“Who is she? Do I know her?”
I’d told Katie we could keep our relationship quiet for a short time, but I’d also explicitly said that I would not lie to her brother. And she’d accepted my condition. With him outright asking me, I had no choice but to come clean.
“It’s Katie,” I sighed.
“Katie who?” He looked genuinely confused, and I was a little annoyed that he hadn’t even considered I might be talking about his sister. Especially because I knew him well enough to know he thought she was too young to be in a serious relationship. He still saw her as a rebellious teenager who needed him to watch over her.
“Your sister,” I clarified. “Katie. This is all for her.”
Jesse’s expression was shocked for a minute, then it darkened, and his brow furrowed. “You better be fucking joking, Ward.”
“You seriously think I would joke about this?” I asked incredulously.
His whole face turned beet red, and his hands clenched at his sides. “Don’t go anywhere near my sister, Sawyer Ward. Don’t breathe a word about this to her. Or I will kick your ass.”
I sighed and ran a hand over my hair. “She already knows, Jesse. We’re together.”
“I’m going to kill you!” he shouted right before he charged at me.
His first punch landed on my jaw, and my fingers instinctively curled into my palms. I held back, allowing him a couple of hits because I couldn’t really blame him for his reaction. However, after he split the skin above my eyebrow with his third punch, I was no longer in a giving mood. My fist flew toward his face just as Katie burst into the room.
7
Katie
“Stop it!” I screamed, forcing my way between two of the most important men in my life before one of them caused permanent damage. Luckily, they both had quick reflexes and could pull their punches without hitting me by mistake.
“Shit, Katie. What the hell were you thinking? We could’ve hurt you,” Jesse growled.
“Fuck, baby. Are you okay?” Sawyer turned me around and tipped my head back so he could scan my face for any sign of injury.
I puffed my bottom lip out in a pout when I saw the cut on his forehead. “I’m fine, but the same can’t be said for you.”
“Looks worse than it feels,” he assured me.
I twisted around to glare at my brother. “I can’t believe you tried to beat up your best friend!”
“First of all, I didn’t try to do anything. I fucking succeeded in kicking his ass.” He pointed at his face. “He’s the only one bleeding.”
Sawyer lifted the hem of his shirt to blot at the cut. “Only because I let you get in some free hits. I figured you deserved a little advantage since I get why you’re pissed.”
“Sure, you did,” Jesse scoffed, balling his hands into fists. “How about we go again so I can re-kick your ass when you’re not supposedly holding back?”
“Enough,” I hissed, pushing a hand against each of their chests. “No more fighting. It’s over.”
Jesse pulled me away from Sawyer. “The only thing that’s over is whatever the fuck is going on between the two of you.”
“You might be my big brother, but you’re not the boss of me.” I yanked my arm out of his grasp. “I didn’t listen to you when I was younger, and I sure as heck am not going to start now. Not when you’re being ridiculous about something that really matters to me.”
Sawyer stroked his palm down my back, and I leaned into his touch. When he moved his hand around to my hip, Jesse’s gaze dropped to where he was touching me. “I’m not being ridiculous, and you’re definitely going to listen to me about this.”
“No, what I’m going to do is find some ice for Sawyer to limit the swelling,” I corrected.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Jesse growled, pointing his thumb at his chest. “You should be worried about me, not him. I’m your brother. He’s just some guy I used to be best friends and business partners with before he proved how wrong I’d been to trust him.”
I hated how final that sounded, as though there was no way to repair their friendship. “You’re going to be stuck with Sawyer in your life for a very long time since he’s also the guy I’ve fallen in love with.”
Jesse’s eyes widened as his gaze darted back and forth between Sawyer and me. “Love?”
Sawyer flung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against his side. “Yeah, jackass. And you just ruined the moment when I told her how I felt the first time. This is about as far away from being romantic as you can possibly get. So thanks for that.”
Jesse scrubbed his palms down his face. “How long has this been going on?”