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CHAPTER ELEVEN

WALKER

My night with Riley was short and sweet. And by sweet, I mean sweet . We had a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant she recommended, and when I thought we’d end the night in my hotel room, we ended it at her car with a long kiss goodnight.

She said she was having female issues. I really didn’t care if she was on her period. I would have gladly held her all night long in my bed. Yeah, the sex is amazing, and me and my dick were looking forward to feeling the tight walls of her pussy spasming in orgasm, but I’d have settled for a night of cuddling.

And I’m not a fucking cuddler. But for Riley, I’m anything she wants me to be.

“Fuck.” I run my fingers through my hair in frustration then add another plate on the barbell.

I made it through Thursday by spending two hours in the gym and taking a ten-mile run through the city. I’m in no rush for an afternoon of golf, so I push through a brutal upper body workout in the gym before showering and checking out. Other than being with Riley, working out is the only other thing that helps take my mind off the shit show of a weekend I have coming up. It would be easier to endure with Riley on my arm, but I’m not about to make her suffer through the hell I used to call home.

The drive does nothing to calm me down. I’m not exactly nervous to see my family, but I’m not looking forward to it either. It’s been more than ten years since I’ve been back. More than ten years since anyone has reached out to me. Not that I’ve connected with any of them either.

To say I was surprised when I received an email from my brother inviting me here this weekend is an understatement. It’s not like we had a falling out. We just never...fell in. I blame it mostly on our father, the mother fucking asshole who cares more about dollar signs and his reputation than his kids.

As for mother dearest, I feel nothing for her. Not hate. Not love. Just...sadness. She was never loving or nurturing. Never part of my life. Neither of them attended any of my sporting events and shipped me off to boarding school as soon as I hit high school and my athleticism stood out. Apparently, having an athlete in the family is a disgrace.

I would have thought signing with the NFL would have changed my father’s mind, but he couldn’t care less about my success, unless I was wearing a suit and tie.

We’re required to dress formally when traveling and attending certain public events, but I keep it on the downlow, always trying to get away with being the least bit formal as possible. This weekend is a black-tie event, but I’ll be sans the tie and sans the black.

I’m not outwardly disrespectful, it’s not in my nature, so I packed a navy-blue suit and dark gray shirt. If I really wanted to stick it to dear ol’ dad, I would have bought it off the rack. But my shoulders and arms make it hard to find a suit that fits me properly.

I pull my rental SUV up to the iron gates and give my name to the security guy. He eyes me curiously, asks me for my ID, then allows me to pass. Nothing says welcome home like being scrutinized by a rent-a-cop.

The monstrosity on the water never felt like home, even during the fourteen years I lived here. I always felt like a guest. May have something to do with being treated like one. I pocket my keys and make my way up the granite steps to the front door. Most sons would walk right into their parents’ home. Maybe knock and then open the door.

But I’m not most sons and my parents aren’t most parents. I ring the doorbell and wait for their butler to open the door. He’s not the same one I remember from when I was a kid. I’m sure none of the help is the same.

Who the hell would want to stick around this pompous, arrogant, cold place for that long?

“May I help you?”

“Walker,” I say with an edge to my voice. It’s embarrassing that I have to introduce myself and show ID at my family home. No, not a home. It’s a fucking estate.

“Yes. This way.” I follow the damn butler through the long hallway that leads to the parlor.

The marble floor is the same cold, black flooring as I remember. The walls are white. The artwork and statues are pretentious, the chandeliers gaudy, the furniture white and uncomfortable looking.

“Margaret and your brother will be down in a moment.”

“Margaret?”

“His fiancée.”

How fucking embarrassing. I don’t even know my sister-in-law’s name. I don’t even attempt to fold my body onto the doll-house furniture and pace the room where guests wait for the lord and lady of the house to greet them.

This is so fucking stupid. I don’t have to wait here. I leave the parlor and make my way down the hall through the kitchen that’s been renovated since I was last here. Industrial sized everything in stainless steel and black granite countertops shine against the white cabinetry.

Ignoring the kitchen staff, I head to the back patio, in need of fresh air. A blonde haired woman is standing against the railing, staring out over the ocean. She’s familiar. Too familiar.

“Riley?”

She gasps and spins around, her chocolate eyes wide with surprise. “Walker? What...what are you doing here?”

“I was about to ask you the same.” I move closer and cup her face in the palms of my hands. “You’re a welcome surprise and the only person who can make this weekend bearable.”

How she knows my family, I haven’t a clue. And right now, I really don’t care. Somehow, she always manages to erase the pain of their banishment.

“I’m supposed to play a round of golf, but I’ll gladly skip it to be with you.” I trail my hands down her arms and thread my fingers through hers.

She doesn’t normally wear jewelry, and her ring pokes my finger. I lift our joined hands and stare at the fucking diamond on her finger.

“The fuck is this, Riley?”

“You’ve been here five minutes and you’re already making a pass on Margaret.” My father’s voice is loud with disapproval behind me.

“Margaret?” Ignoring my father, I look down at Riley, waiting for her explanation. Her face is pale with shock.

“Walker. Long time no see. I see you’ve met my fiancée,” Jackson says behind me. “Excuse my brother. It’s not often he’s in the presence of such a beautiful woman.” He nudges me aside and drapes his arm over Riley’s shoulder.

“Brother?” she whispers, her eyes still locked on mine.

“Fiancée?” I growl. “Margaret?” My heart drops in the pit of my stomach. Every ache, every pain I’ve ever experienced, physical, emotional, and mental, pale in comparison to how, in a matter of seconds, my heart and soul were ripped from my chest.

“Jackson, I need another five minutes of your time before you go golfing. My office. Now. I assume you can keep your hands to yourself, Walker? Or should I have one of my men watch over you?”

“Fuck off.”

“I see you haven’t changed a bit.”

“Riley, this is Walker. My younger brother.” Jackson gives me a small smile. “We, uh, we’ll catch up on the green. Be right back.” He kisses Riley on the temple and leaves.

Riley and I stare at each other for a minute before I finally break the silence. “Margaret. That’s the first secret you kept from me. Being engaged was the second. To my brother, nonetheless. Comparing our bank accounts or our dicks? Whose is bigger?”

“Walker,” she pleads and reaches for my arm.

I step away from her. “Don’t fucking touch me, Margaret .”

“I can explain.”

“Really?” I bark a humorless laugh. “I can’t wait to hear the explanation.” I cross my arms over my chest and glare at her.

She licks her lips, and even though she doesn’t mean for it to be sexual, my dick betrays me by twitching behind my zipper.

We stand there in silence, and Riley doesn’t say a word. She takes a deep breath and lets it out. Takes another deep breath and opens her mouth like she’s about to say something but huffs out a sigh instead.

I clench my fists and force myself not to speak or move. I don’t trust myself not to say something I may regret. She lied to me from the first time I met her. I specifically asked her if she was single.

Every moment we were together, every touch, every kiss, every fuck, was a lie. She’s no different from all the other women. Gold diggers. Liars. Cheaters.

Fuck. She belongs with Jackson.

I have no idea what kind of man he is today, but he dismissed me as easily as our father did more than a decade ago. As the older brother, he should have looked out for me. He didn’t. I’m not sorry I fucked his fiancée, I only wish I hadn’t fallen for her first.

“You two fucking deserve each other.”

“Hey, girl. Ready for golf?”

I tilt my head to the side and see Riley’s friend, Kendall, step onto the patio. She glances up at me with a flirty smile and freezes when she recognizes me.

“Oh. Fuck.”

“At least your friend gave me an honest reaction.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Walker is Jackson’s brother.”

Kendall’s brows lift so high they practically kiss her hairline. “No. Fucking. Way.”

“Yeah. Nice job cheating on your fiancée with his brother,” I say to Riley. “Don’t worry about me spilling your dirty little secret. I’m getting the fuck out of here. You won’t see me at holiday dinners or at family reunions either. The fucking Bankeses can kiss my ass on their way to Hell.”

I shove past Kendall and stop when Jackson fills the doorway, not letting me pass.

“Leaving before golf? I was hoping we could catch up.”

“Catch up?” I scoff. “I haven’t seen you since we hit puberty.”

“ I hit puberty. You were still wearing Thomas the Tank Engine underwear.” The corner of his mouth lifts at his joke, completely oblivious to the tension on the patio behind me.

Much to our father’s dismay, I’m not an asshole. I don’t tell Jackson about his fiancée and I having dinner the other night, or the long make-out session we had in the parking lot. And I sure as hell don’t tell him how many times I’ve fucked her, or about all the positions I’ve had her in while I made her come.

I’ve always been jealous of my older brother, but never as badly as I am right now. I don’t give a shit about having our parents’ attention or any of the inheritance. Him having Riley is what eats at my gut.

“Can’t stay.”

“It would mean a lot to me if you did.” Jackson looks me in the eye and squeezes my shoulder. “I’m sorry I’ve been...absent from your life. Being with Riley has made me realize how much I’ve missed having a brother.”

I study my brother, who I haven’t seen since he left for college and I went to boarding school. He’s taller, as am I. His hair is the same blonde as our father’s, styled with precision. We’re both wearing golf shirts, but where I fill mine out with wide shoulders and muscle, his fits his lean, well-defined body.

The desk job hasn’t prevented him from staying in shape, but we’re polar opposites. He’s pretty-boy blond and sophisticated where I’m dark haired, muscled, and, according to our father, uncouth.

I unclench my fists and let out a deep breath. “Fine. But I’m not sticking around for a family dinner after.”

Jackson laughs. “Neither am I. Not that Sebastian and Lydia have extended an invitation to either of us. I reserved a table at the restaurant at the hotel. Just the five of us.”

“Five? You’re not staying here?”

“You, me, Riley, Kendall, and my friend Taylor. And fuck no. I don’t ever stay here when I visit, which isn’t often. Tomorrow’s rehearsal dinner is sure to be a shit show of a performance. Mom’s done all the planning so Riley and I have no idea what to expect except too much of everything.”

His dismissal of our parents takes me by surprise, so I agree to golf. I’ll find an excuse to bail on dinner later. Ignoring the women behind us, I head back into the house and to the five-car garage where the golf carts are stored.

Living on the outskirts of the course means we can ride the carts to the country club. Kendall and Riley take the one behind us, and I do all I can not to look at her. Jackson yammers on, oblivious that my tongue and my dick have been in his fiancée’s pussy.

“It means a lot to us that you came today.”

“The email invitation wasn’t expected.”

Jackson chuckles as he steers the cart around a fallen branch. “Mom didn’t ask us for a guest list. I don’t even know what the invitations look like. Figured I’d reach out, see if we can start over. Maybe become friends or something, if you want. Riley’s been after me to contact you.”

“She has?” Fuck me. That’s even worse. If she knew who I was all along and still spread her legs for me...

“Yeah. We’ve been friends for ten years and I’ve never talked about you. No offense. Actually, yeah. You can take offense. I’ve been a dick to you. She tells me that on the daily.”

“If she wanted us to reconnect so desperately, why didn’t she contact me?”

Jackson pulls up to the country club and parks the cart. “I’ve never even told her your name or that you play in the NFL. Honestly, in all the years we’ve been friends, I’ve never talked much about Sebastian and Lydia other than to tell her they’re not exactly the best parental role models. Dad’s a dick, no doubt about it, but he’s a reputable businessman. The best in New England. East coast, really. I wouldn’t be as successful as I am if I didn’t have his guidance.”

“Yeah, well, I’m successful in spite of not having a fucking lick of his guidance.”

“Shit. I didn’t mean to rub it in. I know he’s always been a douchebag to you.”

Not having a fucking clue how to respond, I climb out of the cart and follow him into the country club.

I don’t get it. Jackson and I haven’t spoken in a dozen years, and now he wants to pick up where we left off, which would put us back to middle school years. I’m not the same kid anymore, and he’s not the same older brother.

If what he’s saying is true, Riley’s the one responsible for bringing us together.

And fuck if I know how I feel about that.

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