The Home-wrecker (The Goode Brothers)
The Home-wrecker: Chapter 32

That was the deal on Monday. But then, tomorrow comes and goes. Dean has been working so late most nights that he sleeps half the day away while I’m busy entertaining Abby during her summer break with trips to the library, the children’s museum, and playdates with my sister.

Before I know it, five full days have gone by since the day Dean and I had sex, and every passing moment starts to feel like hands tightening around my throat.

Caleb and I haven’t spoken about the incident at all. Our conversations mainly revolve around Abby and his father’s case. It feels wrong to talk about this whole thing without Dean, and I think some part of us is afraid to discuss it.

Each night, he crawls into bed next to me, and the truth of it all—he was intimate with a man, and I slept with someone else—hangs over us like a cloud.

On top of that, we’re smack-dab in the middle of the two-week wait, which means it’s almost time to test again. For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel the overwhelming weight of that on my shoulders. The situation with Dean has been a welcome distraction from the baby-making endeavors.

Grabbing my calendar to count the days, I notice an event scribbled under today’s date—Caleb’s mother’s charity auction.

“Shit,” I mutter under my breath.

Quickly, I text Caleb.

Your mother’s charity function is tonight.

He answers back almost immediately.

Dammit. I forgot about that.

Can we skip it?

I think it would mean a lot to her to have us all there together. Can your sister watch Abby?

I’m sure she can.

Neither of us texts for a moment, and I know he’s thinking the same thing I am. He’s the one who says it first.

We should bring Dean.

I agree.

Will you talk to him?

Yeah.

Abby is playing out back with her dolls in the playhouse. Watching her through the window, I send a quick text to my sister, asking her to babysit tonight, and she immediately replies with a yes. After checking my hair in the reflection on the microwave, I head out back to knock on Dean’s door.

“Abby, I’m going to talk to Dean. Stay here, okay?” I say as I pass her in the yard.

“Can I come?” she replies enthusiastically.

“Not this time,” I say. “Stay here.”

With a pout, she settles back on the grass. Dolls in hand, she quickly distracts herself with whatever she is playing. My knuckles rap against his door, and I take a deep breath, realizing this is the first time I’ve really faced him since the incident.

He opens the door, looking freshly showered in nothing but a pair of tight black jeans. His buzz-cut hair is still wet, droplets cascading down his temples as he uses a towel to wipe them away.

“Hey,” he says with a hint of a smile.

“Hey,” I reply in a sort of dreamy, flirtatious way.

His eyes dance across the yard as he notices Abby playing outside, a clear sign that we won’t be doing anything inappropriate today.

“What’s up?” he asks, obviously wondering why I’m here.

“Melanie’s charity function is tonight. My sister is watching Abby, and Caleb and I thought…”

His eyes widen as he realizes what I’m asking. “You want me to go?”

“Yes. We do.” Chewing on my bottom lip, I give him a suggestive smile. I hope it conveys everything we could do tonight if he comes, especially since we left things at a standstill a few days ago. I don’t think any of us truly wants this fire to die.

His eyes start to twinkle with excitement. “I don’t have a suit,” he replies with a grimace.

“I’m sure Caleb has one you can wear.”

Leaning against the doorframe, he gives me a contemplative expression. “You sure this is a good idea?”

“His mother invited you,” I reply. “Why would it be a bad idea?”

“What if I can’t keep my hands off you?” he says with a smirk, and my heart starts to pound in my chest. Butterflies assault my belly as I bite harder on my bottom lip. Then he takes a slow step toward me, seductively adding, “Either of you.”

Putting my hand on his chest, I gently push him back. “You need to behave.”

He snickers to himself, clearly in a good mood. Normally, Dean is so broody and clearly thrives on being alone, but since this whole thing started, I’ve seen a change in him. As if he likes the idea of being with us. It makes me want to draw him in even more. I want to make him part of our family and shower him with all the love and comfort I know he must have been missing in his own life.

“Fine,” he murmurs under his breath. As he glances down at Abby again, she waves up at him, and I catch a small smile on his lips that he quickly hides when he notices me watching.

“Come over and try on a few of his suits. And if you’re hungry, I’m about to make lunch.”

Seemingly touched by the gesture, he nods. “Okay. If you two want me to come, then I will.”

Leaving him at the door, I feel his eyes on me as I descend the stairs.

“Abby, it’s time for lunch,” I say, going into the house. It’s cool for July, but I’m practically burning up as I walk into my kitchen.

I’m in the middle of making sandwiches when Dean walks into the house. Abby is getting cleaned up in the bathroom as he leans against the kitchen counter, with a shirt on now—unfortunately. Crossing his arms over his chest, he smiles at me, and I feel my temperature rising again.

“What?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder.

“Nothing,” he mutters with a shrug. “Sorry, I’ve been working so much this week. We haven’t had a chance to talk. I’ve missed it over here.”

Chewing on my lip, I try to appear nonchalant. “It’s fine,” I reply.

I know that it bothers Caleb more than it bothers me that Dean works so much. I could see the disgruntled wince on his face every time I mentioned Dean working late. And I’m not sure if it’s what Dean does or how much he does it that bothers Caleb, although I have a feeling it’s the former.

“Unless…things have changed,” he says with hesitancy. Immediately, I spin around and stare at him with wide eyes.

“Nothing has changed,” I state brazenly.

His lips quirk in a small smile as Abby comes bounding into the kitchen. “I’m hungry,” she says as she clumsily climbs onto the chair.

“You’re always hungry,” Dean replies.

As I put her plate down in front of her, she playfully sticks her tongue out at Dean, and I don’t even have to turn toward him to know he’s probably doing the same.

I laugh at both of them as I turn back to the counter to make two more sandwiches. “You haven’t been around kids much, have you?” I ask as I spread mayo on the bread.

“Is it that obvious?” he replies.

“You’re good with her in your own way.” Peeking over my shoulder, our eyes lock again, and I feel something warm trickle down my spine.

I hate how hooked on him my heart is feeling. With every casual conversation and tender moment we share, it’s alarming to me how well we fit together. I don’t want to get my hopes up. I don’t know what we’re even doing or what the plan is.

Caleb and I are married to each other. Where on earth does Dean fit into all of this? How long can we keep him in that apartment, keeping him a secret from the world as Caleb and I raise our children together?

As I finish the sandwiches, Dean steps closer, blowing gently on the back of my neck. It’s a brief touch of his nearness, and it makes me feel both excited and scared at the same time.

He and I sit down at the table with Abby, and the two of them make awkward conversation as we eat. And I can’t stop smiling, feeling as if things are so close to being perfect.

After lunch, Abby sits on the couch to watch a movie while I take Dean upstairs to our closet so he can look through Caleb’s suits.

The moment we’re alone upstairs, I feel the warm, arousing tension grow. It’s a delicious combination of excitement and danger.

As I slide the hangers on the rack, finding one of Caleb’s older suits, Dean steps up behind me, bringing his lips to my neck.

I hum with how good his lips feel on my skin. His hard body presses up against my back, sending waves of heat to my core. His hands grab me by the hips, grinding himself against me so I can feel the length of his cock against my ass.

“We can’t get carried away,” I whisper. The last thing I want to do is stop him, but I have to. If Abby were to come up here, it would be a disaster for many reasons.

“I know,” he mumbles against my neck. “But I told you I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off you.”

When he finally drags himself away, he does so with a pained sound. “Fine. Let’s find a suit.”

I laugh as I pull one down from the rack. “Here, try this. It’s a few years old.”

Taking the black tux from my hand, he checks around the corner for Abby and decides to just try it on in our closet. I stay by the doorway to stand guard. I mean, I’m not going to miss watching him take off his clothes.

Crossing my arms as I lean against the doorway, I replay some of the things Dean said the other day when we were together.

What did you expect me to do, Briar? Sit on the sidelines while I watch you get the man I want…or watch him get the woman I want?

Does he really want us?

“Can I ask you a question?” he asks as he buttons up the black pants.

“Yeah,” I reply, straightening my spine.

“Did you know about Caleb?”

Dread swarms in my belly. This feels like such a hard topic to discuss because it means that I have to face the shame I feel. I never knew something so intimate about my own husband. What kind of wife doesn’t know that sort of thing?

Solemnly, I shake my head.

Noticing my melancholy expression, he takes a step toward me. “Briar, look at me.”

Apprehensively, I turn my gaze up to his face.

“It’s not your fault. I mean, maybe he didn’t even know. It doesn’t make you a bad wife, you know?”

Forcing a sad smile, I close the distance and wrap my hands around his middle, nuzzling my face against his chest.

“Thank you for saying that,” I mumble.

“It’s true.”

“I still feel bad,” I reply without pulling away. “I’m sure even if he knew, he wouldn’t have felt safe coming out. His father wasn’t the most supportive parent.”

Dean scoffs. “Trust me, I know. I dated his little brother, remember?”

Pulling away quickly, I stare at him with astonishment. “Dated?”

He laughs as he puts some distance between us, reaching for the shirt. “We were fourteen,” he says. “It’s not like we had sex.”

“You don’t need to have sex for a relationship to be valid,” I argue.

“I know that,” he replies. “Isaac was my first taste of love, but we were just kids.”

“How did I not know this?” I ask, crossing my arms. “I thought you and Isaac were just friends.”

“That’s what everyone thought,” he replies, buttoning it up.

“Even Caleb?”

That makes Dean pause. “He knew.” He won’t meet my gaze, and something unsettling burrows its way into my stomach. I want to ask what he meant by that, or if there’s more to this story I don’t understand, but I decide not to.

Right now, I just want to focus on the beautiful man in front of me and the possibilities this evening could bring.