“Excellent?” He perked up. “Your favorite brother, you mean?”
“Hmm.”
She studied him, then turned on her heel and headed into the dining room without answering. He chased after her, his steps mirroring hers. If nothing else, she had gotten him to accept she just might need to take the road with the potholes, instead of the freshly paved one. It might be a big mistake, but it was her mistake to make.
And she needed to make it.
Now she just had to convince her brothers of that, if Brett showed up in her room tonight. She still didn’t know if he would or not.
But if he did…
Then she had gotten one brother down, and only had three more to go.
Chris came into the foyer with Nina under his arm. “Where’s Brett?”
“I’m right here,” Brett said, coming down the stairs. He met Anna’s eyes for a brief second, his gaze full of heated promises, then he hopped down the remaining three steps. Anna stifled a laugh at the surprised look on Wyatt’s face. Brett didn’t hop. “What’s up, Chrissy?”
Chris raised a brow at Brett. “You mean besides your mood?”
Brett laughed, but said nothing.
“We were thinking of slipping away to the lake for the afternoon. Maybe renting a few paddleboats. You in?” Chris asked, still looking at him strangely.
Brett looked at Anna for a second, and she gave a slight nod.
Wyatt watched the exchange with pursed lips.
Brett shrugged. “Sure. Why not? Sounds like a blast.”
“All right.” Christopher studied Brett closely. Looking for the reason he acted so weird, she’d bet. With any luck, he wouldn’t find it. “Why are you acting like a cheerleader on speed?”
“It’s your wedding.”
“Yeah. Mine. Not yours.”
“Which is exactly why I’m relaxed and happy.” Brett grinned. “No pressure on me.”
With a shake of his head, Chris turned to Anna. “You coming along, Squirt?”
“Sure. Let me change into my suit and I’ll be back down.” She gathered her hair into a sloppy bun and secured it with an elastic band from her wrist. “Are we all going?”
“Yeah.” Chris looked at his watch. “Meet back down here in ten, and we’ll escape the panicked setup for the wedding for a few hours.”
They all headed off to their bedrooms, Brett following her closely. Too closely, if he wanted to keep their relationship a secret. When his fingers brushed over her butt as she climbed the stairs, she shot him an incredulous look over her shoulder.
“Do you want to get caught?” she whispered.
“No, but I do want to touch you,” he whispered back. His hand brushed her butt again, this time creeping toward her inner thigh. “I can’t seem to resist.”
She bit back a smile. “Well, you better try harder, or I’ll have to tie you up.”
“Sounds fun.” His hand fell back to the banister, and he called over his shoulder to Christopher, “So are we swimming today?”
“Yeah. Did you bring a suit? If not, you can use one of mine.”
The idea of Brett’s junk touching where Christopher’s junk once touched was almost enough to make her gag. Please God, let him have brought one along.
“I have my own.”
Thank God.
“Okay. See you two in a few,” Chris said.
Chris, Nina, and Wyatt turned left at the top of the stairs, while Anna and Brett went to the right. Wyatt gave her a knowing look. “Hurry up. You don’t want to miss your ride.”
Anna rolled her eyes. “Yes, Father.”
“We’ll only need five minutes.” Brett threw an arm over her shoulder. “I’m quick.”
Wyatt gave Brett a dirty look. “Don’t make me kill you a day before the wedding. Mom hates blood in her carpet.”
And then he followed Christopher and Nina without waiting for a reply.
Anna rolled her eyes and stopped outside her door to give Brett what she hoped was a flirtatious smile. Leaning in, she whispered, “If we can shake the boys later, I’ll christen the lake with you.”
“Christen the—?” Brett’s eyes went wide, and his hand clenched the knob. “Seriously?”
“Mm-hmm.” She played with his shirt, undoing the top button for him. “You interested?”
He looked her up and down, his eyes heated with an unspoken promise. “Fuck yeah. I’ll lose them even if I have to slap blindfolds on their eyes and hog-tie them together on the beach.”
Laughing, she opened the door and shut it in his face as he adjusted his pants with a grimace. Grinning, she picked out her skimpiest red bikini, slathered some sunscreen on her shoulders, and slipped a transparent cover-up over her head. Today would be one hell of a day.