Page 99 of Three Pucking Ex's Brothers

She nods, and I gently nudge her into the room.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right here. You just show me where the stuff is and I’ll get it, okay? Then you can wait in the hall if you want.”

Her gaze drifts to my mouth.

“You must think I’m an idiot,” she says as she turns the light on and steps into the room.

I glance at the bed in the center of the room, perfectly made. The comforter and duvet are pulled so tight, I swear you could bounce a quarter off of it. But that was always Brett. Everything needed to be perfect, or it wasn’t worth it at all.

But the thing no one realizes, maybe except my brothers and my parents to an extent—is that Brett craves the order and control because he likes to break it.

And no one can break it but him.

She said she came home to find him cheating on her. And in her drunken state she asked if it was because she wasn’t skinny enough or pretty enough. That kind of self-doubt comes from the message being delivered to you, usually by people close to you. People you trust.

The fact that my brother might’ve planted those seeds, made Nora—the perfect woman—doubt herself, and then went behind her back and fucked someone else…

It really is a good thing he’s on a plane to God knows wherever. Because the more I think about it, the more pissed I am.

Not just on Nora’s behalf, but on our behalf too.

His choices could affect us—he’s a big enough player on his own, and if word gets out, it’ll trickle down. When that happens, if that happens, it’ll hit our parents first.

I might be able to deal with the brunt of whatever Brett’s stupid decisions are, and Freddie too, but…my parents, Tommy…they don’t deserve to take the heat or be whispered about because Brett’s an idiot.

I force myself to look away as Nora opens the closet and points to the top shelf.

“Up there. I’ve got a couple suitcases and duffels. Should be enough to pack up my clothes and shoes and—” Her voice shakes as I pull down a suitcase. And then another.

“Hey.” I look at her. “I told you, just show me and I got it from here. You can wait in the?—”

She shakes her head. “No, I’m good.”

“You sure?” I ask as I pull down two duffels.

She starts pulling hangers of clothes down, piling them in her hands. “Mhmm. It’s just…kind of quiet and somber, you know?” She bites her lip. “Makes me feel like a failure.”

“Hey.” I grab the clothes from her arms and a suitcase as I look at her. “You arenota failure, Nora, and I never want to hear you say that again,” I tell her sternly.

Her lips part as she looks at me with surprise.

“I don’t know what kind of bullshit my brother was feeding you, but you are amazing. You are smart, and talented, and so fucking beautiful…”

I have to walk away and throw the clothes on the bed, emotion clouding my thoughts.

She comes to stand beside me with more clothes and sets to taking them off the hangers as I unzip the suitcase.

“Then why did he cheat on me?” she asks, her voice small. “If I’m so perfect, why didn’t he want to marry me? Have a baby?”

I stop at her words.

“You wanted…a baby?” I swallow hard, since it’s the first time I’m hearing this. Not just from Nora, but…

My mother’s been on Brett’s ass for the last three years, since he hit thirty—that he needs to settle down and start building a family. My dad—ever the hockey enthusiast—has said more often than not that his career with the NHL won’t last forever, and he needs to put down roots.

And honestly, when he brought Nora home, I thought he had finally taken them seriously.

But then…