Forsaken: A Brother's Best Friend Romance (Gritt Family Book 2)

by Gabrielle G.

  “Avoiding with work?”

  I nod.

  “Back at the apartment, or are you looking for another place?”

  I’ve been crashing at Lee’s for a while, and we’ve become inseparable.

  She’s fun, caring, beautiful and becoming a fast friend. She listened to my pathetic love life and tried her best to guide me through it. If I could, I’d stay with her forever, but I need to find a place for the shrimp and me.

  I rub my belly.

  “I wanted to start today, but you called.”

  “Right, blame me for taking care of you. It’s 9:00 AM, I’m pretty sure you’ll be free in one hour and can start the hunt.”

  Yes, and I’ll try not to obsess over the fact that I’m not enough of a reason for Chris to stay. Not pretend that him leaving is killing me.

  As much as I understand him not staying, I was hoping…

  I mean, what was I hoping for, really?

  That he would finally see me for someone other than Snot?

  That his fiancé dying would remove the blinders he has on?

  That us having a child together meant I had him for life?

  “I need a distraction.” I sip my decaf, slowly.

  “What kind? 'I’m horny' distraction, or 'I’m in love with my soulmate, and I fucked up' distraction?” I stop in my tracks and start choking on the coffee I swallowed through the wrong pipe. “Because,” he continues patting my back while I’m dying, “if you’re horny, I heard Calvin is landing this afternoon for the party, and if you play your cards right, you might be able to ride him one last time.” He looks at me smugly. “Now if it’s the second kind of distraction, I heard you have an open plane ticket for Los Angeles.”

  “How do you always know everything?” I finally say once I avoided near death.

  He smiles. “People are not that hard to understand, Sal. We all are looking for happiness, and we all love to be miserable to acquire it. Because making life easy is not what society expects from us. We need to be miserable for God to save us. We need to work for happiness like we do for everything else, so we believe we don’t deserve it. Name one person who will start a relationship and say, I deserve him or her, I love him, and I want to be happy? No, we all think we don’t deserve the person because we’re afraid to lose him or her. We like to torture ourselves, bear our cross, make it impossible to be happy until the freaking light shines on us, but we were the ones to turn off the light in the first place. Humans are morons. I was one. I was happy with Luke and got scared. When I saw your brother with Bruce the Moose, perfect hot gay American boy with a fuck me smile, I died inside. I thought I would never be that, how could I? I was an overworked lawyer with a God complex. Still am, don’t get me wrong, but my point is, I made it complicated. Take a page from your brother’s book, don’t overthink it.”

  “But Luke and you had something going on. Chris and I are just… I don’t even know what we are.”

  “Didn’t he ask you to come with him?” I haven’t told anybody about the conversation we had twice now, and I don’t quite believe Chris would think I told anybody in my family.

  “How do you do that? It’s fucking weird, Dex.”

  “He’s afraid to be alone, and if he could take one person with him, it would be you. Now, if Luke were to die tomorrow, I wouldn’t want to pack and go somewhere where I can forget him, but I didn’t get dumped by suicide. As awful as it is, that’s what happened to Chris, and he’s mourning the best way he can. If he had committed suicide in New York, could you stay? Could you live where your love died and love someone else? Could you live a life full of happiness with a baby on the way when you think the man you loved didn’t think you were enough to confide in you? I love you, Sal, but he asked you to follow, and you chose your career over him. You chose your comfort over the man you love. I’m not saying to move for love, I’m saying to move for saving the man you love. Leaving you behind was the hardest thing he did, you’re his crutch, the light in his dark path and his only hope for happiness. He just didn’t want you to drown with him. Jordan’s letters were a trigger, he freaked out. He never left you; he left New York. If you can’t forgive him, then you never really loved him.”

  I’m spinning around, my heart aching for the man I love, the father of my child, the best friend of my brother.

  “Has anybody talked to him since he left?” I choke on my words.

  “I did, and Luke did through me. The Scooby clan,” Dex says referring to his family in LA, “but the Gritt family has been rather quiet. Aaron doesn’t want to hear his name, Ridge and Kip stopped betting. I had to stop Barnabas from going to LA to kick his ass. You can’t play the victim, Sal. I know you think nobody is ever on your side, but it’s time to stop bearing secrets and make it better.”

  I lower my eyes to the ground.

  He’s right.

  I wanted my family to hate him, so I just told them he left.

  When they pressed, I didn’t answer.

  Like I did with Henry and Camille, letting Chris take the blame and me being a victim. I’m an asshole, but hopefully, I can change.

  “How is he?” I ask hesitantly.

  “That’s for me to know and you to wonder, Baby Cakes. I’m not going to make it easy on you. You want to know how he is? Get on the fucking plane and go to Luke’s in Venice Beach.”

  “But the event, my career, my friends, my family?”

  “You mean the event that is in two days? The career that your LA friends helped you build? The two friends you have here compared to the Scooby clan? The family who is just waiting for you to be happy? Yeah, tough choice, Baby Cakes. Choose happiness. Haven’t you suffered enough in the last two years? Didn’t he for the past months? Stop hurting for nothing.”

  “Thank you, Doctor Crawford. I feel much better,” I cloak my voice in sarcasm to hide the emotions that Dex’s analysis has woken up, but you can’t fool him. He stops walking and holds my elbow to halt me. I turn around.

  “You know I do this because you’re like a sister to me, right? If I had any doubt that he wasn’t the one for you, he would already be dead, Sal.” I smile.

  “I know.”

  The next two days are all about the event at Absinthe. All my siblings, the LA clan, the Darling Devils are together at the bar the night before the party. My mother is at Dex and Luke’s taking care of Ian and Julie’s daughter and Ryan and Virginia’s son, but I didn’t have time to see her, and it’s okay. I should probably talk to her, but I prefer to leave town quietly tomorrow night.

  I have no idea how Chris is going to react to my arrival and declaration, so I won’t announce my departure for all to pity me if it goes to shit.

  I rub my tattoo once more.

  Dex smiles at me.“Sal, all ready for tomorrow?”

  I know he’s not talking about the party. Dex doesn’t care about the Darling Devils’ event.

  I nod.

  Ryan scoffs. He has been cold toward me since he arrived, and I know he’s on Chris’ team. It’s okay, I am as well.

  “Ry, don’t fucking say a word,” his wife scolds him.

  “Angel, swear a little more, and I’ll fuck you in the back.”

  “Ryan!” Ian and Dex complain at the same time.

  “You have no idea what it is like to live with them…” Asher mumbles.

  “You can leave whenever you want, buddy, don’t let the comfort of our house and the food we put in front of you keep you from living your life,” Ryan tells his stepson. Asher flips him the bird.

  “You should come live in New York, Asher,” Barnabas tells him, “You, Adam and I could have a blast.”

  “Still creepy that you hang out with someone thirteen years younger than you, Barn. When will you grow up?” Aaron says sternly.

  “So, I can’t have drinks and party with someone thirteen years younger, but Sal can fuck and get pregnant by someone ten years older, and nobody tells her anything.” I freeze.

  “Oh, so we can talk about Chri
s?” Ryan pipes in.

  Dex nods at me to encourage me to say something. I shake my head and look at my glass of water, hoping someone will steer the conversation away from me.

  “How is he?” Aaron breaks the silence. Traitor.

  “Probably as good as you were when you left for Seattle leaving the woman you loved behind because you thought that’s what she wanted.” Luke answers, “You remember, Aaron, when the only person talking to you was your best friend? The same guy you froze out?” Aaron frowns.

  “Sal, what am I missing? Why is Luke on Chris’ side?”

  I find Dex’s eyes.

  He tries again to give me the strength to tell everyone the truth, but I can’t.

  I’m such a coward; I hate myself for it. Ryan slaps the table, and we all jolt in surprise.

  “For fuck’s sake, Salomé! Get some balls, will you? What do you think your family is going to say? There is a guy across the country dying for your love! All you have to do is use the plane ticket he got you. All you have to do is show up and choose him. I can’t! I just!” Tears well up in his eyes.

  Virginia gets up and sits on his lap.

  She murmurs things only for him to hear, and he nods slowly, before getting up and walking toward the back. Most of us look at him perplexed, while the others bow their heads as an understanding of the situation.

  “His father committed suicide when he was a teenager. He was living in Boston at the time and hasn’t set foot in the city since,” Julie explains.

  That’s enough to make me break.

  “Sal,” Dan Darling says, “I’m glad our event is ready, Baby Cakes, because you’re fired.”

  “Dan, I...” He raises a finger to stop me from talking. He looks at his bandmates who shrug as an answer.

  “Go to LA. Be with the man you love. Get the fuck out of New York. We’ll be happy to use your services and recommend you to all of Hollywood, but get the fuck out of here.” Art Sweet, one of the Devils, pipes in.

  “I was leaving after the event tomorrow…” I babble, trying not to look at any of my brothers.

  “And you weren’t going to say goodbye?” Barn’s voice is hurt. “It’s always the same shit with you three…” He gets up and leaves the bar. I want to follow him, but Lars Trouble, the third Devil, stops me.

  “You brother’s happiness is not yours to take care of. Take our plane, leave tonight, just do it.” I look around trying to decide what to do.

  “Go!” Alane says, don’t fucking wait thirty years!” She squeezes Aaron’s shoulder. I stand and go around to hug my friends and my brothers.

  “Tell Barn, Mom, and Dad that I‘m sorry,” I tell Aaron, pulling him into a hug.

  “Only if you tell Chris the same.”

  “I’ll beg for your forgiveness just after mine, big brother. I promise.” I kiss him on the cheek.

  “I organized it all,” Dan said. “Our driver is outside, the plane will be ready in two hours, all you have to do is get your shit together and fly away, Baby Cakes.”

  “No, Dan Darling, you won’t be calling me by that ridiculous nickname, not you…” I laugh, the exhilaration of what I’m about to do spreading through me.

  “She prefers Snot,” a deep voice says behind me.

  I don’t need to turn around to know who’s there. My heart explodes inside of me, and that’s all I remember before it all goes black, and I feel his arms around me.

  32

  Chris

  How many times do I have to come back to Sal for her to understand she’s the love of my life?

  I thought she was coming, but the woman I love is as stubborn as every one of her brothers.

  I was getting tired of waiting for her.

  I know I’m impatient, but when you wait for more than half your life for a love like I feel to knock on your door, you get a little restless.

  So I came back to New York.

  I’m not staying.

  I’m just here to beg.

  One last time, and I hope this time she’s coming back with me.

  If she doesn’t want LA, I don’t care, anywhere but here.

  I escort her to a booth ignoring the crowd around us.

  “Babe, are you okay?” I kiss the top of her head. She opens her eyes, and all I can see is confusion.

  “I was coming for you. I choose you. That was supposed to be me coming to you,” she cries. I hand her the glass of water that has miraculously appeared in front of us. She sits straight, drinks a few sips.

  “I got tired of waiting. Are you okay?” I replace her fingers rubbing her tattoo with my mouth and kiss her wrist, feeling her pulse, making sure she’s all right.

  “I am now. I’m sorry, Chris.”

  “I’m sorry too. I know you, Snot, and I love you, Sal. I hope you can forgive me.”

  “I was a selfish asshole. There is nothing for you to forgive. Marry me?” I lean back to find her eyes.

  “Marry you? You’re asking me to marry you?”

  “I am.” She beams at me, bliss in her eyes. “Now, today, I’ve waited long enough.”

  “We have nothing, Sal. No rings, no weddings, nobody to marry us. We’re in a bar. Don’t you deserve better?” She climbs on my lap and straddles me.

  “I have a plane ready, and I’m sure it can take us to Vegas. I want to marry you now, Chris, and I can’t wait one more second.” That’s exactly the answer I was waiting for.

  “Okay, but do you really think they’re going to let us elope?” I tilt my head in the direction of our audience. They all have glistening eyes and stupid smiles on their faces, even Dex. She turns back her head to me and brushes her lips over mine.

  Chills, desire, and love spread in my body.

  I push my tongue inside her mouth, asking for the taste I craved. My dick swells, and she moans at the feel of it.

  “Do not fuck our sister in front of us!” Barnabas shouts.

  I laugh against her lips.

  “Because you never fuck anybody with an audience? We all hear what happens in town, Barn,” Alane laughs.

  “You’re one to speak, Al!” Barnabas retorts. I put my head on Sal's chest, my ear against her breasts, my arms around her waist.

  “So you love her?” Aaron asks impassively. All eyes on us again.

  “I do,” I whisper, my heart racing. I know I don’t need his approval, but I want it, nonetheless.

  He’s the one I missed the most after Sal.

  Aaron’s face brightens with the biggest smile I know he can give.

  “Final-fucking-ly!” He stands up and comes to hug Sal and I. My dick softens, and Sal laughs, knowing the effect her brother has on me. None.

  “You’re not mad?”

  He holds me tight. “Look, if you’d told me the same thing twenty years ago, when she was seventeen, and you were twenty-seven, I wouldn’t have reacted the same way, but you’re the person she needs. I’ll say, it’s been maybe seven or eight years that I’ve wished this for you guys, but it wasn’t any of my business... Now, about eloping, well, I’m coming!”

  “I am too!” Luke adds.

  “Fuck, I’m in as well!” Dex smiles.

  “Barn?” Sal looks for her younger brother. Barnabas nods, emotion clearly taking over. Alane stands and goes to hug him. He nuzzles his nose in her neck. Sal gets up and envelops Barnabas in her arms, whispering things to calm him down. I stay behind with Aaron.

  “We’re good?” he asks, apologizing just by looking at me.

  “We are. I just couldn’t stay here; I hope you understand. I still can’t live in New York.” Tears fill my eyes. Being here is hard, excruciating in fact, but not as unbearable as thinking Sal would never talk to me again.

  “You were suffering, not being with the woman you truly love. I’m sure you loved Jordan, but not like you love Sal. If he were alive, you would have married him, and it would have been okay but not wonderful, because deep down, you would have realized at some point you were with the wrong person, and believe me, th
at’s a long life,” he says quietly as if speaking about Jordan will break the ecstasy we feel. But, Aaron would know about marrying the wrong person. He was, for over twenty years, with a woman he loved but not as much as he loved his high school sweetheart.

  “I’m so in love with her, Aar. She’s the only ray of sunshine that can reach my heart.”

  Aaron smiles. “So, what are you waiting for? Let’s go to Vegas. Here.” He hands me a gorgeous antique diamond ring. I blink rapidly, pretending not to know anything about the band in front of me.

  “My dad told me to give you that when you’re ready to marry her. It’s my grandmother's. Mom never wanted to wear it. It should go to Sal.”

  “Best man ever.” I grin at my best friend.

  “Gritts! Let’s go to Vegas,” I call for the siblings and their plus ones to gather.

  “Bella is going to kill you guys,” Alane says in a laugh.

  I grab Sal by the waist and kiss her hard.

  “I’m sure they bet on it.” Luke laughs.

  “See you in LA?” Ian inquires. I look at Sal for an answer. She beams at me before turning to him.

  “See you back in LA, guys.”

  Outside are two limos waiting for us. Dex smirks at me.

  “Well done, Chris, you even had me fooled. Which one of my friends is a traitor? No, don’t tell me, that has Ian written all over,” he says, looking into the first limo and finding a blindfold. “I guess we are to take the second car?” He winks, pushing the brothers and Alane to the other limo.

  “I want to ride with Sal,” Barnabas whines like a child.

  “If you want to see me fuck your sister, Barn, you can drive with us. Otherwise, I think it would be better to ride with the others.” I make my intentions clear. He grunts and gets in the other car.

  Sal slides in the car and puts the partition up right away. The door is not even closed when her mouth comes to my crotch.

  "What’s happening to Barn?"