Game Saver (26 page)

“Considering we’re identical, it doesn’t take much to look in a mirror.”

“It’ll be good to have you back. Safe . . .” I reply and he gets my meaning, a curt nod his only response.

“So what have Cade and Annabel done now?”

“Fucked with Abi.”

“Shit,” he spits out, shaking his head. “How bad?” Cam knows the lengths my parents have gone to in the past to get their own way.

For me, it was contacting the Dean of Admissions to curtail my med school application, then trying to secure me a fellowship at the top Emergency Medicine hospital in the country. For Callie, she fell in line with their wishes for law school because that was always what she wanted to do, but they did not hesitate in voicing their displeasure when she married Jonathan in her own way, on her own terms, and in her own time. In Cam’s case, they tried to stop him being deployed. Yep, their arrogance and strive for control knows no bounds.

“Offered her money to quit stripping.”

“Wait . . .” He bursts out laughing, like honest-to-God, bent-over-in-your-chair, bust-a-gut laughing. “You’re dating . . . a stripper? Fuck, I wish I was a fly on the wall to see Annabel’s face when she found
that
out.”

I chuckle; I can’t help it. When he puts it like that, of course it sounds hysterical. “Okay, first thing’s first, she
was
a stripper but part-time. She started working at the club years ago to get herself out of debt and even though she doesn’t need the money anymore, she was still doing one shift a week here and there. Secondly, she’s also a hotel manager.”

“Are we talking about five-star luxury here or dingy daily-rates?”

“Five star on The Loop.”

“Still, Cade, a stripper?” he says, chuckling again. “And I thought
I
was the bad twin.”

“You
are
the bad twin. I’m the good-looking, successful, obscenely well-hung twin.”

“Dream on, Carsen.”

“So what are you gonna do?”

“About the parents? What do you think I’m gonna do?”

“I know what
I
would do, but
you?
You’re the unknown quantity here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve never seen you with Abi so I don’t know how things are with you two but she’s been in your life for longer than any other woman you’ve gone out with, and you even introduced her to Cruel and Cruella, that says a lot of things, but the loudest of those is that she
means
something to you.”

“She does. I’m in love with her.”

“And that, Brother, makes me fucking over the moon for you. But I don’t want you to let them get their way and scare her off.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” I reply tersely.

“Then fucking put them in their place, Cade. It’s been long enough. Someone needs to make a stand. And I’m not talking about Callie marrying Jon behind their back because yes, that took balls, but she pandered to them when she gave in to the ‘small wedding in the backyard’ bullshit.”

“This campaign has made them crazy.”

“Sounds like it’s making them worse than their normal selves, and they were already bad to begin with. They’re our parents, and yes, part of me has to love them, but at the end of the day, you, Callie and Jon mean more to me than they ever will. You’ve gotta just man the fuck up and call them out on their bullshit.”

“Damn I miss having you around.”

“Oh, I miss you too, schnookums. Don’t worry, you’ll be seeing me in a couple of weeks.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“In fact, do me a favor? Wait until I get home before handing Mom and Dad their asses on a platter. At least then I’ll get to sit back and watch.”

“You’re terrible, you know that?”

“Hello? I’m the bad twin, remember? You’re the good boy, the hot-shot doctor, whereas I’m the bad boy, badass soldier. You’re the Captain America to my Ironman.”

“Are you saying you’re bionic now?” I scoff.

“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m immortal, too. Just means you’re stuck with my ass forever.”

“You’ve been chasing me since conception.”

“That was me trying to step out from your huge ego.”

“That’s just one of my attributes that enters the room before I do.”

“Cock humor—is that what it comes down to?”

“When does it not?”

“Too true. Okay, I better get off this phone before my C.O. hands me my ass.”

“Just over three weeks and you’ll be home.”

“Yep,” he says, a huge grin shining back at me.

“Stay safe, Cam.”

“Stay sane, Cade.” The call ends mid-laugh, and I lean back into the couch, my mood lighter than ten minutes ago.

Three weeks to prep myself for Operation Claim Back. Taking back the power and making sure my parents know exactly what I think about them messing with my life, with both my brother and sister at my back for moral support.

One thing I know for sure. If it comes down to choosing between Abi and them, I’ll choose her.

Every. Single. Time.

I’m a nervous wreck. Why am I such a hot fucking mess?

I’m walking hand in hand with Cade on our way to East, a swanky new Italian restaurant on West Madison—yes, the irony—and I’m about to meet Cameron for the first time.

I’m flushed, my palms are clammy, I’m sweating, my heart is racing and—if I’m honest—I’m literally a hot mess right now.

I mean, this is the other half of Cade. The man beside the man. The one person absolutely guaranteed to always have his back because they came from the same freaking egg!

And of course, Cade hasn’t missed any of this.

“Why the hell are you nervous? He’s my brother. He’s just like me.”

“Because he
is
your brother. You’ve said he’s not like your parents, but he’s never met me. They could’ve told him about me—”

“
I’ve
told him about you. I’ve told him about how I feel about you, and I told him that I love you.”

I let his words wash over me, experiencing the same reaction that happens every single time he tells me that. Warm. Settled.
Right.

Cade’s gaze drifts down to my lips, his eyes heated—no,
blazing.
“Fuck I love that look on you,” he growls, pushing me backwards, his hips in mine, until I literally hit a brick wall beside the restaurant’s front window.

A thrill rushes through me, loving that I can make him lose his decorum just with the need to touch me and hopefully, kiss me.

I needn’t have hoped because as always, he delivers, crashing his mouth down on mine, his tongue delving between my lips conducting a thorough and deep demonstration of his appreciation.

He pulls back, his touch softening. Leaning his forehead against mine, he looks deep into my eyes and I watch with fascination as they transform from fiery hot to bearably warm.

“Fuck I love you. Doesn’t matter that I’ve told you he’ll love you, you’re still nervous. Shows me that you
want
him to like you. It means a lot.”

“Stop making me want to jump you,” I grumble. “We’re in public and getting arrested probably wouldn’t earn me Girlfriend of the Year in your parents’ eyes.”

He chuckles and kisses my nose before standing straight again, looking through the window beside us, a shit-eating grin appearing on his face.

“What?” I ask, turning around and pressing back into Cade’s front—and feeling how much he wants to jump me, too—and seeing an exact replica of him, just a little rougher and dirtier, smirking back at us.

Dammit. Well at least it’ll be a memorable first meeting now.

By the time we reach the table where Cameron, Callie, and Jonathan are seated, they’re all grinning at us.

“Was that pre-appetizer entertainment?” Callie says, failing to stifle a giggle as Cade and I come to a stop.

Cade lets go of my hand and moves to his brother, their arms wrapping around each other for a back-slapping, heartfelt hug that brings tears to the eyes, even for a hardass like me. If the sniffles coming from beside me are anything to go by, Callie’s affected by it, too.

“Good to have you safe and home,” Cade says gruffly.

Cam shoots him a grin. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, or hog all the ‘annoying the parents’ action either.”

They both turn back toward the table and look at their sister, Cade reaching his hand out to lace his fingers with mine again.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Callie cries, wiping her eyes. “The baby made me do it.”

“That’s her excuse for most things these days,” Callie’s husband, Jonathan, says, standing up and shaking Cade’s hand before leaning in to kiss my cheek. “Good to see you again, too,” he says quietly. It’s almost like a club. The ‘we’ve volunteered to join the Carsens and we’ve got each other’s backs’ kind of group.

“Cam, this is Abi,” Cade says, releasing my hand to wrap his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side.

“Well I’d hope so,” he says, “otherwise I’d be wondering why you were making out on the sidewalk.”

I can’t help it; I giggle and shake my head at him. He’s
just
like Cade. That cocky charm and the dazzling—almost overwhelming—good looks that would win even the most challenging woman over. I mean, hell, look at me and Cade.

Cam moves forward and playfully shoves Cade out of the way, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling me in for a bear hug.

“That’s it. Cade, we’re swapping places with this one. She’ll never know the difference. Well, except for . . .” He pulls away and shoots me a wink.

“Hey, buddy. We haven’t done that in years, and that was just to trick the nanny.”

Cade reclaims me, jostling with Cam until I’m by his side again. He pulls out a chair for me and once we’re both seated, takes his place beside me, draping his arm along the back of my chair.

Claiming, maybe. Possessive, probably. Hot, definitely.

We give our drink orders to the waitress and order our food, all of us deciding on an array of dishes to share rather than individual servings. Really, Callie wanted everything on the menu, and being ten million months’ pregnant—okay not quite—we decided that yes, we’d
love
to try everything on the menu, too.

“So the ‘rents,” Cam states, leaning back in his chair. “What’s the plan?”

“What do you mean?” their sister asks, looking between Cade and Cam.

“I hadn’t told Cal about it,” Cade mutters, and all heads jerk towards him.

“Told me
what?
” Callie snaps.

“Mom and Dad hired an investigator to look into Abi,” Cade explains.

She gasps, her eyes darting to me. “They did that?” she whispers.

“Of course they did,” Cam retorts.

“That’s . . . that’s just freaking insane, though,” she replies, her voice almost at a shrill, crazy-pregnant-lady level.

“That’s Annabel and Cade Senior,” Jonathan remarks, taking a sip of his wine and looking around the table as if to say “you know this.”

“But Abi’s harmless,” Callie says, turning her attention to me. “Sorry, Abi. But you really are no threat to them, whatsoever.”

I grin and put my spare hand—since Cade has trapped my other one between his thighs under the table—in the air in a placating gesture. “I really don’t care much for your parents at this point, sorry to say. So feel free to let loose.”

Trying to pull my hand free—to no avail—I decide that if Cade wants it there, it’s gonna do things
while
it’s there. I stretch my pinky finger back and up, ever so gently stroking his balls with the tip of it. He jerks at the first touch, and I feel the heat of his glare on me as I continue listening to Callie talk. Not surprisingly, he widens his legs, letting me regain full use of my previously trapped extremity.

I tilt my head and grin wickedly at him. His narrowed eyes meet mine but soon drop to my lips.
“Behave,”
I mouth.

“Are you two at it
again?
” Cam jibes.

“You’re just jealous,” Cade retorts, and Cam just grins at him. Fuck, it’s uncanny how alike they are. Not just in looks, but personality, confidence—even the way they sit.

“So did you two ever do that? You know . . .” I lean forward and look between the two brothers, “swap?”