Page 207 of By His Vow
“Our grandmother is dead,” I point out.
“Exactly,” he spits before picking up the phone and dialing for room service. “You need to get on to whoever is in charge of this shit. It’s not good enough, Kin—Oh yeah, please could we have two bottles of Macallan brought up?” He listens for a moment. “Yes. That’s great. Thank you. Uhh…two hours?” he tags on suspiciously. I narrow my eyes at him. “Perfect. Thank you.”
“What have you done?” I ask before he’s even put the phone down.
“Me?” he asks, pointing at himself as he marches over and swipes one of the bottles of beer from the table. “Nothing, Bro. You wanted a quiet night; I’ve just followed orders,” he agrees before winking at Miles and Kieran.
“I knew Miles should have been my best man. He wouldn’t pull this kind of shit.”
“He’s too busy walking his filthy sister down the aisle,” Kian mutters, earning a scowl from Miles. “And anyway, Miles has never listened to you. If he were in charge, you’d already have a stripper grinding in your lap.”
“He doesn’t want a stripper,” Kieran pipes up, understanding for once. “He wants Tatum naked and—fuck off,” he complains when Miles slaps him.
“Cut it out. It’s an arranged marriage. They don’t even like each other.”
“Doesn’t mean they’re not bumping uglies,” Kieran points out.
“Bumping uglies?” Kian asks, his eyes wide with horror. “What the fuck kind of bullshit are they teaching you in the NFL?”
Kieran smirks. “All the fucking good stuff, Bro. You should see the jersey chasers. Fucking epic, I’m telling you.”
“We’re more than aware,” Miles points out. “Enough of them have shared your intimate secrets all over the socials.”
“You don’t have to read it, you know. But I appreciate the support all the same,” Kieran says, blowing Miles a kiss.
There’s a knock at the door and Kian hops up, pulling his tie free and undoing the first few buttons of his shirt as he goes to answer it.
“Oh hey,” he starts, turning the charm up to max when he finds a girl on the other side.
“Leave her alone, Ki,” Miles calls at exactly the same time Kieran shouts, “Stand well back; he’s got crabs, and they can jump.”
I scrub my hand down my face. What the fuck was I thinking, inviting these three to spend the night with me before my wedding?
Once Kian has pulled himself away from temptation, he grabs four glasses, lines them up on the coffee table and sloshes the tempting amber liquid into them.
After handing them out, he holds his in the air.
“To my big brother. The guy I’ve been forced to look up to all my life. The man who’s taught me everything after I’ve watched him make every mistake in the book. I hope this arranged marriage brings you wealth, happiness, and most importantly, sleepless nights due to all the dirty fucking.” Miles groans as Kian and Kieran hold their glasses out and clink each other’s.
“To dirty fucking Miles’s sister,” Kieran agrees.
Miles punches him in the shoulder, but the fucker is so massive now, I doubt he even feels it before turning his eyes on me.
The warning within them is as clear as day. Hurt my little sister, and I’ll hurt you.
We might be best friends, but even that has its limits. And apparently, it’s Tatum’s heart that has the power to break us apart.
“Bottoms up, baby,” Kian calls before the three of them lift their glasses to their lips and down their drinks.
I hesitate, serious about not being hungover when I say my vows tomorrow. But then, all eyes turn on me and I begin second-guessing myself.
Tipping the glass up, the rich alcohol coats my tongue before sliding down my throat like silk.
Meh, what harm is one, anyway?
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TATUM