My gaze goes from Brax to my grinning brother and back to Brax again. What the hell is going on here and why is Derek sitting there smiling like the village idiot?

“Eliza,” Brax says and crosses the room until he’s standing close. His heat reaches out to me, and when I catch his warm familiar scent, all I want to do is throw myself into his arms, forget that cruel breakup and pick up where we left off last night. But my best friend is right. We need to talk and I need to be honest.

“What…what are you doing here?” he asks, his brow furrowed, his body tense like he’s bracing himself. Like I have bad news.

“You weren’t at home, or the office, so I thought I’d try here.”

“You’ve been looking for me, Liza?” he asks, his hard features softening as he puts his fingers on my arm and slightly strokes. “You came here for me?”

“Yes, I came here for you, Brax.” I jerk my finger behind me as my eyes search his. “What the hell was all that back there, anyway?”

He shrugs, but his mood is suddenly different from this morning. Lighter. Could that be because the ruse is over and he’s free of me. Jesus, don’t let me be wrong about us—don’t let this be some made up fairy tale in my head.

“Just giving you what you wanted.”

“Brax,” I shift from one foot to the together.

Tell him how you feel already.

He moves closer, hovering over me, making it impossible to think. “Yeah?”

“We need to talk.”

“I know, that’s why I was coming back for you.”

My pulse jumps in my throat, a bevy of emotions tumbling inside me. “You were?”

Brax was coming back for me?

Breathless, I glance at my brother, who is watching us carefully, too carefully.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be having this conversation right here,” I say and lower my voice. I’m not sure how Derek will feel about his best friend and sister in bed together.

“Derek knows we slept together. I told him,” he says bluntly.

My jaw drops open. “You did? Why?”

“Because he’s my best friend, and I needed to tell him I slept with you because I’m in love with you.” He gives me a sheepish grin. “But apparently he already knew that.”

Brax loves me!

My legs nearly give beneath me, but Brax is there, his arms around me, anchoring my body to his, and coming to my rescue once again. I glance at his handsome face, take in the weariness beneath his eyes. A weariness that says he’s been going through his own personal kind of hell, too.

“I…I don’t understand. Why didn’t you say something?” Then again, why didn’t I? “Why did you break it off in front of everyone? After last night in the kitchen…the way you opened yourself up to me…I thought…”

“I gave you everything, Eliza, but when I saw Jason’s hands on you this morning I realized two things. You were finally getting what you wanted, and what you wanted wasn’t me.”

I glance down, and my hair falls into my eyes. “I…I…don’t want him, Brax. I’m not sure I ever did.”

Brax touches my chin, lifts my face, and brushes my hair back. There is a new intensity about him as those deep blue eyes stare into mine, like he can see into the depths of my soul. “Who do you want, Eliza?” he asks, everything in his expression telling me our games, our ruse, is behind us. He wants straight-up honesty from me, and that’s what I plan to give him.

Throat tight, and my chest expanding with everything I feel for this man, I blurt out, “I want you.”

He lets out a heaving breath, like he’s been holding it for days. “That’s a good fucking thing, because I have a confession to make.”

“You…do?” I ask.

“Yeah, I do.” He presses his lips to my forehead, then inches back to meet my eyes. “I wanted you my whole life, Liza. Jesus, that time you kissed me at the kitchen table nearly killed me.”

“But you laughed at me.”

He touches my face. “I know. I’ve always regretted being cruel to you, but I wanted you so much. I just didn’t know how to deal with it. I was young. Stupid.” He cups my cheek, brushes his thumb over my bottom lip. “Do you know why I took you in the kitchen like that last night?” I shake my head. “I wanted to get caught. I wanted Jason to see us, to see that you were mine and not his. I know how fucked up that sounds…” He shakes his head, and lets his words fall off.

“No more fucked up than me asking you to pretend to be my boyfriend.” My heart is pounding so fast, it’s hard to breathe, let along talk. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”

“I was warned to stay away from you.”

I blink up at him, trying to sort through what he’s telling me. “I don’t understand.”

He makes a sound, a half laugh, half groan. “Your brother was so protective of you. He warned me to stay away. I agreed, because he was family. The only real family I ever had. I couldn’t risk losing him from my life.”

“You had a mom and dad, what are you talking about?”

“I know, but they were never there. We didn’t have sit-down dinners like you guys did. We didn’t talk about our day, our feelings, our plans. We didn’t go to the beach together, or on picnics.”

I touch his face, run my fingers along the bristles. “I didn’t realize any of this, Brax. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m okay. I had Derek, your mother…you. I couldn’t risk losing any of that. But Liza, I can’t keep going on the way I’ve been going.”

“Seattle’s Most Eligible Bachelor?”

His brow furrows. He hates being called that as much as I have being called Lizard.

“I was never that. That was hype.”

I nod. “I have a confession, too.” He arches a brow. “I think on some level I asked you to come to the retreat and pretend to be my boyfriend because all along it was you I wanted. I was hoping the weekend would have ended differently.” My mind races back to the breakup. “You caused quite the scene, Brax.” My heart squeezes, worried about the repercussions of his actions. “I can’t imagine what everyone is saying about you right now.”

“I don’t care.”

My head rears back. “You don’t?”

“I only care what you, Derek, and your mom think of me.”

I go up on my toes, press my lips to his for a deep, soul-searing kiss. “Does that tell you how I feel?”

He holds me to him and his heart pounds hard against my body and he gives me a teasing grin. “Yes, and I think it’s time for me to tell you what I want.” He gives me a playful wink. “You know, for agreeing to help you this weekend.”

The shift in his mood warms me to the depths of my soul, and I laugh, giddiness welling up inside me. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I want you, Eliza. I want you in my arms, and in my bed. I want you in my life…forever.”

A gasp catches in my throat. “Are you asking me—”

His eyes sober, hold me captive. “I’m asking you to marry me, and since you love my house overlooking the bay, we can live there together, and fill it with kids. Say yes, Eliza. Say yes and together we’ll turn my house into a home.”

I swallow against the tears pressing against the back of my eyes. “I thought you didn’t believe in marriage or family?”

“I used to say that, used to blame it on my parents’ loveless marriage, blame it on the fact that I didn’t really have a father figure, and wouldn’t know how to be a good husband or dad. But the truth is, I only ever wanted to marry you. No one else ever compared.”

“I never believed in marriage either,” I say as a tear drips down my face.

He brushes it away and gives me a warm smile. “I know.”

“I painted all rich guys with the same brush as my father.”

He runs the backs of his fingers over my cheek. “I’m not him. I’d never do anything to hurt you, Liza.”

“I know that.” I briefly close my eyes, take a second to go over this amazing turn of events. When I open them again, I find Brax staring at me, his gaze so full of love that my heart nearly explodes. “I said I never believed in marriage, but I believe in you, Brax, and that’s all I need.”

“What exactly are you saying, Eliza?”

“I’m saying yes. Yes to being in your arms, your bed, and your life forever.” He presses his lips to mine, and despite the audience, kisses me with everything he has inside him—holding nothing back this time—and I know I’m the luckiest girl in the world.

Someone clears their throat and we break apart to find Derek standing next to us. We were so lost in each other, we didn’t even hear his approach.

“Looks like I’m going to be part of the family, bro,” Brax says, pulling me against him and holding me tight as he puts a hand on Derek’s shoulder.

Brax puts his arms around both of us for a group hug. “You always were, Brax. You always were.”

After a long moment, Derek breaks the hug, takes a measured step back, and glares at my fiancé. His look is hard, deadly, as he curls his fingers at his sides. “So, you slept with my sister, without coming to me first,” he says. “You broke the bro code, dude.”

Brax scrubs his chin and takes two steps back, like he knew this was coming. “Oh, shit.”