BRANDONThe kitchen smelled like garlic and fried onions, which basically meant my mum was on a mission to feed the entire block again. I was supposed to be “helping,” but really, I was just standing there holding a chopping board and pretending I knew what I was doing.“Brandon, those tomatoes aren’t going to chop themselves,” Mum said, giving me that side-eye while flipping something in the pan.I sighed dramatically and picked up the knife. “You know you’re better at this than me. You should be proud I’m even in the kitchen.”She laughed. “Proud? I’m shocked you haven’t run out yet. I thought hockey boys couldn’t survive in a kitchen unless there was protein powder involved.”“Wow. Hurtful,” I said, grinning.My phone buzzed on the counter, and for a second, I ignored it because chopping tomatoes without losing a finger was already taking 90% of my focus. But then it buzzed again, and the screen lit up with a notification that made my stomach drop.It was from an unknown number. A
Cameron’s POVBy the time I got home from the conference, my head felt like it had been in a vice all day. Between the fake smiles, the corporate jargon, and… Brandon… sitting next to me for hours, I was exhausted. I didn’t even bother turning on the lights when I stepped into the apartment.I just wanted silence.But apparently, life was in the mood to punch me in the face again.Because there he was.Drake.Leaning against my kitchen counter like he owned the place, a glass of whiskey in his hand, eyes that dark, sharp shade that always meant trouble.I dropped my bag onto the couch. “What the hell are you doing here?”He smiled—slow, deliberate, like he’d been waiting for me. “Relax, little brother. Just thought I’d pay you a visit.”“I don’t need a visit.” I started to head toward my room, but he stepped in my way, blocking the hall.“Conference go well?” he asked, too casual.“Move.”“Who’d you sit next to?” His voice had this knowing edge to it, and my stomach twisted.I glared.
I slid into my chair, my hand tightening around the pen they’d placed at each setting. He didn’t glance at me, not once. Not when I sat down. Not when I said, “Hey.” Not even when I leaned slightly closer and muttered, “Guess they ran out of places to hide me from you.”His only reaction was this tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth. Could’ve been annoyance. Could’ve been… something else.The keynote speaker started, but I wasn’t really listening. I could hear Cameron’s breathing. I could see the way his fingers tapped lightly against his notepad when he was trying not to fidget.I leaned back, whispering just low enough for him to hear. “You look good.”His pen froze mid-word. He didn’t look at me. “Don’t.”“Don’t what?” I asked, even though I knew exactly what.“Don’t do this here.”I smiled, even though my chest hurt. “I’m literally just sitting.”He finally turned to look at me, and wow, bad idea. His eyes were sharp, all control and ice, but I caught it—the flicker. The one tha
Brandon’s POVI didn’t even want to come to this convention.Like, at all.But Coach said it would be “good exposure” for me and the team. Networking, PR photos, the whole fake-smile package. And here I was — wearing a stupid badge with my name in bold letters like anyone needed a reminder of who I was.The ballroom was huge. Too many people, too much chatter, and the kind of hotel carpet pattern that made you dizzy if you stared too long. I was halfway through a lukewarm bottle of water when I saw him.Cameron.It was like the air shifted. My grip on the bottle tightened, and my pulse did that annoying jump it always did when I wasn’t ready to deal with him. He was across the room, talking to some guy in a navy suit. Sharp jaw, perfect tie, hair done like he had a personal stylist — which, knowing him, he probably did.And then, like the universe hated me, the event organizer appeared beside me with a clipboard.“Brandon, right? You’re at Table 14. Oh! And you’ll be sitting next to—”
Cameron POVDad’s home office still smelled like him.That mix of old leather, expensive cologne, and the faint tang of ink from his fountain pens. The heavy curtains were half-drawn, muting the late afternoon light into a dim gold. Dust motes floated in the air like the room was holding its breath. Everything was still in place—his glasses next to the ledger, a pen left uncapped, the coffee cup with a faint ring of dried black at the bottom.It felt wrong being here without him.Like I’d stepped into a shrine.I was flipping through the latest reports, trying not to let my eyes glaze over, when the door burst open.“Why haven’t you canceled your engagement with Brandon?”Drake’s voice cut through the room like a knife. No hello. No knocking. Just him, storming in like he owned the air I was breathing.I didn’t even look up. “Nice to see you too, Drake. How’s your day going?”He ignored that, striding up to the desk and planting both hands on it. “I’m serious, Cam. This should’ve been
Brandon’s POVI didn’t even realize I was pacing until Mom leaned against the kitchen counter with her arms crossed like I’d just told her I got someone pregnant or something.“Brandon,” she said slowly, like I was some bomb she didn’t want to set off, “you’ve been wearing a hole in my floor for the last ten minutes. Either sit down or start paying rent.”“I can’t just sit down,” I muttered, running my hand through my hair for the hundredth time today. “He won’t even talk to me, Mom. He just… looks at me like I’m the enemy.”“Maybe because you’re acting like a stalker?” she suggested, raising her eyebrows.I flinched. “I’m not— okay, yeah, maybe showing up outside his apartment every day wasn’t… ideal.”“Not ideal?” she said, tilting her head. “That’s what you call camping in front of someone’s place like you’re auditioning for a bad romance movie?”I groaned and dropped into the chair, my knees bouncing. “It’s the only way I can see him. If I don’t show up, he disappears. He moved ba