“Leave now?” he asked, surprised and I was nodding my head, feeling the rush of panic hit my brain. Of course, I didn’t want him to leave, but that was the most practical thing to do in our situation.

  “Yes, right away. The longer your stay here, the longer we’ll be lying to Max. I don’t lie to him.” I said and gulped. I watched as Declan clenched his jaw and then took a deep breath in. His wide shoulders heaved, and I felt the knots in my belly tighten. He was breathtakingly handsome.

  “You don’t lie to your brother?” he asked, fixing another one of his cold stares on me.

  “No, I don’t,” I said firmly, and he squinted his eyes.

  “Is that why he has no idea what happened between us six years ago?” he asked, in the most naturally calm way possible. My breath caught in my throat and my lips parted in shock. He knew. He remembered what happened that night.

  “So…Declan, time to crack open the cans?” Max walked into the kitchen, and his voice sounded jovial while Declan glared at me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak. For six years, I had carried around this big secret on my shoulders, while he remembered what had happened! I couldn’t wrap my brain around it.

  “Yeah, sure,” Declan said to Max, and stood up from his chair and started clearing the dishes off the table.

  I remained sitting on the chair, staring at the wall in front of me, looking like I’d just seen a ghost. So, I wasn’t the only one who’d been lying to Max all this while. Declan had been doing the same.

  “Hey, you okay?” Max had come over, and he squeezed my shoulders gently from behind. I looked at him and tried to smile.

  “Yeah, just tired,” I said and then watched as my brother and the man I was in love with; walked out of the kitchen together. I knew I had reached a breaking point.

  Declan remembered all along and had done nothing about it.

  Chapter 11

  Declan

  Max was talking, but I wasn’t listening to a word he was saying. We were sitting out on the porch, drinking cans of beer and I could feel my head getting heavy, my mind swimming. Even though I nodded and agreed with whatever he was saying; he didn’t have my attention.

  All I could think about was that night from six years ago, and how it had changed everything. In one night of drunken madness, I had managed to change my whole life.

  Piper was my best friend’s sister, and even though I wanted her, I had been able to keep my feelings in check. All through my teenage years, I kept my distance. I tried not to look at her; I tried not to let her affect me. Every time I saw her with a guy, I had to clench my hands to stop myself from losing my mind.

  She was the girl of my dreams, but she was also Max’s sister.

  That night I was too drunk, and we were alone together in a dark room. She was laughing as she undressed, and I couldn’t control myself. I assumed she was drunk too. I had spent so long wanting her, dreaming about her that I was too weak to stop when I was that close.

  It was a quick fumble in the dark. Nothing like the sex we had that evening in the bathroom. We were young then, and I wanted her too much, and we were also drunk. But it had happened. Which meant that I’d broken the first rule of the bro-code; I had slept with my best friend’s sister.

  I pretended to fall asleep immediately after, and I sensed her nestle into my arms. I could breathe in her scent, smell her hair, as she slept peacefully on my chest. When I woke up the next morning, she was gone, and I knew immediately that she regretted it. Why wouldn’t she? She could have had any guy she wanted and that night was a mistake.

  I stayed away from the Smyth household. Making excuses to Max so that I wouldn’t have to see him. I didn’t know how to face him. I knew I’d tell him the truth if I saw him. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to dodge him all my life.

  The only solution would be to leave town and never look back. Joining the Navy was the punishment I deserved. In those six years, I had been able to keep my guilt about sleeping with Piper in the backseat. Out of sight, out of mind right?

  Every woman I fucked in those six years were replacements. None of them came close to that fumble in the dark with Piper. No woman would ever be good enough. Piper was intelligent, beautiful and she had the right amount of spunk. She could hold her own in an argument, and I admired her for that. She was my ideal, and I knew I would never find someone else like her. She’d grown up around me. Even though she wasn’t exactly my friend I knew her inside-out. I also knew that she despised me and had probably told Max what had happened by now.

  So, when I returned to Passage West after all these years, I was expecting Max to greet me with a punch. When he didn’t, I knew Piper hadn’t told him.

  I was also hoping that she would have left town by then. Married. Become a mom. Moved to New York or a big city like that and achieved the potential she had brimming inside of her. The last thing I expected was to see her in Passage West, still living in the family home. Single and running a thrift store. I was expecting not to see her at all.

  But here she was, and once again, I hadn’t been able to keep my hands off her. Why did she keep tempting me when she disliked me that much? She had always treated me as her older brother’s uninteresting best friend.

  I turned to look at Max now. He had fallen silent and was sipping his beer quietly.

  “You know, I’m glad you came back here, man. I was starting to think I’d never see you again,” Max said, and I had to clench my jaw to stop the guilt from rising in my body.

  “I’m glad I came back too. I didn’t realize how much I missed this place,” I said, meaning every word of it, but leaving out the biggest detail. I’d come back to re-live that night with Piper. I wanted to feel that jaw-breaking, searing pain of not having her. It made me feel alive, and I yearned for it all those years.

  “I’m sorry about Piper’s behavior. You know how she is, moody. Besides, she hasn’t been the same since mom died. I’m sure, deep inside, she’s happy to see you too,” Max continued.

  “You don’t have to apologize for Piper. I’m sure she’d hate you if she heard you say this,” I said, trying to laugh. Max did laugh and then drank from his can again.

  “So, don’t tell her I said this. But no, I’m serious man, it’s very rare that we get any excitement around here. Not like your life I bet!” he said and thumped my back. I grinned because I knew he had no clue what the past six years had been like for me.

  The kind of things I’d seen. The wars I’d fought. How everything had changed. Just because I broke the rules of friendship and because I still couldn’t get over his sister.

  “You’ve always been good at shaking things up,” Max said, and we laughed. I was only laughing on the outside. I hated myself on the inside, with a rising, burning fury.

  Chapter 12

  Piper

  Living in the same house with Declan was way more than I could deal with. I had spent the night in my room, listening to his breathing in the adjoining room. My heart was beating out of my chest. And after a sleepless night, I slipped out of the house at the crack of dawn before Max or Declan woke up.

  In the store, I could barely put on a smiling face when customers came in. The day dragged on, and every time the door opened, I expected him to walk in. I felt like I was going mad. I knew I should have just slept with that guy in the club that night. Perhaps I wouldn’t have felt so disgusted with myself if I had. Perhaps I wouldn’t have slept with Declan then.

  I tried staying away from the house for as long as possible again, till I knew I had to go back to the house. At least to change. I had made up my mind. I was going to the nightclub again. This time, I wasn’t going to chicken out. This one was going to be the night I got over Declan. Once and for all.

  The house sounded empty when I came in, and I didn’t have the guts to check. I went straight to my bedroom and there, I put on my party clothes. A red body-conscious dress that clung to my limbs and had a low slouchy back that nearly reached the top of my ass. I was going to make sure that the moment I entered the nightclub, the guys there knew exactly what I was there for.

  Cherry red lipstick, smoky eyeshadow and glitter in my hair completed the look. I put on black high heels and stuffed essentials into a small black clutch and stepped out of my room. As I shut the door behind me, I looked up to find Declan leaving his room as well. I couldn’t have avoided him this time. His eyes widened when he saw me.

  “Piper, where are you going?” he asked, as I hurried past him towards the front door.

  “None of your business,” I snapped, trying not to stare at how handsome he looked. I needed to focus on what I needed that night. To be with someone else who could help me forget this man I had spent nearly all my life being in love with.

  “Piper, don’t drive!” I heard him say before he caught my wrist and whipped me around. I was so close. I was nearly out the door.

  “I don’t need another man to worry about me. Max is good enough,” I cried and twisted my wrist out of his steely grip. I rushed out of the door, my heels clicking against the floor as I ran down the steps of the porch. Declan hadn’t given up yet, he was following me to my car.

  “Piper, you know it’s dangerous. Please don’t drink and drive. It’s irresponsible,” he said, close on my heel. I banged open my car door and turned to glare at him.

  “Fine. I won’t come home then. I won’t drink and drive!” I was yelling now, and I noticed how dark Declan’s face had gotten. He had his jaws clenched, and he was staring at me.

  “Stay out where? What are you going to do?” he asked, in a quieter voice than mine, which only infuriated me more. How could he be this calm?

  “You don’t have to concern yourself with that,” I said, and he had reached for my hand again in a flash. The more he touched me, the weaker I felt. He was like my Kryptonite.

  “Piper, you don’t have to do this!” he growled, through gritted teeth and I felt a cry rising in my throat.

  “How do you know what I’m doing or what I have to do? You don’t know anything, Declan. Just leave me alone,” I screeched and yanked my hand away from him. Declan gripped the car door, holding it open.

  “You’re not in the right state of mind to drive anywhere, Piper. Let’s just talk this over. I understand that you’re angry, and I’m sorry I’ve caused this,” Declan said, with his brows crossed and I shook my head. I could feel my cheeks flushing, hot tears pricking the backs of my eyelids. I was going to crack. I was going to give in to him again if he kept this up. This was not my plan for the night.

  “Just let me go!” I said, in a quivering voice as I tried to pry his fingers off the car door, but he was way stronger than me, and I didn’t manage to move a single finger.

  “Piper. Please, just relax. Let’s talk. You should be calm when you drive. Not like this,” Declan continued, not putting in any effort to keep his fingers on the door there, and I screeched again, desperate to get away from him. I could feel myself melting already. I was helpless against him. He was soaking up all my powers.

  “You need to let me go, Declan. I can’t…I won’t be here with you. In the same house. Just let me go!” I cried, trying to level my voice and he slowly, but thankfully, took his hand off my door.

  “I don’t want to force you into anything, Piper. I just want you to be safe, and I want you just to hear me out,” Declan said, and I shook my head, my face scrunching up into an expression of angst and pain.

  “I can’t Declan. Not anymore. I have to do this,” I cried out, just as the front door of the house opened and Max stepped out on the porch.

  Chapter 13

  Declan

  We both heard Max’s voice at the same time and turned to look at him. He was standing on the porch, under the bright light above the front door, with his hands thrust deep into the pockets of his jeans. I could see the harsh expression of confusion on his face.

  “What the Hell is going on here?” he had asked, and neither Piper nor I had responded to that.

  “I heard your voices from my room. You were screaming, Piper. What is going on?” he was descending the steps towards us now, and I didn’t have to look at Piper to know that she was panicking.

  “Nothing, I’m just leaving. Declan was being overbearing and telling me to drive carefully,” Piper said and added an unconvincing nervous laugh. Max looked at his sister and then at me, glaring at my face, and I looked back at him. I wasn’t going to look away.

  I had spent too much time running away from what I should have owned up to six years ago.

  “Declan?” Max said my name, expecting a response and Piper interrupted us again.

  “Max, it’s nothing. You know how my temper is!” she said in a high screechy voice, but Max didn’t turn to his sister this time. He kept his gaze frozen and fixed on me.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he asked me again, and I clenched my jaw. It was time. Max deserved to know, and I had been a bad friend to him for too long.

  “Max, I should have told you this a long time ago but something happened between Piper and me,” I said, and he squinted his eyes, his mouth firmly pressed together.

  “What happened?” he asked, ignoring the gasp that came from Piper.

  “Declan…please, let’s all just go inside. We don’t have to do this right now,” she said, but I kept my gaze fixed on Max too. I was a Navy Seal for fuck sake! How was this the hardest thing I’d ever done?

  “Six years ago, a few days before I left town. We were both drunk at that house party and we…” I said, but Max had held up a hand. He didn’t want me to say the rest of it.

  “You banged my sister?” he asked, looking up at me with his brows furrowed in furious disbelief. I wasn’t going to waver this time; I was going to tell him everything.

  “And yesterday,” I began to say, and Piper placed a hand on my arm.

  “Declan, c’mon,” she said, and I saw the look Max gave her when he saw her touch me.

  “What happened yesterday?” he asked, turning to me again. His face scrunched up like he had smelt something awful.

  “It happened again yesterday when you were at work,” I said, and I heard Max’s growl before his fist hit my jaw. It was a good punch. The guy still had it in him, and my face whipped to the side from the blow.

  Piper screamed, stepping away from us as an instinctual reaction and I looked back at Declan. I could feel a throbbing in my nose, but I wasn’t going to punch him back. I deserved everything I was given.

  “You fucking asshole. I trusted you! You were my best friend!” Max said, shaking out his knuckles furiously.

  “I didn’t want to betray you, Max. That was never my intention. That first night we were drunk, and it was an accident,” I said, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. Max hurled himself at me again, and a second punch landed on my nose.

  “Max! Please stop this! Declan, do something!” Piper was screaming behind us.

  “And yesterday? Were you drunk yesterday too? Was that an accident as well?” Max yelled, panting hard as he glared at me with bloodshot eyes. I shook my head and wiped my nose with the back of my hand.

  “No. It wasn’t, and I’m sorry, Max. I shouldn’t have kept this from you. I shouldn’t have run away like that,” I said, and I could hear Piper’s soft weeping behind us. Max glared at me with gritted teeth.

  “I will never trust you ever again. You slept with my sister. My sister! You grew up around us. You ate with us. You’re living with us now!” Max growled, and I hung my head down in surrender. I deserved to hear it all. He was right. I had broken a code. I had betrayed his friendship so he could break a few ribs of mine if he wanted. I couldn’t do anything to make it up to him. No matter how much I loved Piper.

  “Max, please…” Piper was crying, but her brother didn’t care. The look that he gave her told me that he would deal with her later.

  “None of this is her fault, so keep Piper out of it,” I said, and Max scowled at me.

  “Stop talking about my sister. Don’t even say her name,” he said.

  “Just tell me you won’t be mad at her,” I said, and he came charging at me again.

  “I don’t have to fucking tell you anything!” he growled and prepared himself for another punch.

  “Just stop it, or I’m calling the cops! Max, stop punching him! He’s not even fighting back!” Piper was yelling on the top of her lungs now, and her voice made Max stop in his tracks.

  With the scowl still on his face, he turned to her.

  “Go back in the house, Piper,” he grunted at her, and she stood in front of him with her breasts heaving.

  “I’m not going anywhere till you both stop fighting. This is about him and me. Not just about him,” she said, and Max rolled his eyes angrily at her.

 

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