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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  From the Author

  More to Us

  By Allie Everhart

  More to Us

  By Allie Everhart

  Copyright © 2016 Allie Everhart

  All rights reserved.

  Published by Waltham Publishing, LLC

  Cover Design by Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, things, and events are fictitious, and any similarities to real persons (live or dead), things, or events are coincidental and not intended by the author. Brand names of products mentioned in this book are used for reference only and the author acknowledges that any trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners.

  The author holds exclusive rights to this work and unauthorized duplication is prohibited. No part of this book is to be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.

  Chapter One

  Austin

  "I have to leave soon," I say, checking the time on my phone.

  "Didn't you guys just practice yesterday?" Jake asks. He's sitting across from me in the booth. Nash is next to him. We all met at a sports bar for lunch. I'd normally stay and hang out with them but I have to meet my band across town in a half hour.

  "We're trying out a new song tomorrow night and Dylan's freaking out. He wants to play it a few more times."

  "Dylan needs to chill," Jake says. "Shouldn't guys in a band be all laid-back and shit?"

  "He usually is, but he wrote the song so he's freaking out, thinking people won't like it. It's the first song he's written that we've actually played."

  "Is it a good song?" Nash asks.

  I shrug. "If you like ballads, then yeah. The lyrics are good, but it's too slow for me. But I'm sure the girls will eat it up."

  "Is that why he wrote it?" Jake asks. "To get girls?"

  "He doesn't need a song for that. He gets plenty of girls. He wrote it to help him get over some girl he was with a couple months ago."

  "So it's a heartbreak song," Nash says. "She broke up with him?"

  "They never dated. It was just a one-time thing."

  "You better not be doing that," Nash says, his lecture face on.

  "Why?" I ask, egging him on. Sometimes I rile Nash up just for fun. He needs to lighten up. He worries too much. As the oldest brother, Nash thinks he has to look out for Jake, Bryce, and me, but especially me, because I'm the youngest. "Jake had one-night stands for years."

  "Doesn't make it right," Jake mutters under his breath.

  "And yet you still did it," I say.

  Nash leans across the table and points his finger at me. "Listen to me. You are NOT doing that shit. You like a girl, you take her out. On a date, an actual date. And you don't have sex with her on the first night."

  "What if she wants it?" I ask, trying not to laugh. I'm just messing with Nash. I don't do one-night stands, and he should know that by now. Yeah, I've had them in the past but I didn't like it. Even though the girls wanted it, I felt like I was using them and I didn't like that feeling. I like to get to know a girl before we get to that point.

  "If that's the only thing she wants," Nash says, "then she's the wrong type of girl."

  "That's not always true," Jake says, then takes a drink of his beer.

  Nash glares at him.

  "What?" Jake sets his beer down. "I'm not telling him to do it. I'm just saying, just because a girl wants one night of no-strings sex doesn't mean she's the wrong type of girl. If she does it all the time, then yeah, maybe she's got issues, but the occasional one-night stand? I wouldn't judge her for that."

  Nash sighs and looks at me across the table. "The point is, a girl deserves to be taken out and treated with respect. Do you hear me?"

  I lean back in the booth. "I already know all this. I'm not looking for a hook-up."

  "Yeah, but you've done it before, and you're in a band and have girls hanging on you all the time. I don't want you getting in trouble."

  "I know better than that. I'm not Jake." I smile at him.

  He huffs. "What the fuck?"

  Nash laughs and pats him on the back. "Don't worry about it. It's all in the past. You've got Ivy now."

  "Shit, yeah, I do." He smiles and gets out his phone. "Wonder what she's up to?" He texts her, probably sending her some sappy love note.

  He's got it bad for Ivy. And she's the same way with him. When they're together, they're almost as bad as Nash and Callie, or Bryce and Jen. All three of my brothers are head-over-heels in love to the point that it can be annoying sometimes. They're always making out with their girls right in front of me, and I don't even think they realize it.

  Nash is already engaged and I'm sure Bryce will be next. Jake will hold out a little longer. He lives with Ivy, but that's as much of a commitment as he can handle, at least for now. After years of sleeping around, Ivy is Jake's first real girlfriend and I think he's still adjusting to that. But I know eventually, he'll slip a ring on her finger.

  As for me? I'm single. It's not that I don't want a girlfriend. I just want the right one, and I'm in no hurry to find her. I'm only 21, so what's the rush? Right now, I don't even have time for a girlfriend. Between work, and my time at the gym, and the band, I have almost no free time.

  Summer's my busiest time so I really haven't dated much the past three months. I work construction, along with my three brothers. We work for our dad's company. I only do the construction, but my brothers are involved in the business side. I should probably get more involved in that side of the business, but honestly, I have no interest in that stuff.

  "I'm done with one-night stands," I tell Nash. "And I know how to treat a girl, so you can stop worrying."

  "Nash'll never stop worrying," Jake says, his eyes on his phone as he texts. "Maybe when he has a kid, he'll finally leave us alone and focus all his worrying on Nash junior."

  I laugh. "Nash junior." I smile at Nash. "Is that what you're going to name him?"

  "Don't even bring that up." Nash swigs the last of his beer. "I'm not ready for a kid."

  "Is Callie?" I ask him.

  "Shit, no. She's not even ready to get married."

  "But she wants them, right?" Jake asks, setting his phone down.

  "Yeah, but she's not in any rush to have them. She won't even marry me until she finishes college."

  "Come on, Nash." Jake nudges him. "Austin and I want some nieces and nephews to spoil."

  "Well, you're not getting them any time soon."

  "Unless Bryce gives us some," I say, smiling. "The way him and Jen go at it—"

  "Shut up," Nash and Jake say at the same time.

  I laugh. "Yeah, I know. I don't want to think about it either."

  Jen, Bryce's girlfriend, practically lived at our house when she was a kid so she's like a sister to us. We
don't like thinking about her being with Bryce.

  A waitress who isn't ours comes up to our table, turning to Jake and smiling. "Hey, Jake. How've you been?"

  He was checking his phone but he glances up and finds himself eye level with her breasts. She's got her hand on the table and is leaning forward, putting her cleavage on display. The waitresses here wear tight, low-cut white t-shirts and red shorts, and this particular waitress has freaking huge breasts.

  "Hey." Jake forces his eyes up to her face. He may be in love with Ivy but a guy can't help but look at breasts like that, especially when they're right in your face.

  "It's Shannon," she says, twirling her long dark hair between her fingers. "We were together last—"

  "Yeah," he says, cutting her off. "I remember."

  I'm sure he doesn't. Jake used to be with a different girl almost every night. There's no way he remembers them all.

  "So what have you been up to?" She bites her lip and gives him that look that says she's ready and willing to have sex with him. She'd probably do it on her break if he wanted to.

  Watching her, I get what Nash was saying. I don't want a girl like this. A girl who just wants sex and nothing else. And I don't like girls who are this aggressive. Maybe it's old fashioned, but I like to be the pursuer, not the other way around. I guess that's why I don't date as much as I used to. Girls are always asking me out and I'm getting tired of it. For once, I'd like to be the one to ask a girl out.

  "I'm with someone," Jake says. "I have a girlfriend."

  "Yeah, right." She laughs, but when Jake doesn't, she says, "You really have a girlfriend? So what's her name?"

  "It's no one you know. I met her at work."

  She stops twirling her hair, then stands up straight, pouting. "If you don't want to be with me, just tell me. You don't have to make up some lame excuse."

  He looks her in the eye. "I'm not lying. I have a girlfriend."

  "It's true," Nash says to her. "They live together. They're practically engaged."

  "Oh." Shannon's eyes go to the floor, then dart over to me. "How about you? You single?"

  "Yeah." I smile at Jake. "But I don't share girls with my brothers."

  She looks at Nash. "And I suppose you're—"

  "Engaged."

  "Well." She fakes a smile. "Enjoy your lunch." She hurries off.

  "You see that?" Nash says to me. "You don't want a girl like her."

  "Hey." Jake turns to Nash. "There's nothing wrong with Shannon. You're just pissed because you were her third choice." He laughs and picks up his beer. "She would've taken Austin before you."

  "What the hell's that supposed to mean?" I ask.

  "She's at least 26, maybe older. You're like a kid to her. At least Nash is her age." Jake chuckles. "But she picked him last."

  "It's because I don't give off that single vibe anymore," Nash says, getting his wallet out. "Girls know I'm taken."

  "Whatever you need to tell yourself," Jake says, swigging his beer.

  "Shut up, idiot." He tosses some money on the table. "Now get out of the way. I gotta use the restroom before we go."

  Jake steps out of the booth and Nash leaves just as our waitress stops by.

  "Here's your check." She sets it down.

  Jake glances at the total, then hands her the money. "It's all set."

  "Oh, um, okay." She looks at me, then back at the check. She sets the check down and slides it across the table to me and smiles. "In case you want a copy."

  Confused, I laugh a little and say, "Thanks."

  She takes off, her tiny ass swaying back and forth as she walks. She's a cute blonde, but she wears too much makeup. She'd look a lot better without all that makeup.

  "You gonna call her?" Jake asks.

  "Call her? I don't even know her."

  He points to the check. "She gave you her number." I look down at the check and see her phone number written on the back. "So are you calling her?"

  "Probably not." I shove her number in my pocket, thinking it'd be rude to just leave it behind. I'm not good at rejecting girls. I always feel bad.

  "Why wouldn't you call her?" Jake leans back in the booth. "She's hot, and around your age. She seemed nice."

  "I'm tired of girls asking me out. Next time I go out, it's gonna be with a girl I actually asked."

  He shakes his head. "You're complaining about girls asking you out? Seriously?"

  "I'm not complaining. There's just something about having a girl ask you out that...I don't know...I guess I just like the chase."

  "Yeah, I hear ya. Ivy's refusal to date me just made me like her even more. But still, that waitress was hot. You should go out with her at least once. You might like her."

  Nash returns and slaps a piece of paper down on the table.

  "What's that?" Jake asks.

  "A girl's number." He smiles. "She gave it to me as I was walking to the restroom. So there. I still got it, asshole."

  "No shit?" He picks the piece of paper up. "Where is she? Is she still here?"

  "She's at the table in the far right corner. She's with some other girls."

  Jake spots her, then slowly smiles. "The hot redhead?"

  "Yeah, how did you—" Nash shakes his head. "Fuck. You've been with her."

  Jake laughs. "Just once. And it was a long time ago. Does she know you're my brother?"

  "Who the hell knows? But when I told her I was engaged, she still gave me her number."

  "Yeah, if I remember right, she wasn't too selective." He grins at Nash.

  "Asshole," Nash mutters, but he's grinning too. We all give each other shit. It's the way we show our brotherly love.

  "Do these girls come up to you when you're out with Ivy?" I ask Jake.

  "All the freaking time. She knows I'd never cheat on her, but still, she makes me buy her something every time it happens."

  "Like jewelry, or what?"

  "Tools." He grins. "How awesome is that? Words can't describe how much I love that girl."

  "Which is why you still get her jewelry," Nash says.

  "Well, yeah, but not every time. I'd be broke if I did."

  My phone dings. It's a text from Van, asking when I'll be over there.

  "I gotta go." I slide out of the booth. "Thanks for lunch, Nash."

  "No problem. Have fun at practice. Sorry we can't make it tomorrow."

  "Next time," I say. "See ya, Jake."

  "Call the waitress!" he yells as I leave.

  I just shake my head. I'm not calling her. She's not my type. I'm not really into blondes and that heavy makeup is a turn-off.

  When I get to the house, Van and Dylan are already playing.

  "What took you so long?" Dylan sets down his guitar. He's our lead singer but also plays bass. It's a three person band. I play guitar and Van plays the drums.

  "I was having lunch with my brothers."

  "They coming tomorrow?"

  "No. They've got plans. And I'm not late, so stop giving me shit."

  "Ignore him." Van tosses his drumstick in the air and catches it. "He's just nervous about his song."

  "I'm not nervous." Dylan gets up and takes a water from the mini-fridge. "I just want to make sure we get it right. Austin, you want a water?"

  "No thanks." I go in my spot and get my guitar set up.

  We practice in the basement of the house that Van and Dylan rent out. They're both in college. Dylan's a senior, and Van should be too, but he couldn't decide on a major until his sophomore year so he won't be graduating in the spring. It'll probably take him another year to finish.

  The house they rent is old and run-down but the basement is perfect for practice. It's big and open and we can be as loud as we want. And sometimes we get pretty loud. I'm sure the neighbors can hear us, but they're all college students so they don't care.

  "Why are you so nervous about this song?" I ask Dylan. "If people don't like it, tough shit. Since when do you care what people think?"

  Dylan is one of those
guys who never doubts himself. He's Mr. Confident. He reminds me of Nash that way. Nash never gives a shit what people think. He dresses how he wants, says what he thinks, and doesn't back down when people challenge his opinions. I'm kind of that way, although I sometimes doubt myself, like now, when I'm supposed to be making all these life decisions and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. But I figure that's true of most people my age so I don't worry about it too much.

  "He cares because the lyrics are about that girl," Van says.

  "Inspired by her," Dylan clarifies. "Not about her."

  "Who is this girl anyway?" I go to the mini fridge and get a water because now I'm suddenly thirsty.

  "It's that girl he banged at a party last May." Van taps his drumstick on his leg in a steady beat. He's someone who can't sit still. He's always tapping his fingers on something or bouncing his foot up and down. But his movements always have a pattern, a rhythm. It's like he's got music playing in his veins that just has to come out. So it makes sense he's a music major. He plans to teach it someday.

  Dylan seems agitated as he takes his place at the mic. "Are we going to practice or what?"

  "Who was she?" I ask. "You never said."

  Dylan sighs. "It doesn't matter. It was a one-time thing. Just forget it."

  "Do you even know her name?"

  He shoots me a look. "Of course I know her name. You really think I'm that big of an ass that I'd have sex with her without knowing her name?"

  I shrug. "My brother, Jake, didn't always know their names."

  "Yeah, well, I'm not Jake. And I'm not telling you her name so shut up and play."

  Van laughs. "Isn't this great? We finally found something to annoy Dylan with."

  Dylan doesn't like losing his cool. He does everything possible to avoid it. We've tried most everything to annoy him and nothing works. Until now.

  "So Dylan, how old is this muse of yours?" I ask, trying not to laugh. "Is she our age? Is she in college?"

  He glares at me. "Seriously, shut up. It's bad enough I get this shit from Van. I'm not taking it from you too, Wheeler."

  "If talking about this girl bothers you so much, then why do you even want to perform the song?"