A Hot Holiday Collection

Chapter 7

7

KATIE

“ S top it!” I screamed, forcing my way between two of the most important men in my life before one of them caused permanent damage. Luckily, they both had quick reflexes and could pull their punches without hitting me by mistake.

“Shit, Katie. What the hell were you thinking? We could’ve hurt you,” Jesse growled.

“Fuck, baby. Are you okay?” Sawyer turned me around and tipped my head back so he could scan my face for any sign of injury.

I puffed my bottom lip out in a pout when I saw the cut on his forehead. “I’m fine, but the same can’t be said for you.”

“Looks worse than it feels,” he assured me.

I twisted around to glare at my brother. “I can’t believe you tried to beat up your best friend!”

“First of all, I didn’t try to do anything. I fucking succeeded in kicking his ass.” He pointed at his face. “He’s the only one bleeding.”

Sawyer lifted the hem of his shirt to blot at the cut. “Only because I let you get in some free hits. I figured you deserved a little advantage since I get why you’re pissed.”

“Sure, you did,” Jesse scoffed, balling his hands into fists. “How about we go again so I can re-kick your ass when you’re not supposedly holding back?”

“Enough,” I hissed, pushing a hand against each of their chests. “No more fighting. It’s over.”

Jesse pulled me away from Sawyer. “The only thing that’s over is whatever the fuck is going on between the two of you.”

“You might be my big brother, but you’re not the boss of me.” I yanked my arm out of his grasp. “I didn’t listen to you when I was younger, and I sure as heck am not going to start now. Not when you’re being ridiculous about something that really matters to me.”

Sawyer stroked his palm down my back, and I leaned into his touch. When he moved his hand around to my hip, Jesse’s gaze dropped to where he was touching me. “I’m not being ridiculous, and you’re definitely going to listen to me about this.”

“No, what I’m going to do is find some ice for Sawyer to limit the swelling,” I corrected.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Jesse growled, pointing his thumb at his chest. “You should be worried about me, not him. I’m your brother. He’s just some guy I used to be best friends and business partners with before he proved how wrong I’d been to trust him.”

I hated how final that sounded, as though there was no way to repair their friendship. “You’re going to be stuck with Sawyer in your life for a very long time since he’s also the guy I’ve fallen in love with.”

Jesse’s eyes widened as his gaze darted back and forth between Sawyer and me. “Love?”

Sawyer flung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against his side. “Yeah, jackass. And you just ruined the moment when I told her how I felt the first time. This is about as far away from being romantic as you can possibly get. So thanks for that.”

Jesse scrubbed his palms down his face. “How long has this been going on?”

“I fell for him over Christmas break, but he waited until Valentine’s Day to make his move.” I smiled up at Sawyer, my tone turning dreamy. “I thought he’d put me in the friend zone because of you, but he was just trying to do things the right way out of respect for you.”

Sawyer stroked his thumb against my cheek. “And you, too. I wanted to give you the chance to get to know me because there was no going back after you became mine.”

“Fuck my life,” Jesse groaned, lowering his head to stare at his feet. “You guys are going to be loved up like this all the time, aren’t you?”

I beamed a smile at him and nodded. “Yup, pretty much.”

“Are you going to be around to see it?” Sawyer asked.

Jesse heaved a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping. “I guess I don’t have any choice. Once my baby sister makes her mind up about something, there’s no changing it. I learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago.”

“You better believe it,” I boasted.

Jesse pointed at Sawyer. “Since you fell for her, you’re the one who gets to wrangle her from now on.”

“Wrangle?” I echoed with an irritated huff.

Sawyer pressed a kiss to my temple. “I’m more than up for the task.”

I was glad to see them getting along but being the subject of their male bonding made me roll my eyes. “If you guys keep talking about me like I’m a huge pain in the butt, I’m going to ask you to get back to punching each other in the face again.”

“Oh, you’re definitely a pain in the ass,” Jesse chuckled.

“But she’s my pain in the ass,” Sawyer agreed.

I elbowed him in the side while I glared at my brother. “How did I just realize the downside to falling for my brother’s best friend is that the two of you are going to gang up on me at times?”

“Probably because you’ve always liked to leap before you look,” Jesse suggested with a shrug.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll team up with you against your brother most of the time,” Sawyer promised.

“Lucky me.” I heaved a deep sigh, but it was more from relief than irritation. “Does this mean you’re okay with Sawyer and me being together?”

“Now that I’ve gotten over my shock at seeing the two of you together like this, I have to admit I don’t hate the idea.” Jesse jerked his chin toward Sawyer. “There’s a reason he’s my best friend and business partner. Best guy I know.”

“He is pretty awesome,” I agreed.

“If anyone was going to be good enough for my little sister, it’d be you.” Jesse squeezed Sawyer’s shoulder. “I still would’ve preferred if you’d come to me about this, but I guess that’s not a good enough reason to keep the two of you apart.”

Sawyer’s hold on me tightened. “You could’ve tried, but there isn’t a power strong enough to keep me away from Katie.”

“Aww,” I sighed, butterflies swirling in my belly at his possessive tone.

“Blech.” My brother pretended as though he was going to vomit. “It’s going to take me a while to get used to your coupley shit.”

Sawyer shrugged. “Take all the time you need. Your sister and I are going to be spending our entire lives together.”

Those butterflies flapped their wings even harder as my heart melted at how confident Sawyer sounded talking about our future.

“I’m expecting to see a ring on my sister’s finger sooner rather than later,” Jesse warned, cracking his knuckles. “Or else I’m gonna have to kick your ass again.”

I was about to yell at him for sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong—in my relationship—but Sawyer’s reply temporarily took away my ability to speak.

“There you go, ruining another of my romantic gestures,” he muttered.

Jesse’s eyes widened. “I think that’s my cue to get out of here and leave you to it.”

I barely noticed my brother give me a kiss before he left. All of my focus was on Sawyer, his words playing over and over in my head.