Page 14 of Clap Back (Carter Brothers)
I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, hating what I had to admit next.
My gut reaction was to say ‘fuck yeah.’
But again, the pact that I’d made with my brother…
“I think my brother has a crush on you,” I told her bluntly, not mincing words. “As flattered as I am that you’re asking me out, I’m not willing to go there with him having feelings for you.”
Her brows rose. “What?”
“My brother. My twin. He has feelings for you,” I told her plainly. “That’s a boundary I’m not willing to cross.”
We’d tried that once in high school and Atlas hadn’t talked to me for a freakin’ week. It’d been one of the worst weeks of my life.
“Oh,” she paused. “Well, I hate to tell you this since you seem so overly confident about it, but I don’t think it’s me that Atlas comes to see all the time. I think it’s Pepper.”
I was so shocked at her words that my mouth fell open in surprise. “What?”
“When he comes in to buy stuff, he doesn’t give me a second look. It’s all the back and forth banter with him and Pepper,” she answered. “He got Pepper’s door, and not mine. He bought her food at the gas station, and not me. He spent an hour in the house with her, and not me. He made her sandwich, not mine.”
Where I’d thought that had been anger, it’d been interest?
I opened my mouth and then closed it, just like she’d done not too long ago.
“I…” I paused. “I’ll have to talk to him before I say yes. Again, I’m not really willing to chance this.”
Her lips turned up into a small smile, then she placed the beer bottle to her lips and took a light swig before reaching for a donut.
“That’s fine,” she continued. “Just let me know.”
When Atlas got back, I was finished with my beer. Instead of finishing hers, though, she handed the half-empty bottle to me and said, “Potty break.”
The way she looked at me pointedly let me know she expected me to confirm her suspicions.
I waited until she was all the way inside before turning to my brother, who was eyeing my beer.
“Thirsty?” he drawled.
I chugged the rest of Maven’s beer before tossing it into the trash.
I finished off the last two donuts then tossed that, too.
It was only as I started to wipe off my shirt that I admitted that I was stalling.
Taking a deep breath, I turned to Atlas who was staring inside at Pepper checking out.
“You need to tell me what the hell is going on with you and Pepper,” I said bluntly. “Because if you don’t have a thing for Maven, I’m going there.”
Auden rubbed the side of his face with his free hand before saying, “There’s nothing going on with me and Pepper. But I don’t have feelings for Maven, either. Feel free to go there.”
His words surprised me.
I winced. “You don’t? Like none at all?”
“None,” he answered. “I…” He trailed off, and I thought he might bring up what was truly bothering him, but he didn’t. “Go for it with her. She’s not who I want.”
He left it at that, and deciding now wasn’t the time to push him about his feelings about Pepper, I chose to change the subject. “What time do you have to be into work tomorrow?”
Though Atlas had a permanent SWAT team position, I didn’t. I chose to work out in the field, only picking up the SWAT team cap when I was needed.