Page 8 of Forever After Fall

She thought I was Marlowe’s brother. Jasper. My right-hand man at my company, and a good friend. I had no idea they were involved with one another. It hasn’t been that long since her breakup with Chris. A few weeks. A couple of months. Technically longer, but I know she was still sneaking out to see him by the number of times she asked me to check on her mom on the way home. At least until he fucked up royally.

I scrub a hand over my face.

I don’t need to worry about Chris’s fuckups right now. I have one of my own.

Huge. Massive. Fucking earth-shattering.

Because she thought I was Jasper, but I don’t have an excuse. I know her voice. All too fucking well. I can’t say I didn’t know it was her. Which means now she knows I have no problem stripping her down and⁠—

“Ans? Hey! I thought that was you.” My brother’s voice calls from the doorway before I hear his footsteps over the cobblestone. “Something on fire? Saw you bolting.”

I’m not keen to talk to anyone right now, but if it has to be someone, better my brother Bo than anyone.

“Nothing’s on fire. I just needed air.”

“Any particular reason?” Bo asks as he sidles up next to me, leaning back on the rail with a longneck in his hand. He knows me too well.

I take a deep breath and force myself to stand straight.

“I fucked up.”

“Ate too much of that fondue tower? Don’t tell me you mixed it with that strong-ass IPA Ramsey picked. That shit hurts. I got some antacids out in the truck.”

I cut him a sharp look that has him raising a brow.

“No.” I grit my teeth. “Something worse.”

“Worse than that IPA? I didn’t think there was much worse than that.”

“Can you be serious for a second?”

“I’m serious.”

“You’re not serious enough.”

“Okay. You’re scaring me now. I was well on my way to too drunk to give a shit about anything, and now I feel like I gotta sober up for whatever you’re about to tell me. Do I need to get some water first?” He lowers the beer from his lips and gives me a thoughtful look.

“I need to figure out how to unfuck this.” I ignore his soliloquy and push on.

“Well, don’t let it be anything that pisses our little sister off. She just found out Grant and Dakota have to skip out on the double honeymoon thing they had planned.”

“Everything okay?” My mind blanks out for a minute as I worry the Stockton troubles have reignited.

“Yeah. I guess Hudson and Charlotte are going to an important meeting overseas, and Grant and Dakota want to go. They’re doing a yacht in the Mediterranean after. But you know it’s not what Hazel had planned. I guess they weren’t going to tell her until tomorrow, but someone let it slip tonight.”

“She’ll be fine once she’s on her honeymoon. Ramsey will make sure she relaxes.” I shake my head. It’s a mild inconvenience, but she’ll survive it. There’s been too much over the last couple of years I worried she wouldn’t survive for me to care much about the logistics of their vacation plans.

“I guess. She’s saying they had some couples things they were supposed to do, and now it’s ruined.”

“Again…”

“Yeah, I know, but I still feel bad, you know?”

I nod as I hook my boot on the lowest rung of the railing.

“All right. Hit me with it.” Bo looks at me like he’s preparing to get punched in the face.

I wish someone would punch me in the face right now. Knock me out cold so I don’t have to keep reliving this nightmare scenario. I still feel like I’m reeling from the gut punch of hearing “never in a million years.”