I saw my brother first, his tall, sturdy stature, slightly graying, dark brown hair, and serious brown eyes. Except, I saw more life in them than I had ever seen before and it filled me with joy. Stanley was fifteen years older than me and after our dad took off when I was four, he practically raised me. He was strong, steadfast, and responsible, providing me and our mother with a stable home.
We’d had our disagreements about my “nomadic existence” and “unpredictable job,” but I’d seen the scrapbook he kept of my articles and published photos. He supported me, despite his constant worry. No one deserved to find love and happiness more than he did.
“Harrison.” His smile was wide as he approached and shook my hand heartily. I was tempted to pull him into a hug, just to ruffle his proper feathers. He hadn’t ever been one for physical displays of affection, though, he showed how much he cared in many other ways.
However, my jaw practically slammed into the light wood floor when he stepped back and pulled Bunny into his embrace, tucking her into his side. I almost fell over when he kissed her temple and smiled at her like a lovesick boy. As my surprise wore off, the little devil inside me grinned evilly. Oh, man, this was going to be so much fun. All out of brotherly love, of course.
“I see you met my beautiful Bunny,” he said as he tore his eyes from her to look at me again. My eyes were still wide and, holy shit, my brother was fucking blushing. I had to bite back a litany of teasing comments, there would be plenty of time for that later.
“Seems to me like that name fits you better,” I drawled. “When did you become so soft and cuddly?” Okay, so I let one slide.
He straightened his spine and cleared his throat. “I don’t know what you mean, Harrison.” Soft and cuddly didn’t seem to have come with a sense of humor.
A noise behind the couple drew my attention and I looked up to see a girl walking down a set of stairs on my left. When she hit the bottom step, I froze. My heart stopped beating, the world stopped spinning, and time ceased to exist.
Mine.
The word reverberated in my head, bouncing around and growing until it filled every nook and crevice. When everything started moving again, it did so at an elevated pace. My heart rate soared, and I felt a little dizzy.
This close, I realized I’d been mistaken. She wasn’t a girl. She was all woman. I tried hard to keep my gaze on her shoulder length, silvery blonde hair, huge, clear blue eyes, and rosy lips. I failed spectacularly. She was wearing a wide-necked, purple T-shirt and my eyes were drawn down the long column of her throat to large, full breasts that I immediately knew would spill from my hands. My eyes continued to her white shorts that showcased her nipped in waist and luscious, rounded hips, all the way down her endless legs to the most adorable, purple painted toes I’d ever seen.
We’d be having a talk about those shorts, I thought darkly. While I enjoyed the assets they so clearly highlighted, I didn’t want any other men looking at what was mine.
She was several inches taller than her mother and her face was longer, but otherwise, they looked very much alike. Movement in my peripheral vision snapped me out of my inappropriate perusal of my teenage niece’s body. My eyes whipped up and I only hoped that neither Stanley or Bunny had noticed me ogling Magnolia. I turned back to them, trying to avoid the matching mixture of lust and shock in her eyes.
Mine.
No.
Seventeen, Harrison. Still in high school. Can’t be traveling the world if you’re locked in a jail cell, man.
Luckily, the couple was gazing at Magnolia fondly and it didn’t seem like they had noticed my reaction. I shifted my bag strategically in front of me, hiding the physical evidence of said reaction.
“This is my daughter, Magnolia,” Bunny introduced.
“Maggie,” she corrected softly. Her voice was husky and it washed over me, hardening my cock even more. “It’s nice to meet you, Harrison. Stanley has told us a lot about you.”
I forced an easy smile. “I’m sure none of it is true,” I joked. She smiled and my breath caught.
Mine.
Fuck. My shoulders slumped, I had to stop that.
“Come into the kitchen,” Bunny suggested as she waved to a door behind her. “We were about to sit down to a special dinner. I’m so glad you could be here to join us! We’re celebrating Magnolia’s”—“Maggie” her daughter interrupted to scold her—“birthday today, even though it’s not until tomorrow. With the rehearsal dinner and everything, Stanley very smartly suggested making tonight about our girl. You only turn eighteen once!” She fluttered over to Maggie and kissed her cheek, then flitted through the door she’d indicated.