Chapter Twenty-Five
B rady
Brady: Is it safe to come in?
Taylor: Define safe
Brady: Is he in yet?
Taylor: He was here before me
Brady: I have work to do
Taylor: U should have thought of that before u started banging his sister
Brady: Whose side r u on
Taylor: The one that doesn’t get me punched
Brady: I’m coming in
Taylor: Uh ok
He was going to have to face Rex eventually.
And probably sooner rather than later. His relationship with Jane was out.
There was no more hiding. Strangely, that lifted something off his chest. He’d expected to feel heavier with the fallout, but instead, there was a lightness in finally being honest. Even though Rex was pissed and the air between them still tense, he and Jane were solid.
Stronger than ever. That mattered more than anything.
He breezed through the front doors of the brewery. Rage Against the Machine piped through the speakers. He couldn’t tell if that was Taylor’s choice or Rex’s.
Sam worked the bar. Taylor stood on one of the safety ladders in the brew room checking something higher up on one of the tanks. He weaved through the tables and patrons toward the office.
Rex sat at the desk typing away on his laptop.
“Rex.” He greeted him.
Rex raised his gaze slowly and glared. His fingers stalled over the keyboard.
“Did you want to talk about this?” He closed the door to the office and sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Quicker exit, if needed and gave Rex the position of power.
“No. I don’t.” His voice lowered, but he didn’t stop glaring at him.
“At some point, we have to.” He didn’t know when he’d grown the balls to confront Rex. He’d been the one wanting to keep his relationship with Jane a secret. But now that it was out in the open, nothing was going to stop him from being with her. Even Rex.
“No. We don’t.” He slapped his hand on the desk. “You’ll just leave Jane alone and I’ll try to pretend that you aren’t a complete asshole.”
“That isn’t going to work.” He lifted a foot and crossed it over his knee. His hand gripped his ankle, holding it in place and giving his hand something to do. His stomach felt like he was riding front car on a rollercoaster.
“Why not?” Rex shrugged. “Sounds easy enough.”
“Because we need to talk about this, Rex. We’ve been best friends for years. We run a business together. This can’t just fester.”
Rex’s voice dropped to a low, biting tone. “What would you like to discuss? That you’ve been lying to me for weeks? That you’ve turned my sister against me? Or maybe the fact that you’ve been sleeping with Jane after I explicitly asked you not to?”
He gripped the armrest of the chair, grounding himself. “We can start wherever you’d like.”
He hated conversations like this—emotional and confrontational.
He was used to moving alone and answering to no one.
But this? It mattered. Rex had always been more than a friend.
He was family. He didn’t want to lose that.
But he also wasn’t going to apologize for loving Jane.
Maybe he didn’t deserve her, but she’d chosen him. And he wasn’t letting her go.
Rex leaned on his forearms on the desk. “Didn’t I ask you not to hook up with Jane? You could have any woman on the planet, except Jane, and of course, now Anna. Was I not clear?”
He swallowed. “You were very clear.” He released the arm rest and combed his fingers through his hair. “What happened between Jane and me isn’t a hook up.”
“Brady, I’ve known you for over a decade now. You’ve never done anything but a hook up. You’ve never even dated a girl. Let alone wanted to be in any sort of relationship with one.”
“That’s honest.” He sighed. “I never believed I was worthy of love and, to be honest, I didn’t really know what it was. I grew up without a mother and had a drunk, abusive father.”
“I know your history and that’s why I have always understood why you weren’t seeking anything serious.” Rex huffed out a breath. “But we are talking about my sister here. She isn’t a test run for you.”
He shook his head. “I’d never pretend to even think she was.
” He stood and paced in the small space between the chairs and the front of the desk.
“Jane has always been a friend to me. Listened to me. Given me a pep talk when my spirits were down. She doesn’t see me like everyone else does—the lonely son of a drunk. Worthless.”
“I don’t see you that way.” Rex sat back in the chair.
“Sometimes you have. Isn’t that what you just said—you know my history so you understand me flipping through girls like the pages of a magazine?”
“That’s not fair. That isn’t what I said.” Rex spoke through his teeth.
“I’m not going to go round and round about my history or my not dating or the number of women I have been with. I know who I was. I know what I did. And I even know why I did it. But I’m not that guy anymore.”
Rex released an impatient snort.
“I apologize for not being straight with you from the beginning,” he said.
He stopped pacing and faced Rex head-on.
“It happened and I told myself it was a one-time thing—that it had to be. Because I didn’t want to screw up what we have.
” He swallowed hard. “But I was drawn to her like a magnet and the way I felt around her. She’s the only place I feel like myself.
Like I’m not broken. She feels like ... home. ”
Rex crossed his arms over his chest. He played the overprotective brother so well.
“Jane wanted to be honest with you right away.” He squatted into the chair again and rested his elbows on his knees.
“I asked her to give us a few weeks to make sure she really wanted this. I am sorry for that. I should have handled it like an adult and we should have had a conversation with you right away.”
“I don’t trust that you won’t break her heart, Brady.”
“If anyone’s heart is going to get broken, it will be mine.” He wrung his hands in front of him. “I’m so in love with her, Rex.”
Rex’s face softened. “Love? I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard that word from you in relation to a woman before. Now, you’ve said it more than once about Jane.”
“I’m positive I haven’t said that word in this context.”
“I don’t know.” Rex shook his head.
“What don’t you know?”
“I want you both to be happy. I really do, Brady. You have been like a brother to me. But this scares me. And if it doesn’t work out, what happens then?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t wanted to think about that possibility.” He squeezed his eyes closed for a few seconds. Though he knew his relationship with Jane could explode into a million pieces, he couldn’t bring himself to even imagine the aftermath of it.
Rex’s voice dropped. “What if your relationship with Jane ruins everything? What if I lose you both?”
His throat tightened. “I know that feeling well.” He rubbed his sweaty palms on the front of his pants. “And yeah, that would kill me.”
Rex’s jaw flexed. “How do I know you won’t crush her?”
“You don’t.” He didn’t flinch. “All I can tell you is that I won’t stop trying to be worthy of her. I will do everything in my power to protect her heart. To protect her. I promise.”
Rex looked away, silent for a second or two. “I’m going to need some time. This changes a lot.”
“Take all the time you need.”
“And I’m sorry for the things I said. I was angry and hurt.” He cleared his throat. “I hope you know that I think you are a great person, Brady.”
“I appreciate you saying that.” The tightness in his chest released a little more.
For so long, he had shoved his feelings into a box he kept locked away inside his chest. Taylor and Rex had been the first to really crack it open.
Jane had blown it to smithereens. Maybe this could really work.
He could keep his best friend and the love of his life.
“Jane is pissed at me. Came in here earlier and made a scene.” Rex said. “She won’t take my calls. I leave tomorrow morning for Georgia and I don’t like the idea of leaving things like this with her.”
“I don’t want that for you either. And she will not be able to rest while you’re away if the two of you are fighting.” He wrung his hands in front him. “I can ask her to come in here to talk to you. I will tell her we talked.”
Rex stood and came around the desk.
He stood from the chair.
“Love you, brother.” Rex embraced him with a pat on the back.
He returned the gesture.
“You break her heart, though, and I will kill you.”
He expected nothing less.