The Wrong Brother (a perfect for you novel Book 1)

by Amanda Siegrist

  Her friend should show her more respect than she was giving.

  “You should leave.”

  Gabriella’s whispered words took that knife that Mia had first inserted and twisted it further into his gut.

  He was defending her, and she wanted him to leave?

  Well, this was his sign that he made the right decision not to ask her to join him at his parents for supper tomorrow.

  Because when it came down to it, no matter what happened between her and Mia, Gabriella would always pick Mia over him.

  He’d always be second best, and he hated being second best. That’s all he ever was growing up. Just once, he wanted to be first in someone’s life. Just once.

  He nodded but didn’t say anything else. He had nothing else to say. What could he say? What could he possibly use to argue with? They had a bond that could not be broken by anything.

  Apparently, not even love.

  He strolled past Gabriella. She didn’t even look him in the eye.

  Love? Ha!

  She didn’t love him. Not like he loved her. Foolishly.

  Love was nothing but a foolish emotion.

  He put on his shoes, grabbed his phone and wallet, and left the apartment without another word spoken to either woman.

  This was why he made work his solace.

  It never disappointed him.

  Gabriella shivered. Not from the fact she only had on a tank top and short pair of shorts. Usually, she didn’t go around her apartment so bare. She liked wearing her old sweats and a comfy T-shirt most of the time.

  No, she shivered from the soft click that echoed from the hallway. By the silent way Dane left. By the hurt in his eyes. By the fierce way he had fought for her.

  But he didn’t need to say what he had to Mia. He shouldn’t have spoken to her like that. Mia had every right to ask her to leave last night. If she wanted to be alone, then fine.

  Kind of like she wanted to be alone. Even though her heart had silently shouted at his back to not leave. Stay! Don’t go!

  Mia sighed from across the kitchen.

  Gabriella lifted her head and met her troubled gaze. She didn’t know what to say to her. While Mia had every right to kick her out last night—and she hadn’t been rude about it, per se—it had still hurt. That pain filtered back in. All of Dane’s calm and soothing vanished as if he had done nothing to make her feel better.

  “He’s not wrong. That was selfish of me to ask you to do that,” Mia said in a quiet, timid voice. Almost as if someone had forced the words out at gunpoint.

  “I don’t know why he brought that up. It makes me think he hasn’t forgiven me, even though he said he had.”

  And he talks about despising liars. He was obviously lying to her. What was he doing with her if he still harbored hurt feelings about her little undercover stint?

  Mia shrugged. “He was trying to make a point.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  A tenderhearted smile spread across Mia’s lips. The smile that always said, “You’re so cute but completely dense.”

  “You’re always there for me, Gabs. Always. No matter what I ask, you always come through.” She shook her head, the shame hitting her eyes. “Sometimes, I shouldn’t ask. He’s right. I do take advantage of our friendship. I don’t know why I never saw it before. I’m sorry.” She let out another weary sigh. “I’m sorry I asked you to leave last night. I acted so silly.”

  “Your feelings aren’t silly. I—”

  “Neither are yours.” Mia’s tone was firm. Not harsh. Not cruel. But firm. Very, very firm. Mia rarely spoke that way to her.

  “I was completely shocked by Jaxson’s words last night. Like I got hit by a curveball. I reacted badly about it. I see that now. I didn’t mean to upset you last night. I didn’t, Gabs. I know…” Mia’s voice hiccupped, almost as if she was about to cry. And damn it, if Mia started crying, then so would she.

  “I know what happened yesterday with you and Jaxson. The shooter and whatnot. I’m a terrible friend for not being there for you for once. I’m sorry. Forgive me?”

  It had been a rough day yesterday. If not for the shooting, Gabby didn’t think she would’ve reacted as badly to Mia, shutting her out as she had. But after dealing with death—a shooting that reminded her of Mia’s dad—it had been too much.

  She reacted badly as well.

  “Of course, I forgive you. You don’t even have to apologize.”

  “But I do.”

  Then they both started to giggle, knowing they’d go back and forth about who should be apologizing. The tension that had filled the room like a smoky parlor suddenly evaporated. They closed the distance and hugged, a mingling of laughter and cries. Yeah, a few more tears escaped.

  Gabby swore in her head she wouldn’t cry again for at least five more years. Crying took too much of her energy, and she had a full day ahead of her.

  A full day of…

  Well, shit. She wasn’t sure now. Maybe hanging with Mia.

  She had figured she’d hang out with Dane, but…that wasn’t happening anymore. She had asked him to leave. And why? Because he saw what neither she nor Mia could see. Because, yeah, when she thought about it, she tended to drop whatever she was doing and be there for Mia no matter what. She couldn’t help it. All she could hear in those moments were her cries of terror. Help me, Gabby. I need you.

  Mia pulled away, wiping under eyes, clearing the evidence of her minor breakdown. Gabby wanted to punch a wall, scream in frustration—hell, stomp her feet at how Mia could shed a few tears and still look like a goddess. Her face wasn’t red and blotchy. Her mascara didn’t run even a millimeter down her face. She looked put together while Gabby figured she looked like a horror show doll ready for a massacre to begin.

  “I didn’t mean to cause problems between you and Dane.” Mia groaned and rolled her eyes. “Again. I’m always screwing things up for you with him.”

  Gabby waved her off. “He shouldn’t have said anything to you. It’s fine.”

  Mia tilted her head in that motherly way she could do on occasion. “He had every right to say something to me. You know what that means, right?”

  Oh, God.

  No, she had no idea what that meant.

  “He loves you, you goof,” Mia said with a chuckle.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Gabby mock laughed and headed for the pantry to grab a box of cereal.

  She wasn’t sure what Dane had been preparing, but she only needed something light right now.

  “Gabby—”

  “Hey, we’re not having this conversation,” she said, pointing the bright red cereal box at Mia with a stern expression on her face as if that would stop Mia.

  Then her eyes narrowed. Her mind processing everything Mia said since she arrived in lightyear speed.

  “How did you know Jaxson and I were involved in a shooting yesterday? I didn’t tell you that over the phone before you got here, and you left so fast, no one had time to tell you then.”

  A light blush coated Mia’s cheeks as she glanced away. “Jaxson told me.”

  One hand propped to her hip as the other hand pointed the box of cereal at her once again. “When?”

  Mia huffed. “Don’t treat me like a suspect. Interrogating me with those beady eyes of yours.”

  “These beady eyes?” She narrowed them even further, purposely displaying a bit of her interrogation technique.

  “Does that really work?” Mia giggled as she clapped a hand over her mouth.

  Slamming the cereal box on the island between them, she smirked when Mia jumped a little. “Oh, I have a whole arsenal I can use on you. Or you can be the best friend that you are and just tell me.”

  “Admit Dane loves you.”

  “How in the hell would I know that? I can’t read his mind. And trust me, I’m pretty good at reading his facial expressions, and I don’t think he’s anywhere near in love with me.”

  Mia narrowed her eyes this time. “So, you love him?”<
br />
  Gabby started to open her mouth to deny it—which would’ve been a lie—when she pointed a finger at her. Hell, she was tempted to pick up the box of cereal and throw it at her. But then it might make a mess, and she didn’t have the patience to pick up a bunch of tiny pieces of colorful cereal from the floor.

  “You’re deflecting from my original question, and I will not allow it. Now, spill. Before I tell Jimmy Calhoun that you really did have a crush on him in high school.”

  Mia’s eyes bulged. “You wouldn’t?”

  The secret wouldn’t amount to much, considering Jimmy was happily married with two kids. But the embarrassment would be plenty for Mia since she worked with his sister, who always loved to tease her that she liked Jimmy. She always had vehemently denied it. Although Gabby couldn’t blame her. Jimmy—to this day—was a handsome guy. Star quarterback. Sweet. Full of manners. And smart. What woman could resist that? But he always only had eyes for Penny Smithson. Star cheerleader. Annoyingly sweet in her own way. Honestly, they were a cute couple. It sounded cliché, but neither had a mean bone in their body—the perfect, sweet power couple.

  Mia crossed her arms. “Fine. A few hours after you left, Jaxson showed up. By that time, I had come to my senses how silly I acted, and I apologized for walking out on him. We made up, and he told me what had happened. I would’ve come over except he told me Dane was here and…” She shrugged, loosening her arms a bit. “Well, I figured you would’ve preferred his company over mine.”

  Gabby was about to deny that when her heart did a little pitter-patter as if hollering at her not to lie to her best friend. Because oh, boy, that would be a lie. She had enjoyed Dane’s coddling last night. His sweet, tender comfort. She had preferred his company over Mia’s.

  That was a first.

  But she refused to be sidetracked again by Mia. She knew what she was doing.

  “So…there will be no you and Jaxson?”

  Her eyes flashed a bit of pain, but then Mia smiled. “We’re friends. It’s better we stay friends.”

  Gabby had enough of her own problems than to try and tackle Mia’s right now. But if she felt like lying to her for the moment, then so be it. Because it didn’t seem to Gabby like Mia wanted to be just friends.

  It felt like it was time to move on to a new subject. Because she didn’t want to get into Dane and her feelings. Not in the mood for the love talk. And she knew Mia didn’t want to direct her true feelings for Jaxson.

  She lifted the cereal box. “Breakfast?”

  Mia giggled. “One bowl, and then I have to get to the theater. You shouldn’t spoil me with your cuisine.”

  “Only the best for my bestie.”

  15

  Dane glanced to his right when the last person he wanted to see sat down.

  “Gabby in the bathroom?” Jaxson asked as he signaled the bartender.

  Cocking a brow, Dane smirked. “If I tell you no, will you not order a drink and leave?”

  Jaxson’s hand lowered. “What, she’s not here?”

  “Unless she snuck in through the backdoor and is hiding in there for some strange reason, no.” Then he lifted his half-empty glass and took a sip.

  “Why isn’t Gabby here?”

  “Why should she be here?”

  A low chuckle floated his way. Dane wanted to smack the smile right off the asshole’s face. Not that he was truly an asshole. But right now, he wanted to think of him as an asshole. Someone needed to feel his wrath. Since he didn’t want bad service, he couldn’t unleash it at the bartender, who had been treating him great since the moment he sat down this morning.

  All day wasted. Sitting in a bar. Thinking of a woman he wished he could forget for one moment. One peaceful moment.

  “Umm…because she’s your girlfriend.” Another chuckle sounded. “And you’re sitting at a bar around the corner from her apartment.”

  Dane shrugged. He didn’t want to relay the story because no doubt, Jaxson would be on Mia’s side.

  Everyone always was.

  Mia. Mia. Mia.

  Hell, even his brother wanted good old precious Mia back.

  He took another sip from his drink.

  “Okay, I’m sensing something happened between you two,” Jaxson muttered under his breath right before the bartender stopped in front of him. Jaxson pointed at him. “I’ll have whatever he’s having.”

  The brawny dude with tattoos up and down his arms standing behind the counter chuckled like Jaxson had delivered the world’s funniest joke. He looked like he could grind you in a meat grinder with one hand tied behind his back. Yet, despite his menacing appearance, he was super nice.

  Dane actually laughed. Because it was about to become funny.

  Jaxson looked puzzled. “What?”

  “He’s been nursing a club soda on the rocks.” The brawny guy—Dane thought he heard someone call him Brick, the name suited him—chuckled again.

  Jaxson eyed him funny. “Seriously, man? How long have you been sitting here?”

  Dane looked up, trying to remember the exact time he walked out of Gabriella’s apartment. He had every intention of wiping the whole ordeal out of his mind and get some work done. Except it didn’t happen as soon as he eyed the bar and noticed it was open. He’d been sitting in the same spot ever since.

  “Well, don’t know what time it is, but they have delicious breakfast burritos. You should try one. Simply superb.”

  Brick pulled a menu from below the bar. “We’re on supper items now. The nachos are the shit.” Then he put his fingers to his mouth and let them go as if gesturing they were delicious.

  “Wow,” Jaxson muttered. Then he smiled at Brick. “We’ll take the nachos and two beers. If he’s going to sit here and sulk, then he’s going to do it the correct way.”

  “It’s about damn time. First round’s on the house,” Brick said with a sly grin and pulled two beers out of thin air and set them on the counter in front of them.

  Dane wanted to slap Jaxson’s hand when he snatched his club soda away and replaced it with a beer. Instead, he grabbed the bottle and took a sip. The first swallow went down smoothly. The second, third, and fourth went down a little faster than he anticipated.

  Damn it.

  He had tried to avoid this.

  Drown his sorrows.

  And over a damn woman.

  “Want to share what happened?” Jaxson asked, then took his own long swallow.

  At this rate, they’d be on their second round before Brick had a chance to put in the nacho order.

  “Mia happened.”

  Dane felt Jaxson stiffen next to him.

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  Dane sighed, tilting his head a little in his direction. “It means, Mia came, and nothing else mattered.”

  The rigidness in Jaxson’s shoulders dissipated. He slouched as he took another pull from his beer. “They have a tight bond. Not even I’m more important to Gabby.”

  This time, Dane stiffened. That made it sound like Jaxson wanted Gabby to give him more attention. But he saw the fallout of his confession last night. Did the damn asshole like both women?

  Jaxson must’ve noticed the change in his demeanor because he turned. Then he suddenly clapped him on the back and smiled. “Dude, I like Mia. Only Mia. I’m just saying, as a good friend of Gabby’s, she puts Mia over anyone, even me. I’m sorry.”

  Dane took another swig of his beer, nearly done with the bottle. “So, we’re sulking together now?”

  Jaxson eyed his bottle, running a finger up and down the label. “I went over to Mia’s last night. She wasn’t crying anymore, I was thankful for that. But we’ve decided it’s better we stay friends and to forget I even said what I said.”

  “You both decided that?” Dane couldn’t stop the laugh. Because that was some bullshit if he ever heard before.

  “She decided that,” Jaxson said with a clenched jaw. “But, I’ll take her any way I can get her.”

  “Yeah, beca
use she’s Mia. Sweet, precious Mia.”

  He couldn’t hide the disdain in his voice. Hell, if Jaxson wanted to sit with him and attempt to be chummy, then he’d have to deal with whatever came out of his mouth.

  “What did she do to you?” Jaxson asked in a friendly voice, but Dane heard the gravel in his tone, the repressed violence just below the surface.

  “She showed up this morning, and I asked her nicely not to hurt Gabriella again.” Dane looked at him. “You don’t like it when Mia cries. Well, it breaks my goddamn heart to see one tear in Gabriella’s. I was not about to let that happen again.” He shifted his attention back to his beer. “Gabriella didn’t appreciate my support in the matter. She asked me to leave.”

  Brick appeared out of nowhere with two more bottles of beer. “Nachos will be done in five. Bottoms up, champs. Second round’s on me, too.”

  “Champs?” Dane started to laugh. He finished off his first beer and grabbed the new one and downed half of that before more laughter started to escape.

  Jaxson followed his actions, only a little slower. “I’m missing the joke.”

  “My brother, Champ. The bastard. He’ll be the golden boy once again tomorrow.” Dane wanted to smash the beer bottle against the counter. “Can’t ever win against my brother. I guess it figures. I can’t win the heart of the woman I love either.”

  Jaxson spewed beer over the counter. “Shit. You love Gabs?”

  Damn it. He hadn’t meant to let that slip.

  He looked over at Brick and lifted his beer. “Round three, Brick. Pronto.”

  Brick winked, and Dane knew he was going to have a helluva hangover tomorrow.

  Oh, what a birthday party it would be.

  After Mia left, Gabby didn’t know what to do with herself. The conversation she had with Mia went through her mind like a tape rewinding in a VCR. Then she popped in another tape and rewound the conversation between Mia and Dane.