Evan shrugged nonchalantly. “You were all there most of the time. It’s ancient history now. We’re all happy.” He hesitated before adding, “Except possibly Jared right now.”
Jared knew that Evan was denying the real truth, but he wasn’t going to push his sibling right now. He knew Evan, and if he didn’t want to talk about his childhood and adolescence, he wouldn’t.
“Because our little brother doesn’t want to admit he’s in love with Mara,” Dante commented right before he slugged another gulp of his beer.
“Because I’m not,” Jared argued vehemently. He wasn’t, right? Just because he lusted after Mara every waking moment of his day, wanted to be with her when he wasn’t, thought of her all of the time, wondered if she was okay. Surely, that wasn’t exactly all about love.
You don’t believe in true love?
Mara’s question drifted through Jared’s mind as he tried to sort out his emotions. Nope. He didn’t believe in love. Or he hadn’t. Now he didn’t know what the hell to think. Was he any less obsessed than his brothers were about their women? At one time, he’d thought they were all crazy. Now he was the one acting like a lunatic.
“Would you walk through fire for her?” Grady asked quietly.
Evan shot him a questioning glance, and Jared almost squirmed as he answered grudgingly, “Yes.”
“What would you do if she didn’t want to see you anymore?” Dante queried.
“I’d seduce her.” I’d fucking beg for the very first time in my life. Holy shit. He wasn’t saying that out loud. Just thinking about it made him shudder, but he knew it was true. He needed Mara just that damn much. “She’s mine. She’s not going anywhere,” he added gruffly.
“Primal instincts,” Grady observed.
“Unable to function without her,” Dante added.
“Staking his claim,” Grady mused.
“Probably thinks about her all the time,” Dante interjected.
“You’re screwed,” Dante and Grady said in unison.
Jared looked at the knowing smiles on Dante’s and Grady’s faces and grumbled, “Assholes.”
“Leave him alone,” Evan ordered commandingly. “I doubt either one of you would have wanted your weaknesses pointed out when you were struggling through your own relationship difficulties.”
Grady and Dante sobered after a moment of thought and nodded slowly, both of them muttering an apology to Jared.
“I thought we were here to play poker,” Evan said evenly. “So far I haven’t seen any of you putting your money where your mouth is or dealing out the cards.”
Even though Jared was irritated, he almost smiled. Nobody could beat Evan at poker, and no doubt Grady and Dante knew they’d get their asses kicked. Not one of them had ever learned to really read Evan in poker, and he had absolutely no “tells.” His eldest brother had been mopping the floor with all of them at poker since they were kids.
Grady got up reluctantly. “I’ll grab the cards and chips.”
Dante rubbed his hands together. “I’m the groom. It has to be my lucky night.”
“We’ll see,” Evan said noncommittally, arrogantly. “But don’t count on it. Lucky at cards, unlucky in love,” Evan quoted the old saying drily. “I believe I’m the only one who can claim that truth anymore.”
A few weeks ago, Jared could have argued with Evan. Nobody had been more unlucky in love than him. Now, thinking about Mara, he kept his silence. He’d happily let Evan take his money if he could just have the woman he wanted.
Evan kicked everybody’s ass and left with a rather large IOU from every single one of his brothers several hours later.
He took his less-than-sober siblings home without ever cracking a smile for the pounding he’d given his younger brothers.
“I’m ruined,” Mara told the four women sitting in Dante’s living room as she downed the last of her second strawberry daiquiri. The bachelorette party was small, just her, Kristin, Randi, Sarah, and Emily. She wasn’t much of a drinker, so after consuming two drinks that tasted like Randi had gone pretty heavy on the rum, Mara had become very talky.