Jokingly, I ask, “Are you fanboying over me?”
“Got a problem with that?”
I shake my head, then whisper, “I can’t believe you’ve read it.”
“I can’t believe you wrote it.”
And then we stare at each other for a few moments. Silence fills the room, an unspoken truth forming between us—this is the start of something new.
“Breaker?”
“Yeah?”
Shyly, I ask, “Will you be my friend?”
That smile of his I’ve grown to know tonight widens. “Are you asking me to start a . . . friendship with you?”
“I believe I am. Is that weird? I mean, we barely know each other. I find your mustache absolutely repulsive, but our commonalities are endless at this point. The fact we can agree that the Winchester brothers being lovers is erotic is unprecedented. I believe that means we need to be friends.”
He slowly nods. “I believe it’s imperative.”
I hold up my hand. “And friends only because that mustache has ruined any sexual feeling I might have toward you.”
“I understand. I knew the risks of what could happen if I adorned facial hair solely along my upper lip.” He holds his hand out. “Friends?”
I take his hand in mine. “Friends.”
Chapter One
BREAKER
Present day . . .
“Got somewhere important to be?” JP asks me from across the plane, his eyes fixed on my bouncing leg.
“Just eager to get the hell away from you,” I answer, a typical brother response.
“Cute.” He lets out a deep sigh. “I hate being away from Kelsey, but the trip to New York was good, right? Setting up our second rent-controlled building feels good.”
A few months ago, JP approached me and our other brother, Huxley, about utilizing our fortune for good and offering some rent-controlled buildings in major cities. The buildings would offer a safe, clean, and fresh place to live, providing assistance to those who might need it—like daycare facilities for single parents, financial classes, and access to a market with wholesale food. The point of the project is to help those who need it the most. It’s been a successful and rewarding venture.
“It does feel good,” I say as I pull my phone from my pocket while the plane taxis to the bunker. I open the text thread I have with Lia, and I shoot her a quick text.
Breaker: Landed. Picking up the goods. You have everything cued up and ready to go?
My phone buzzes right away with a reply.
Lia: I’ve been ready, just waiting on you.
Breaker: Sorry, poor weather held us up. Be there soon.
“Who are you texting over there?” JP asks, trying to get a look at my phone.
“Lia,” I answer.
“Ahhh,” he announces with realization heavy in his tone. “That’s why you’re so eager to get off the plane. You want to go spend time with your girl.”
“First of all, she’s not my girl, she’s my best friend, and if I have to keep saying that to you, I’m going to fucking explode. And secondly, she just got a brand-new glass Yahtzee that we’ve been dying to play.”
“Glass Yahtzee?” JP asks. “That seems like an extremely bad idea. Isn’t the point of Yahtzee to shake the dice?”
“Yes, but this presents another level of a challenge: shake the dice without breaking the cup.”
JP stares at me, his face devoid of expression. “You’re going to slice your hands open. Does this glass Yahtzee come with a warning?”
“Yes, of course. It’s a play-at-your-own-risk situation. And we want to risk it. Don’t worry, though. Lia has prepared a hard surface with a blanket. We’re being smart.”
“Being smart would not be playing glass Yahtzee,” he mutters while shaking his head. “Do not call me when you need stitches.”
“Not like you would answer the phone if I did.”
JP rolls his eyes in a dramatic fashion. “I’m a newlywed, for fuck’s sake. Sorry if I want to spend every waking moment with my wife.”
“I don’t think you actually are sorry,” I say just as the plane parks and the flight attendant opens the door and lets down the stairs.
I gather my bag and move past JP to the exit, where I stop suddenly. Huxley, our older brother, steps out of his car, shuts the door, and leans against it with his arms crossed. Sunglasses cover his eyes, but it doesn’t hide the scowl on his forehead or the tension he’s wearing under his perfectly tailored suit.
“Uh, JP? Why is Huxley here, looking like he’s ready to kill?”