said. “I needed some time to think.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I was terrified that after seeing Josh last night, Julie would duck and run. Our relationship was so new that any little thing could derail it. The last thing I wanted was for Julie to end things before they even had a chance to get started. And I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about Josh either. I knew there was a code that said you didn’t date your brother’s ex, but I was completely in love with this woman and it would kill me to walk away from her.

  “Listen,” I said. “Um, these are for you.”

  I handed her the flowers, and she took them with a smile. She sniffed them gently and then walked into the kitchen. I could hear her rummaging around for a vase, but I didn’t move. Part of me was worried she would ask me to leave at any second.

  “Do you want to sit down?” she asked as she filled a vase with water and tucked the flower stems inside.

  “Sure.” I shrugged and moved to the couch.

  Julie followed behind me, curling up on the far side of the couch. We weren’t touching, and it drove me insane. We were so close, but I’d never felt farther away from her.

  “I should have called you last night,” I said simply.

  Julie shook her head. “I wouldn’t have answered.”

  “I know,” I said. “But I still should have called.”

  “Maybe.” Julie shrugged. “But it’s not your fault. I just… freaked out.”

  “I don’t blame you,” I said. “That was intense.”

  Julie nodded and looked down at her hands. My heart was racing in my chest, just waiting for her to say she never wanted to see me again. When she didn’t speak for a few minutes, I decided to test my luck.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said softly. “I had no idea you were Josh’s ex. Maybe I should have put the pieces together a long time ago, but I didn’t. If I knew, I never would have…” I stopped and shook my head.

  “What?” Julie asked, her eyes flashing upward to meet mine. “You never would have what?”

  “Made you have dinner with him,” I said simply.

  Julie nodded and looked back down at her hands. She fiddled with her thumbs. Her cheeks were a faint shade of pink. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

  “What are you thinking?” I asked gently.

  “It’s just crazy, you know?” She looked up at me. “This entire situation. It’s insane.”

 
“I know.” I laughed softly. “It’s absurd.”

  “I moved here to escape my relationship with Joshua,” Julie said. “I’m not proud of that fact, but it’s the truth. After he ended things, I just had to get away.”

  “I understand.” I nodded.

  “And somehow, I end up with his brother,” Julie said with a shake of her head. “What are the chances of that happening?”

  “One in a million,” I said.

  “More like one in a trillion,” Julie said.

  I laughed, though none of this was funny. Julie looked so upset, so torn. I didn’t know what I could possibly do to make this right.

  “I don’t want this to change things between us,” I said firmly. “I understand if you don’t want to see me anymore. I really do. But I hope you will. I like you so much, Julie.”

  “I like you too,” Julie said with a tiny smile.

  “This thing between us is so new,” I said quickly. “I hate the idea of my brother derailing us before we even really get started.”

  “Me too.” Julie nodded. “He’s taken a lot from me already.”

  “Then, don’t let him take this too,” I said. I slid across the couch, and suddenly, we were inches away from each other. I grabbed her hands and held them tightly. “You and me. We’re great together.”

  “We are,” Julie nodded again. “I can’t argue with that.”

  “So,” I said slowly. “Does that mean…?”

  “I don’t know.” Julie sighed and shook her head, but she didn’t move away from me. She held onto my hands and slid her thumbs over my skin. The motion sent chills running down my spine. This woman could affect me in so many ways. Just being near her was enough to make my breath catch in my chest.

  “I’m sorry about my brother,” I said. “But I don’t want to stop seeing you. That’s the last thing I want.”

  Julie nodded and stared down at our intertwined hands. She was thinking intensely about everything. I wanted to ask her a million questions, to push into her mind and find out exactly what she was thinking. Instead, I sat quietly and waited for her to speak.

  “It’s weird,” she finally said. “I spent months helping Joshua track down his brother. I researched adoption agencies. I found out where your adoptive parents lived. I learned so much about your life without even realizing it was you. Joshua never let me meet you. He never even told me your name. All the information I found out was half-sealed, so I could never access any real details. I was kept on the outside the entire time.”

  “And Josh never told me much about you,” Michael said. “I knew he had a girlfriend, but that was about it. He didn’t talk about you very much.”

  “That’s not surprising,” Julie said. “Joshua never really cared about me. It took me a long time to accept that, but it’s the truth.”

  “He’s an idiot.”

  “He texted me,” Julie said.

  “He did?” I narrowed my eyes nervously.

  Julie nodded. “Yeah. He asked what I was doing with you.”

  I shook my head and looked away. Anger coursed through my veins, but I quickly pushed it away. There was no point in dwelling on my brother right now.

  “He can really be a dick,” I said under my breath.

  Julie laughed. “Yeah. He can.”

  I smiled and shook my head again. I would deal with my brother later. Right now, I just wanted to fix things with Julie.

  Julie smiled. “To find out now,” she said. “To move here and meet you. To start dating you. To sleep with you. And then to find out that you’re Joshua’s brother. It’s completely insane.”

  I nodded. I didn’t know what to say. She was right. The entire situation was crazy, and yet, it didn’t feel crazy. From the second we met, I knew Julie was someone I wanted in my life. The more time we spent together, the more I wanted to be with her.

  “I don’t want this to change things between us,” I said again. “I know that sounds impossible, but I hope you can see past my brother.”

  Julie locked eyes with me. Her pale blue irises didn’t leave my face for what felt like five full minutes. I held my breath and waited.

  “I don’t think it needs to change anything.” She smiled. “It’s weird, but so what? What we have is amazing, and Joshua shouldn’t ruin that. He can’t ruin that.”

  Relief flooded my body. I sighed and laughed, letting myself relax for the first time since last night.

  “And you’re sure?” I asked. “You’re sure that this— you and me—this is what you want?”

  Julie grinned and moved closer to me. She slid her leg over my lap so she was straddling me. I leaned back against the couch cushions and grinned. She ran her fingers through my hair and pulled me forward, pressing her lips hard against mine.

  I groaned and gripped her hips, pressing her body against my own. She felt amazing. Our lips moved together, slowly at first and then faster and harder. Julie moaned against my mouth, sinking into me and making my cock jump inside my pants.

  I flipped her onto her back, kissing her harder still and pressing her against the couch. Then my phone vibrated in my pocket.

  I ignored it at first. There was nothing more important than this moment with Julie. I didn’t care if it was Josh on the phone or Marcy. I didn’t care if my entire business was burning to the ground. I only cared about this moment.

  “You should get that,” Julie said, wrenching herself away from my lips. “It might be work.”

  I groaned and sat up. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and shoved it impatiently against my ear.

  “Yes?” I asked sharply.

  Marcy’s shrill, panicked voice came through the phone. Apparently, there was a huge emergency and I was needed back at the office immediately. I hated the idea of leaving Julie, but I knew Marcy wouldn’t have called unless she really needed my help.

  “I have to go,” I told Julie as I hung up the phone.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “It’s a long story,” I said. “One of my accounts is about to collapse. Marcy can’t handle it on her own.”

  “That’s okay.” Julie smiled and kissed me one more time. “Go.”

  “I’ll call you later.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Julie

  Michael hurried back out to his car. I watched him through the window until he drove off down the street. When he was gone, I slowly made my way back into the living room and collapsed on the couch. My hand flew to my head, covering my eyes and blocking out the world.

  “This is fucking nuts,” I said to myself.

  I lay there for a few minutes, unable to make sense of my new situation. As much as I wanted to be with Michael, I still didn’t know if I could handle his connection to Joshua. How could Michael and I let our relationship progress when my ex-boyfriend was also his brother? What was that going to look like?

  My life suddenly felt like a soap opera. It was as if I was living in a movie I didn’t want to watch in the first place and, yet, I couldn’t help but be happy. With Michael in my life, everything seemed bearable. Even this mess with Joshua.

  Still, I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything for the rest of the day. My head was too full, and my chest was still tight from all the emotions that flooded my body over the past twenty-four hours. I tried to sit down and write, but no words came to mind. I couldn’t work on my assignment. I couldn’t work on my book. I couldn’t focus on anything.

  Finally, I gave up and grabbed my phone. I called Andrea and closed my eyes, listening to the ringing and letting it comfort me.

  “Hey!” Andrea said when she answered. “How was dinner last night?”

  “Can you come over?” I asked. “I know you have to work today, but—”

  “I just got off,” Andrea said. “I can be there in an hour.”

  “Thank you.” I sighed, relieved that I would soon have my best friend to help me make sense of everything.

  “What happened?” Andrea asked nervously. “Was d
inner that bad?”

  “It was…” I tried to find the right words, but just like with my writing, nothing came to mind. “I’ll fill you in when you get here. It’s too much to explain over the phone.”

  “Okay,” Andrea said. “I’m on my way.”

  ***

  An hour later, there was a sharp knock on my front door. I ran through the entryway and wrenched open the door to see Andrea standing on my front porch. She smiled and let herself inside, holding up a bottle of wine and waving it in the air.

  “You sounded really upset on the phone,” Andrea said. “So, I thought wine was in order.”

  “You thought right.” I nodded eagerly and hurried into the kitchen to get us glasses.

  Andrea poured us each a good amount of wine, and then we settled in on my couch. She didn’t speak at first. Instead, she watched me closely while I sipped my wine and let the alcohol embolden me slightly.

  “Dinner was a fucking disaster,” I finally said.

  Andrea nodded. “I figured that much,” she said. “But why? What happened?”

  “Well,” I said. “Do you remember me telling you that Michael was adopted?”

  “Yes,” Andrea said. “A weird coincidence considering everything that happened with Joshua.”

  “Not so much,” I said with a dark chuckle. “Not even remotely a coincidence actually.”

  Andrea frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Michael is Joshua’s brother,” I said. “The very same brother I spent months trying to find two years ago. The very same brother that Joshua never wanted me to meet.”

  “You’re kidding.” Andrea stared at me blankly. “This is a joke.”

  “I wish,” I said. “It feels like the universe is playing an elaborate prank on me or something.”

  “You’re serious?” Andrea asked. “You’re not screwing with me right now?”

  “I’m serious.” I stared at her to let her know this wasn’t a game. “Michael and Joshua are brothers.”

  “Holy shit.” Andrea shook her head and took a long swig of her wine. When she swallowed, she looked at me with narrowed eyes. She still didn’t want to believe me.