“I was with some of my friends when I picked the baby up from Mr. McClusky’s office,” she said. “My friend Simone is really into movies and she said the doll looked like that short angry guy from The Princess Bride.”
I choked on a laugh because as soon as she said it, I saw the resemblance. “Vizzini?”
She nodded, a smile hovering over her lips. I wanted to see it. The real smile. The one that made her look like a cartoon character it was so over the top.
She shrugged. “Anyway, I said that she was being mean and that my little girl was a princess and….long story short, she ended up being named Buttercup.”
“Did my brother have any say in this?” I asked.
Okay fine, I prodded. I had this nagging notion that there was something going on here between this girl and Alex and…
I hated that thought.
She pursed her lips in clear annoyance. “No. He hasn’t done anything to help.”
Ah. So...not together then?
Should I just ask? Was it my business or was that crossing a line?
My mom was big on teaching us good manners but she never once mentioned what one of us ought to do if trapped alone in a room with a crying girl holding a fake baby.
There were no rules for this.
I watched as she gently adjusted the baby in her arms as I debated whether or not it was my place to pry.
Nope. Definitely not my business. Whatever was between her and Alex was so not my business.
“What is your brother’s problem, anyway?” she asked suddenly. She was frowning down at the baby and for a second I thought she was talking to Buttercup. But then she lifted her head and those gorgeous blue eyes met mine and…
Oomf.
Another blow to the gut.
This girl was beating me up without even lifting a finger.
Her brows pulled together and for a second I feared she might cry again but the look morphed into anger. “Is he this thoughtless with everyone or is it just me?”
I flinched. “Look, Avery, I don’t know what Alex has said or how he’s led you on…” I trailed off as I searched for a nice way to give her the ‘it’s not you, it’s him’ speech all the while cursing Alex for pulling this crap on a sweet girl and making me clean up his mess.
Before I could figure out how to continue, she sighed. She deflated, really, her whole body sagging to the side as she rested against the loveseat’s edge. “He didn’t lead me on.”
Oh. I shifted uncomfortably. I’d been happy reading my book earlier. In peace. And now...this. There were few things I wanted less in this life than to be stuck having a weird emotional relationship talk with a stranger.
Although, I couldn’t truthfully say I didn’t want this particular stranger here next to me…
“This was such a bad idea,” she said with a sniff as she shifted toward the edge of the couch.
“Don’t go.” I said it too quickly and it came out sounding harsh. We both froze and she blinked at me in surprise.
“I wasn’t going to leave,” she said. “Just getting the bottle.”
The bottle. Right. Because of course this inanimate thing needed a bottle.
I cleared my throat, trying to recover any cool factor I may once have had. “I just meant...if Alex is shirking his responsibilities, you should let him know.”
She nodded but she still looked so freakin’ sad.
I looked around wildly for anything that might ease the tension in this room and make her stop looking like she was three seconds away from a breakdown. My eyes snagged on the remote. “Want to watch a movie or something while you wait?”
She shot me a look out of the corner of her eyes and when her lips quirked up a bit in a mischievous little grin I felt a surge of triumph I imagined only Olympic athletes could relate to. “Yeah, why not?” she said.
I reached for the remote and went to one of the eight million streaming sites my dad subscribed to. I didn’t want to get into a whole ‘what do you like?’ ‘what do you want to watch?’ battle so I went with the obvious.
“Princess Bride?” Her voice got all high with excitement as she turned to me. “That’s perfect.”
One side of my mouth hitched up and I felt like the Tin Man. My cheek muscles would start making a creaking sound any second now. The smile felt rickety and weird. Not bad, just...like it’d been a really long time since I’d smiled like that.
I met her gaze, which was dancing with laughter now.
It had been a long time since someone had smiled at me like that. Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure anyone ever had.
We settled in easily—almost too easily. Sure it had been nice to read my book in peace, but I found something even nicer—watching a movie with a girl who was ridiculously easy to be around.
Aside from the occasional crying fit from Buttercup, or the odd snack break, or the bottle feedings, which were just ludicrous if you asked me, we spent the next hour or so in peace.
Eventually I got tired of watching her yawn and pat the baby’s back. “Hand her over,” I finally said.
She blinked up at me. “What?”
I reached over and plucked the baby out of her arms, careful to keep the neck safe because you know...heaven forbid we kill the fake baby.
Her smile was slow and steady as she watched me put the baby on my own shoulder to take over burping duty. “I’ll take Buttercup, you make yourself comfortable.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know.”
She blinked and licked her lips, suddenly looking...nervous. I was also hyper aware of the fact that we were alone, and other than the flickering lights of the TV, we were alone.
And she was hot.
Pretty.
Cute.
Whatever. I was definitely attracted to her.
“Um, do you think Alex will be home soon?” she asked softly.
I gave a little grunt. There was that blow to the solar plexus. The reminder that the family’s golden boy had come in first place once again. I looked to the TV screen but barely saw what was there. “I don’t know. You could try texting him again.”
She gave a little snort of disgust. “Yeah, because that’s worked out so well for me before.”
I just stared straight ahead. I didn’t want to defend my brother and it wasn't my place to speak for him.
“This was such a bad idea.” She muttered it under her breath and it wasn’t the first time she’d said it.
I shifted away from her. “Look if you don’t want to wait here with me, I can just—”
“No, not me being here,” she said quickly. “I meant…” She pointed to the baby on my shoulder. “This. This was so stupid. We could have just done the paper but nooo.” She dropped her head back against the couch. “I had to go and come up with a grand plan.”
“A grand plan, huh?” I asked. I snuck a look at her out of the corner of my eye and caught a yawn. The poor thing was exhausted, and her voice was growing slower by the second.
“It was a stupid plan,” she said. “Max was right.”
“Max?”
She didn’t answer and I tried not to get jealous. I mean, it was ridiculous enough that I was jealous of my brother right now.
“I thought I could make him like me,” she said, her eyelids drooping as she lifted her knees to get more comfortable now that she didn’t have a doll in her arms. “I thought he’d like me if he got to know me.”
“It was a solid plan,” I said. My voice was so low I was surprised she heard me but I saw her lips quirk up as her eyelids fluttered shut.
“You think so?”
I leaned over and...I had no idea why I did it. I didn’t even mean to, but...I kissed the top of her head. “If he got to know you, how could he not like you?”
Her smile grew. “Right?” she said teasingly. Then she sighed. “Thanks, Cristian.”
And then...she was out. Her body went totally slack, her lips parted and her body tipped toward me on the couch until she w
as resting against me.
I watched her for a while.
Too long, maybe. The sound of witty dialogue in the background was soothing, the feel of her leaning against me was...nice.
Better than nice.
It was comfortable, and sweet, and the sight of her looking so vulnerable beside me made me want to vanquish all of her problems with a sword.
Since her current problem was a doll…
I readjusted the thing on my shoulder when it started to fuss and patted its back.
Fighting a duel for her would have been preferable...but I could handle a baby, too.
5
Avery
Something woke me with a jolt.
My eyes shot open and my heart leapt into my chest as I tried to figure out where I was. My hand moved over a T-shirt and the muscles underneath, and my eyes went wide.
Scratch that. I needed to figure out where I was...and who I was with.
I pushed against the solid wall of muscle and felt it shift with a grumble and a groan. When I’d lifted my head a few inches away, I saw his face.
Cristian.
Sweet, gruff, kinda-scary-but-also-not-at-all Cristian. His head was tipped to the side in my direction, his lips slightly parted like he was ready to kiss me.
I swallowed convulsively as my breath grew uneven.
Of course he wasn’t going to kiss me.
He was asleep, like I had been.
Just as I thought it, his eyes opened slowly and his gaze clashed with mine.
He blinked.
I blinked back.
Our faces were so close. Our mouths were so close. I tried to swallow but couldn’t. There was a heat and a tension here between us that made it impossible to think or move…
All I could do was feel.
I could feel the weight of his gaze. I could feel a connection between us that felt as solid as his muscles beneath my hand.
Oh crap. My hand. It was still on his chest and I was….well, I was pretty much sprawled across him.
“I—” I started softly, not even sure what I was going to say. I’m sorry? I like you. I have no idea what I’m doing here?
All were just as ludicrous and equally true.
I like you. The words were right there like it was the most natural thing to say. But I didn't, and the moment passed. He lifted a hand and brushed some hair out of my face. “Avery—”
I held my breath. But whatever he was going to say was rudely interrupted by a voice in the doorway behind us. “What’s going on here?”
I sat up so quickly I knocked the forgotten baby off Cristian’s shoulder and it started to wail as Alex walked toward us, his pretty face the very picture of confusion. “Were you guys…” He pointed from me to Cristian and then back again, a knowing smirk forming on his perfect lips and making me want to squirm.
“No!” I said quickly, pushing away from Cristian and picking up the baby so I could get some distance.
I felt Cristian’s eyes on me. Watching me. He didn’t seem to notice or care that Alex was making it sound like we’d been hooking up or something.
Alex scratched the back of his head in a move that was achingly familiar. How many times had I watched him do that before? How often had I thought it so crazy adorable? “Avery, what are you doing here?”
And suddenly I felt like a child. Or at the very least...an idiot. What was I doing here? I looked at the doll in my hands. Amazing how a little nap could shift your perspective.
What had I been thinking coming in here raving like a lunatic and then...ugh, crying. I glanced over at Cristian, who was still watching me.
I’d cried to a guy I barely knew!
“Avery?” Alex said again.
Cristian answered for me. “She’s here to hand over the kid since you flaked on her and your assignment.”
I blinked in surprise at the harshness in Cristian’s tone. It was so at odds with the way he’d been talking to me all night. I wouldn’t say he’d been gentle. A big guy with tattoos, big muscles, longish hair, and a five o’clock shadow didn’t exactly scream gentle. But he’d been...sweet.
Kind.
Thoughtful.
I turned back to see Cristian glaring at Alex and...whoa. I backed up another step.
This was like a whole new guy. One who had baggage and anger issues, clearly.
Alex didn’t even seem to notice. He turned to me with a smile that I usually found sweet but now set me on edge. “What’s this about?” he asked. He looked so genuinely perplexed, for a minute I wondered if I’d imagined it all in my exhausted state. Had he really ignored my texts and calls?
Surely not.
Not this guy. He couldn’t have done that. “I—I tried to call. And I texted.” Ugh. Why did my voice sound so weak?
I blamed it on the tiredness. I blamed it on the fact that I had two guys staring at me, that I had no idea what time it was or how long I’d been sleeping on Cristian. And…
Oh crap.
I lifted a hand and felt the disheveled mess that was currently resting atop my head. I could only imagine what my face looked like. I didn’t even have to look down to know that I was still wearing yoga pants and an oversized T-shirt.
I felt the sting of unshed tears all over again, but this time I wasn’t sure if they were born out of anger, frustration, humiliation, or just plain old sadness. Looking at Alex right now, all I could think was, this was not the way this was supposed to go!
I’d had such a great plan. Those magazine articles had all told me to find something to bond over and this was it.
That was the reminder I needed to remember I was holding a baby.
Our baby.
Of course, the wailing in my ear was also a pretty vivid reminder of why I’d come here in the first place. I thrust the baby toward Avery. “Here. If you want a good grade, you need to do some of the work.”
“What...what do you want me to do?” he asked.
I waved a hand, not even bothering to turn back. Maybe I was making a mess of everything, but my sleep-deprived brain couldn’t handle this tonight. I didn’t trust myself not to cry or scream or make a scene.
I definitely couldn’t trust myself not to speak out of turn. I might say the truth—heaven forbid—or something nasty and spiteful that I couldn’t take back. So instead, I listened to Cristian order Alex to shut the heck up and give the baby the fake bottle already.
Then I was at the front door and walking out, blissfully alone and minus a crying child.
My shoulders sagged as I stopped at the door of my car.
I might have been confused, I was definitely miserable, and I thought it was safe to say I was entering into territories of exhaustion never before known by man...but at least I was alone with my crazy self.
“I’ll drive you home.” The gruff voice behind me was somehow supremely familiar after only one night of hanging out.
Still, I spun around and gave a high-pitched screech as if it was the Scream guy behind me and not Cristian—the guy who’d cuddled my fake baby while I’d dozed.
“W-what?” I stammered, backing up until I hit the car with my back.
I wasn’t scared of this guy.
I wasn’t.
Sure, he looked intimidating. Even without the tattoos, and the height, and the muscles, he’d have been intimidating with that brooding glare. He was Alex’s opposite. The Dark Knight to Alex’s Superman. They were night and day. But that didn’t make this guy bad or scary, just…
Overwhelming.
That was the only word that came to mind as he stalked toward me, stopping a few feet away so he wasn’t crowding me and shoving his hands into his pockets as if that could make him less...overwhelming.
Overbearing.
The guy took up space, but I had a feeling he’d take up space even if he wasn’t tall and lacked in the muscle department. Some people just had an aura like that. They were bigger than life.
Alex had it too, but again, it was the opposite. His per
sona was big but bright. Shiny. It demanded attention but that charisma made him shine like a squeaky clean trophy.
Cristian demanded attention but everything about him said he resented it. His body language said, look away if you know what’s best.
But I couldn’t have looked away if I’d tried.
His gaze met mine and he arched a brow just a bit—almost like he was mocking me.
Rightfully so. I was acting like a moron. “What do you mean, you’ll drive me?”
Again with the idiocy! But really...what did that even mean?
“It means I don’t think you should be driving at this time of night when you’re in…” He waggled his hand back and forth. “This condition.”
“This condition?” I repeated.
He tilted his head with a sigh and the tiniest of smiles that felt way too familiar. Not knowing and smug like Alex’s, but like we went way back and he could see right through me.
I wasn’t sure which I liked less.
Or which I liked more.
I ran a hand over my eyes. Yeah. I totally needed sleep.
As if he could hear my thoughts, he moved toward me and reached for the keys that dangled out of my hands. “Let me drive you home.”
If he’d said it in any other tone I would have argued. But somehow he made it sound like I’d be doing him a favor and...yeah, sure. Why not? It wasn’t like I wouldn’t love to just sink down in the passenger seat and relax.
We both moved to get in but I stopped. “The car seat.”
He arched his brows. “Excuse me?”
I groaned as I fell against the car’s hood. “Alex is going to need my car seat if he has to go anywhere.” I glanced up at Cristian. I knew exactly how nuts I sounded, but I still muttered, “It came with the baby.”
He nodded like that made total sense and tilted his head toward Alex’s car. “We’ll take my car then. One of us will get your car to you tomorrow.”
I thought about it for a second before nodding. “Yeah, okay.”
Whatever.
At this point I didn’t really care much about anything.
We got in and buckled up in silence, but it wasn’t awkward. “You can close your eyes if you want.”
I peeked over at him, trying to read his expression. It gave nothing away. Not how he felt about the fact that he’d spent the night with me, or that I’d fallen asleep on top of him or that...we might have been close to kissing.
Saved by the Crush's Brother (How to Catch a Crush Book 2) Page 4
