A Drop of Pretty Poison: A Brother’s Best Friend Romance (Pretty Poison Trilogy Book 2)

Moving everything out of my bedroom at my mom’s house is bittersweet. On one hand, it’s going to be so strange not living in the same house as my mom and sister. Not cracking on each other in passing or when we occasionally eat dinner together. But on the other hand, I can’t wait for all of the alone time it’ll give me with Laiken.

Ever since the first night we spent together, I’ve had trouble sleeping without her. If I don’t have the weight of her head on my chest, or the sound of her breathing lulling me to sleep, I toss and turn all night. Thankfully, my mom never cares if she sleeps over. But Laiken’s parents? I have to set an alarm for five in the morning so I could sneak back into Cam’s room.

And of course, then I can’t fall back asleep because she’s not in my arms.

Cam grabs the last box and carries it out to my truck while I stand in the doorway, looking at the empty room. My mom comes over to stand beside me, and I can see her trying to keep from getting choked up.

“I’m proud of you, you know,” she says. “You were questionable for a little bit there, but the man you’ve grown into is just the man I hoped you would become.”

I make a noise of disgust. “Do we have to do the sob fest right now?”

She looks up at me and my facade cracks wide open. I smile, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close to me.

“Thanks, Mom,” I tell her. “For everything.”

Her hand comes to cover her mouth as she starts to cry. “Now you’re the one making this a sob fest.”

I chuckle. “You started it.”

“Oh, gross,” Devin says as she turns the corner. “You two are being sappy. Excuse me while I leave.”

“Come here,” I tell her.

She grumbles but does it anyway and I hold two of the most important women in my life close to me. The fact that they won’t have a man in the house anymore sits in the back of my mind, but I know they’ll be fine. The two of them scare the ever living shit out of me. If anyone decides to break in, that’s between them and God.

“Don’t be a stranger,” my mom tells me.

I snort. “I’m only moving a few miles away. It’ll be like I never even left.”

“That’s depressing,” Devin teases. “I was looking forward to not having to see your ugly mug anymore.”

My eyes roll. “Shut up. You know you’re going to miss me.”

She tries to play tough, but I can see right through it as she starts to tear up. “Fuck, fine. I’ll miss you a little.”

Cam up-nods at me through the front door and I know we’re all set to go. The guys are on their way back to my house to help unload, and Laiken and Mali are there to unpack and wait for the people delivering my furniture. Apparently, when all you have is a bedroom, you need to buy a lot of shit.

“Hey,” I say to Devin, getting an idea. “You busy today?”

Her lips purse before she shakes her head. “No, why?”

“Want to come back to the house with me?” I suggest. “Laiken and Mali are there. You can hang out with them.”

She smiles and looks over at Mom. “Will you be okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” she assures her. “You go have fun and help your brother.”

Devin goes to get her shoes on while I turn to my mom.

“If you ever need me, you promise you’ll call,” I tell her. She tries to wave it off, but I don’t allow it. “I’m serious. I don’t care what it is, or if it’s two in the damn morning. You call me and I’m here.”

Her eyes soften and she nods. “I promise. I love you, Hayes.”

“I love you, too.”

I hug her once more, trying to show her how much I care about her and appreciate how hard she’s always worked to provide for us. I know it wasn’t easy, raising two teenagers alone, but she never once even thought about giving up on us. Laiken is my future, and I love her more than I ever knew was possible. But everything I am, and the man I’ve grown to be, I owe to the woman standing in front of me.

With one more goodbye, all three of us step onto the porch. Devin skips ahead to get in my truck, and I turn around, walking backward as I talk to my mom.

“I’ll bring her back later,” I tell her.

She scrunches her nose. “Do you have to?”

I chuckle as I get in my truck, waving one more time as I pull out of the driveway.

There’s a weight in my chest from knowing she’s going to go back inside and cry. Memories of when my dad left play through my mind, but I push them away. Unlike him, I’m not abandoning her with two kids and no idea how to get by. I’m not abandoning her at all. If she were to need me, I could be there in under ten minutes.

She’ll always have me.

WE GET BACK TO the house and I walk in to see the girls must have gotten bored. They unpacked what we brought back so far, and while I don’t know where anything is, I’m just glad it’s done. I’m not sure how I feel about them putting together the end tables and the coffee table though.

“Are you sure they’re not going to fall apart?” I ask skeptically.

Laiken glares at me. “Yes, prick. We followed the instructions.”

Owen picks up the one end table and shakes it. “Seems sturdy to me. Hey, Aid! Come stand on this thing.”

“Let’s not,” I stop him and give Laiken a small smile. “It looks great, babe.”

“Thanks,” she says, grinning happily.

Mali has her I’m about to stir some shit look on her face. “Lai, tell him about your new business idea.”

Laiken chuckles, and already, I’m scared. “I’ve had so much experience in manual labor lately, I should start my own handyman business.”

Cam barks out a laugh. “Manual labor? You sit there gawking at your boyfriend all damn day!”

Her jaw drops. “I just put together three tables! And besides, would you be able to get any work done with him around? Look at him.”

All emotion drops right off Cam’s face as he shakes his head slowly. “There is so much wrong with what you just said.”

Devin cringes. “Agreed.”

My sister looks at me like I’m diseased, and I flip her off before focusing on my girlfriend. “You’re not becoming a handyman, babe.”

“Why not?” she presses playfully. “I could make a killing—especially if I do it topless.”

That gets Mali’s attention. “Ooh, you might be onto something.”

When Devin goes to open her mouth is when I draw the line and point my finger at her. “One word out of you and Cam is bringing your ass right home.”

Her lips clamp shut, meanwhile Lucas is frantically searching his pockets. Owen’s brows furrow as he watches him.

“Dude, what the fuck are you doing?” he asks.

He keeps patting everywhere on his body and looking around. “I can’t find my damn keys.”

“We’re not done bringing shit in,” Cam tells him. “Where are you trying to go?”

“IKEA,” he says, as if it’s obvious.

Everyone chuckles, but I’m too busy in a staring contest with Laiken. She just loves pushing my buttons, and mentioning herself topless in front of Lucas, she knew he would bite. Neither one of us looks away as Mali groans.

“They’re doing that thing again.”

“Doing what thing?” Aiden questions.

Cam sighs and answers for her. “That thing where they forget the rest of the room exists and live in their own little world.”

“It’s nauseating,” Mali grumbles.

I ignore them and tilt my head to the side a little, giving her a certain look. She knows exactly what it means, and she gets up without a word. As she walks straight into me, I wrap my arms around her.

“Mine,” I growl, mostly for Lucas’s benefit.

But it’s Mali that answers, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, we know, caveman. No need to brand her to clarify.”

“It’s so weird seeing him like this with a chick,” Owen says.

Cam grunts. “How do you think I feel? Being around the two of them almost makes me miss jail.”

But none of their opinions matter as Laiken looks up at me and my eyes meet hers—because she’s the best thing to ever happen to me. And I will spend the rest of my life being hopelessly in love with her.

LATER THAT NIGHT, AFTER everyone goes home, it’s just Laiken and me. I’m hanging up a few things she picked out at the store, letting her leave her own personal touches all over the place. I’ve thought about asking her to move in with me—more than I’d like to admit, actually—but something keeps holding me back. Every time I go to say the words, they just won’t come out.

She’s sitting on the couch, humming to herself as she works on a song she’s writing, and I can’t help but smile. She looks so at home, wearing nothing but one of my shirts after I took a break for the sole purpose of fucking her. After her topless handyman shit, I needed to remind her why no one else gets to see her the way I do. And if I paid extra attention to her tits out of pure jealousy, that’s no one’s business but my own.

Watching her like this, I get a warmth that spreads throughout my whole body. It starts in my chest and slowly makes its way through me. And the way she looks up and smiles at me reminds me of how my mom used to smile at my dad before everything went to shit. I slip my phone out of my pocket, setting it on the mantel and pressing a couple buttons until “Blessed” by Thomas Rhett plays from the speaker.

Laiken looks intrigued as I walk over to her and hold out my hand.

“Dance with me,” I tell her.

She giggles. “Babe, there’s no room.”

I glance around a moment before sliding the coffee table right out of the way. “There. Now, dance with me.”

Her hand slips in mine and she stands. “Oh, right. I forgot about your secret love for chick flicks.”

Our fingers interlace, and my other hand comes to rest on her lower back as we sway to the music. “Remind me to kill Devin for telling you that.”

She chuckles, only to squeal as I spin her away and then back to me. “But then where would I get all of my intel?”

“Me,” I answer simply. “There isn’t a single part of me I don’t want you to know. You can ask me anything.”

Her brows raise. “That sounds dangerous for you.”

“Do your worst.”

We slow dance around the living room while she thinks. “When did you lose your virginity?”

Ha. “And you say I have a one-track mind.”

“Yours is caused by perpetual sexual frustration. Mine is caused by jealousy. We are not the same.”

I snicker, spinning her again before answering. “Okay…I was sixteen. We were at a party. And I only did it because all my friends already had.”

“That’s a horrible reason,” she chides.

My one shoulder raises in a non-committal shrug. “I was a stupid kid. I didn’t know any better.”

I don’t regret my sexual experiences. Would it have been nice if it was only Laiken who knew that part of me? Sure. But then I’d be the same inexperienced fuck I was. Over the years, I taught myself all the things that she enjoys so much now. Taking that into account, all of it was worth it.

“Fine, you get a pass,” she says and moves on. “What went through your head on Monty’s boat that one day? You know what I’m talking about.”

That question makes my breath pause for a moment, and I huff in amusement. “That I was falling in love with you. I tried so hard to keep you out, but I couldn’t. It was beyond my control.”

She bites her lip, but her grin widens anyway. “And you tried to say we aren’t meant to be.”

“Biggest regret of my life,” I reply honestly. “You are the only one I’m ever meant to be with.”

Her head rests against my chest, and we hold each other close as we keep dancing, even long after the song has changed to something more upbeat.

LEAVE IT TO MY friends to look for any excuse to throw a party—even if it’s not their house. They say it’s my housewarming party, but not a single person has brought me a gift. Except Owen. He brought me a beer.

Just one.

But I’m not complaining. Not when I’ve got all my friends around me and Laiken by my side. And it’s nice knowing I can drink tonight and not worry about how I’m getting home afterward. Or sleep on Cam’s floor, for that matter.

It isn’t until an unfortunately familiar piece of shit walks in that my mood plummets.

“Fuck, no,” I growl, pushing through people on my way to the door. “Out. Now.”

Craig scoffs, smiling at his friends like I’m joking. “Come on, man. It’s the biggest party of the summer.”

“I don’t give a shit. Get the fuck out of my house.”

Laiken comes over and stands beside me, and when Craig’s eyes land on her, I can tell he still has feelings for her. Can’t blame him there. He’s the dumbass that lost her.

As I put my arm around her, he masks his hurt with irritation. “People said you were together, but I didn’t believe it. Never thought Hayes Wilder would want my sloppy seconds.”

“Hey,” I snap. “You don’t get to talk to her. You don’t even get to look at her. Keep your fucking eyes on me.”

Craig laughs dryly. “Okay. Tell me, how’s her pussy feel? Or does she keep you at third base, too? Never knew she was a prude until I started dating her.”

The whole party is silent, except for Mali in the background trying to keep Cam from coming over here. It’s smart. Keeping him over there keeps him out of trouble. But my freedom isn’t at risk here, and he’s in my house.

“See, that’s the difference between you and me,” I sneer. “I don’t feel the need to broadcast my sex life to all my friends. But I get that you have a lot to overcompensate for. Laiken told me all about your little…well, you know.”

Lai tries and fails not to laugh. We’ve never talked about Craig’s dick, for obvious reasons. But judging by the way his face turns red, I’m spot on. How unfortunate for him.

“Get out of here, Craig,” I demand. “And keep my girlfriend’s name out of your mouth.”

It’s probably the first time half this room has heard me refer to anyone as my girlfriend, but my only focus is getting this shithead as far away from Laiken as possible. Just knowing he’s seen her almost naked is enough to make me want to deck him.

“No can do, man,” he tells me. “It’s on my tongue every time I jerk off while I picture her mouth on my dick.”

My fist clenches and I go to lunge at him, but Laiken moves faster. She slips in front of me and holds me back with everything she has. Her hands come up to touch my face as she desperately tries to get my attention.

“Babe,” she tries again. “Stop. He’s just trying to goad you. Don’t listen to him.”

I take my attention off Craig and put it on her, exactly where it should be. She smiles in relief and slides her hands to the back of my neck.

“Don’t listen to him,” she repeats. “Just focus on me.”

And I can do that just fine. If he didn’t like seeing my arm around her, he’s really going to hate this.

Pulling her in, I press my lips to hers and feel as she melts into me. It may start all for Craig’s benefit, but it quickly takes a turn—becoming entirely for me. Because she keeps me grounded. Because she keeps me sane.

Because she’s the only person I ever want to kiss again.

“Get a room!” Owen jokes.

I pull away and my brows raise. “I have three, actually. Thanks for the reminder.” Focusing on Craig once more, I smirk. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to enjoy my party and then fuck my girlfriend the way she never let you.”

Taking a step toward him, he takes one back. With a few more, he ends up on the front porch and I swing the door shut in his face. The music starts to play again, and everyone goes back to the party like nothing ever happened. Laiken and I go over to the kitchen, and I grab another beer from the fridge.

“That guy is such a dick,” Lucas growls. “How did you ever date him?”

Laiken’s nose scrunches. “I was young and stupid. I didn’t know any better.”

I can’t help but laugh, recognizing her words as the ones I used while we danced in the living room. Mali comes back in from the dining room with Cam trailing behind her. My first assumption is that she brought him in there to keep him away from Craig, but as he zones out while staring at her, I think it may have been more than that.

“Cam!” Aiden shouts. “Funnel a beer with me!”

He chuckles, but there’s something off about it. “Do I look like I want to vomit tonight?”

“You’re no fun.” He looks around. “Mali?”

She shrugs. “Yeah, sure. Fuck it.”

“Yes!”

Everyone watches the two of them race to see who can drink it faster, but my attention is drawn to the door—where Monty has strolled in and is in the middle of a bro-shake with Owen, like they’ve been friends for years. I had no idea they even knew each other. And the way Monty quickly excuses himself when he sees me watching, I don’t think I was meant to know.

“You okay?” Laiken asks me.

I pull my focus back to her. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”

She celebrates with Mali after she beats Aiden with ease, but I’m still stuck on Monty. There’s something about him that rubs me the wrong way. And I don’t think it has anything to do with him threatening me. She’s mine now. That’s not changing.

If he hadn’t saved Cam from spending the next few years in prison, I’d say something to Laiken about it. Or even Cam himself. But he earned both of their respect with what he did, and Laiken has become better friends with him since. Because of that, I don’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to him.

Not unless I find out what his ulterior motive is.

IT ISN’T UNTIL LATER that I even have a chance to ask Owen about it. I’m outside smoking a cigarette when he comes out for some fresh air. Some people have left. Some are still lingering. Most are drunk. But Monty has stayed sober, and I have a feeling there’s a reason for it.

“Oh, hey, H,” Owen says. “I didn’t realize you were out here.”

I hold up the cigarette. “Laiken doesn’t want me smoking in the house.”

He snickers. “You two shacking up now?”

“Nah,” I shake my head. “Not yet, anyway. I don’t know. I’ll get to that eventually, I’m sure.”

His eyes widen in both disbelief and amazement. “That’s crazy. I never thought I’d see the day that you settle down.”

“Yeah, well,” I glance inside to see Laiken laughing at something Mali said. “She’s amazing.”

“Damn,” he breathes. “Good for you. Seriously. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks.” I take another hit of my cigarette. “Hey, I noticed you were talking to Monty earlier. I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

His brows furrow until they raise in realization. “Oh, Rollins? Yeah, we’ve hung out at Isaac’s a few times.”

“Isaac’s?” Now that is interesting.

He nods. “Yeah. Those two are pretty close. Grew up in the same social class and all that. I think they met at boarding school.”

Funny, throughout all the time Monty was helping us with Cam’s case, he never once mentioned that he even knew Isaac—let alone used to be friends with him. And something tells me it’s not because it slipped his mind.

“Wow. Guess you learn something new every day.”

Owen hums just as Lucas comes out with Aiden. The three of them rode here together. Aiden was supposed to be their DD, but that was shot to shit as he funneled three beers. So, Lucas switched to water.

“Ready?” Lucas asks Owen.

“Yeah.” He turns to me. “I’ll see you later, H.”

I raise my hand for a second in a half-assed wave to all three of them, but my mind is laser focused on Monty. I feel like everything with him is a trick. An illusion. He knows how to make people believe he’s got nothing up his sleeve, but I see right through him.

There’s something he’s hiding, and I’m going to figure it out.