Page 36 of Break Out

Her eyes pop open. “Are you going to nap with me?”

“I could nap.”

The doors open on our floor, and we step out. Once inside our suite, Aubrey kicks off her sandals and collapses onto the couch. A quick glance at my watch tells me it’s only noon, and we didn’t go to bed that late last night. She looks like she’s taken part in a full day’s worth of events.

“What’s going on?” I ask, sitting down next to her.

“My mother exhausts me. Clara exhausts me. Scratch that, this whole wedding exhausts me.”

“So why did you come?” Shit. I probably shouldn’t have said that out loud, but I couldn’t help myself. I hate that she feels like this after spending a few hours with them. I hate that this trip is exhausting her.

She opens her eyes, blinking rapidly a couple of times before staring down at her hands. “I had to come. She’s my sister. They’re my family.”

She knows my situation and how I feel about family and being obligated to do things with them. I haven’t spoken to my parents since I graduated from high school. My father didn’t approve of me playing hockey, he wanted me to follow in his footsteps and join his investment firm. Had it not been for my granddad who was a hockey player himself back in the day, although he never made it past the AHL, I wouldn’t have played. He was the one who bought me my first pair of skates and taught me to skate. He paid for all my coaches and training camps too.

My middle brother, Bryon, and my sister, Chelsea, stopped talking to me about the same time my parents did. I’m sure it’s because dear old dad told them to break contact with me or else. The only people I consider my family these days, besides Aubrey, are my older brother, Brantley, his wife, and my nephew.

I blow out a breath. “I hate to see you put yourself through this stress. For what, Aubrey? Your mom is never going to be happy, no matter what you do. For Clara?”

“You wouldn’t understand, Brody,” she says, crossing her arms.

I nod, accepting her answer because the last thing I want to do is get into an argument with her. “Why don’t you lie down for an hour or two? We can decide what to do when you get up.”

She huffs out a breath, dropping her arms. “Okay.”

She gets off the couch and shuffles into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. I pull out my phone and try not to think about her in the other room, lying in bed.

In the bed we shared last night.

Where I woke up, curled around her.

The bed we’ll share again tonight.

Chapter sixteen

Aubrey

I jolt awake, sitting up in bed and throwing the covers off. Shit, I’m late for work if it’s that light out. Wait, my bedroom doesn’t get this much sunlight, not even in the late afternoon.

Where am I? I rub my face, the room slowly coming into focus.

That’s right. I’m in Key West. For Clara’s wedding. Sharing a bed with Brody, who is pretending to be my boyfriend.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm my still racing heart, I swing my feet over the side of the bed and get up.

“Hey,” I say as I make my way into the living room.

“Hi,” he says, turning to face me, muting the television as he does. “Did you have a good nap?”

“Yeah.” I take a seat next to him. “I’m surprised I fell asleep. Apparently I needed it after this morning’s excitement.”

Brody smirks. “Which part are we calling the excitement? Brunch or before brunch?” His gaze darts to my mouth. I bite down on my lower lip, remembering him kissing me.

I swallow, forcing myself to focus on his question. “I was referring to brunch,” I croak out. “What do you want to do for the rest of the day?” I need to change the subject before I start thinking and overthink our kiss . . . kisses.

Plural.

Many.