The Five Brothers Next Door: A Reverse Harem Romance Read online

  “Well, based on what I’ve learned about him so far, you’re probably right. Who the fuck makes an ex-girlfriend pay him back for dinners from years ago?”

  “An asshole, that’s who.”

  “At least an asshole’s useful. This guy’s just complete shit,” Liam grunts.

  “Is that all?” I ask with my heart in my throat. I really hope that’s it. “You just don't like him and think he looks suspicious?”

  “Well . . . not exactly.” Liam looks over his shoulder at the rest of the family—yes, that includes Ava, too—and makes sure nobody’s listening to us. “Mason got in touch with the judge, and he put the call on speakerphone for me to listen, too.”

  “And?” I ask. My heart’s pounding so loudly I’m worried I won’t be able to hear Liam’s answer.

  “And the judge didn’t say much . . . But from the way he was talking, and from the words that he used, I suspect this is not going to be a clear win for us.”

  “You mean it’s really possible the judge will make Ava pay that asshole back for all that stupid shit?”

  “Keep your voice down,” Liam says.

  “Sorry.” My voice just grows louder on its own when I’m freaking out. And yes, I am freaking out.

  “That smells amazing, Nathan,” I hear Ava squeal from the dining table. She turns her attention to Liam and me. “Guys, the food’s done!”

  Minutes ago, I thought we didn’t have anything to worry about, that we’d just go on to continue being happy together.

  But, oh, poor Ava.

  I’ve seen the way he treats her. He’s unkind. He’s a bully, and if I had it my way, I wouldn’t want him to spend another second in the same room with her.

  But I know both Ava and Joseph will do just that during the hearing—spend time in the same room, that is.

  And fuck, above all, I don’t want to see him hurt her again. But the way Liam’s acting right now chills me to the bone. Looks like Ava won’t be coming up on top this time.

  Nathan

  After Noah told me about Liam's concerns last night, there’s no way for me to just sit still—or just continue cooking Ava a mountain of food.

  I’ve been enjoying cooking a lot more, now that Ava’s around. In the past, I’ve turned to the culinary arts when I needed time to unwind.

  I find it helps me relax because there are clear instructions to do relatively easy things (chop this up, turn that on, throw those into a pot of boiling water), and it allows me to turn off my brain, at least for a short while.

  Now, though, there’s the reward of putting a smile on Ava’s beautiful face. She’s always so appreciative, even when she’s giving me constructive criticism (like “this is amazing, Nathan, and I think a little nutmeg would make it even better”).

  I mean, I’m not going to cry if she says she doesn’t like my food. But hearing her say all those sweet words just does things to me . . . you know? My chest feels all fuzzy and shit.

  And it’s not just me, either.

  I saw that weird little smile on Liam’s face at dinner, last night, when Ava rubbed his arm and thanked him for working so hard on her case.

  “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known where to turn to,” Ava said. “My parents wouldn’t have helped me. And how would I even get the money to pay for legal counsel anyway? I’m just a high school teacher. Joseph once told me a good attorney could cost, like, $500 an hour. Is that true?”

  Liam nodded. He could’ve told her he charged even more, but he didn’t.

  Her reaction to kindness is just so pure and joyful it makes me want to do even more things for her.

  But the last thing I want is for Ava to feel like she owes us something, forcing her to stay with us out of some misplaced sense of obligation.

  That’s why I didn’t tell Ava I’d be at the courthouse today.

  As Liam instructed me, I find my way to the office of a certain Becky Swanson, the assistant to the judge who’ll be presiding over the hearing.

  I knock on her door and hear a terse “come in.”

  “Hi.” I give Becky the most suave smile I can come up with, as I push the door open.

  Becky looks exactly the way I thought she would. A tight bun on the back of her head, a pair of glasses perching on her nose, and a cardigan buttoned all the way to the top.

  She dresses like a middle-aged woman who grew up in an era when showing knees was scandalous. But, she’s young—probably in her early to mid-twenties.

  “Can I help you?” she asks, giving me a cursory glance as she continues typing on her computer. It takes her a split second to take another look at me. Then, staring straight at me this time, she repeats her question, “How can I help you?”

  Sometimes, it’s nice to have a pretty face. I don’t care if Ava’s asshole ex calls us “pretty boys.” As far as I’m concerned, it’s a compliment, although I am impressed by the anger that phrase inspired in our sweet, patient Ava.

  “I don’t want to bother you if you’re busy, Becky. But I’m not going to lie to you; this could take a while.”

  I already know she won’t mind. I wouldn’t be able to do my job if I weren’t good at reading people. And this Becky girl is already starting to get trapped in my web.

  “Oh, I’m not busy at all.” She takes off her glasses and smooths out her hair, which doesn’t actually have any stray strands. “Take a seat.”

  “I’m wondering if you’ll be able to help me out.” I pull out a chair and sit down.

  “Sure,” she says without even asking any details.

  “I work at the Ashbourne Gazette,” I begin my fictional story. “I’m vying for this big promotion and I need a good scoop to impress my boss.”

  “I don’t see how I can help with that. I’m not supposed to discuss details about any of the cases I work on with the press.”

  “No, of course not. You’re a professional.”

  Flattery is great for lowering people’s guard. It just has to be believable. And it’s important to know what to compliment someone on.

  For someone like Becky? I’m sure her work is everything to her.

  “Oh, thank you for saying that,” she says, averting her gaze in embarrassment at the unexpected praise.

  “I’m just here to tell you what I know. That’s all. You’re allowed to listen to me talking, right?” I ask her as I lean forward over the desk, looking closely at her.

  “Y—yeah,” she says.

  From that point on, things are as easy as taking candy from a small child.

  I tell her about the rumors I’m hearing about some guy suing his ex-girlfriend, not forgetting to mention that it would be perfect for the “Local Happenings” section—I just made that up, by the way.

  As Becky listens to me, she reviews the documents related to the case on her computer, which helps me figure out how bad things really are.

  For example, when I tell her all the outrageous things Joseph wants Ava to repay him for, she lifts her eyebrows in surprise as she reads the actual list on her screen, saying, “Oh, wow.”

  Little by little, she reveals information without meaning to.

  Now, it’s time to close the deal.

  “So, it’s a ridiculous claim, right? I’m guessing the judge will just throw this case out of the court,” I say as casually as I can, even though inwardly I’m getting nervous.

  This is the very information I came here to learn. Everything hangs on the next few short sentences Becky says, and her facial expression.

  “Hmm . . .” Becky frowns as she stares at the screen, her index finger scrolling down the wheel of her mouse.

  “Do you think the guy might actually win? That would be so crazy,” I say, as if I’m just an unconcerned bystander.

  Becky shrugs her shoulders. “Sometimes, the application of the law does result in pretty crazy things.”

  Oh, shit. That’s not a good answer, is it?

  Mason

  “That’s all she said?” I ask again.r />
  “Yeah. Dude, I already told you everything. It wasn’t easy to get anything out of her, okay?” Nathan’s obviously getting irritated because I’ve been interrogating him non-stop since he got home, but he should’ve tried harder.

  “You could’ve pushed her for more.”

  “Look, your aggressive style may work in the boardroom. But when it comes to real people, you need to be more persuasive. She wouldn’t have told me anything if I were pushy,” Nathan says.

  “Look, we’re all frustrated, but let’s not start blaming one another,” Noah says. “Mason, Nathan’s the best man for the job. We agreed on that. That’s why he was the one who went. This is the best information we could’ve gotten out of the judge’s assistant. I think we should focus on what to do next instead.”

  I take a deep breath.

  Noah makes a good point; it’s not Nathan’s fault. But I can’t help getting all worked up. Too bad the asshole I’m actually angry at isn’t here to take a punch to the face. My fist is itching to meet Joseph again.

  “So what were her actual words?” I ask.

  “In the end, when I asked her if she really thought Joseph might win, she said she couldn’t give me that information, but it was an interesting case to follow and it would make a good story for the paper.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Hey, so, when I went to your Facebook profile, it says Sally Fields is a mutual friend,” Ava says as she lounges on the couch, seemingly unaware that a shit show may be about to happen.

  It’s just the two of us in the living room right now.

  Ollie and the twins are out, but they didn’t want to let me come along or tell me where they were going.

  Not going to lie, that made me furious. But my reaction only proved their point—that I was too angry to be outside, hanging around people.

  Besides, now I’m alone with Ava, so things are working out pretty well for me.

  Liam was here before, until he complained about back pain, and Ava banished him to her bedroom where there’s an actual desk.

  “Yeah, Sally Fields. She’s our assistant,” I say.

  “Oh! What a coincidence. I know her.”

  “Yeah, I know. You already said she’s a mutual friend on Facebook. Plus, this is a small town and everybody knows almost everybody else.”

  “Yeah, but also . . . I was actually meeting up with her when you guys saw me at Feral,” she says.

  “Really?” I ask. Wait a minute . . . “She just left you to be alone with that creep?”

  “To be fair, she didn’t know what he was like. As far as she knew, we were just another couple with a disagreement. She probably hadn’t heard about our break-up yet.”

  “Isn’t that one of the first things girls talk about when they meet up—all the spectacular ways their boyfriends and ex-boyfriends fucked up since the last brunch?” I ask.

  Again, she giggles. “We didn’t even get to that part, but she did mention she was here for work, and I was wondering why she’d travel to work in Ashbourne. I was about to ask her when Joseph showed up and completely monopolized the conversation.”

  Ah, fuck. Every time I hear that name, I want to punch something.

  “So, she’s your assistant, huh? Like, to all five of you?” Ava asks.

  “Essentially, yeah. We were planning to hire more assistants, but Sally’s been managing pretty well on her own,” I say.

  “Hmm . . .” Ava nods.

  The corners of my lips pull up. “Why, are you jealous, beautiful?”

  She blushes. “I don’t know. Am I allowed to be jealous?”

  “What do you mean ‘allowed’? By who?”

  “It’s just that . . . Well, I’m with five of you . . . And, you’re only with one of me, plus you’re sharing me with four other guys . . .”

  “Your point being?” I can’t help but smile as I watch her. Of course I know what she means, but I like seeing her squirm and get embarrassed. It’s adorable.

  “Do I really have the right to say you can’t see anyone else?”

  “You mean am I going to also date four other women to make this fair?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Of course I won't,” I say resolutely.

  “Really?” she asks, beaming.

  “Yeah. We haven’t really discussed that, huh?”

  “Not really.”

  “Well, I can’t speak on behalf of my brothers, but for me, I’m seeing you exclusively, and you’re seeing the five of us exclusively. We’re not going to recruit more members. We’re not trying to form a commune. We all just happened to fall in love with you.”

  Ava’s grinning now, her eyes shining bright. “I don’t know why we didn’t talk about this sooner. It’s good to know exactly where I stand.”

  Her words sting my guilty conscience. Should I tell her we don’t have the situation under control like she thinks we do?

  “What’s wrong?” Ava asks, her perceptive green eyes studying me.

  “Nothing,” I say, forcing a smile.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to fire Sally or anything just because I’m a little jealous she gets to spend so much time with you. I’m not that bratty.”

  I smile. I like how she’s able to acknowledge her jealousy and own it as her issue, rather than forcing me to make a rash business decision just to appease her.

  Fuck it, she’s amazing, and she deserves to know whatever she wants to know.

  “No, it’s not that,” I say. Before I change my mind, I blurt out, “Ava, there’s something about the case you need to know . . .”

  Ava

  “What do you mean?” I ask the five determined, gorgeous faces staring back at me.

  “We all think it would be best,” Ollie says.

  “But . . . I can’t even go to my own hearing?” This is outrageous.

  “No, no, that came out wrong,” Liam says. “We don’t literally mean you ‘can’t’ go. If you want to, you can. But we don’t think you should.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because . . .” Liam looks around at his brothers before he finally says, “I hate to say this, but I’m not as confident about winning this case as I was.”

  “So?”

  “So, we may lose. And if we lose . . . Remember, Joseph will be there.”

  I bite my tongue. Liam’s right. That doesn’t seem like it would be a pleasant experience.

  “He’d think I’m scared of him,” I say.

  “Who cares what he thinks?” Mason asks. “He’s a nobody.”

  I fall silent.

  I don’t know why I feel like I need to prove something to Joseph. Something niggles at me, telling me I can’t just walk away like this, telling me I’d be admitting defeat.

  But at the same time, I know that’s the kind of thinking that’s gotten me into Joseph’s trap in the first place.

  “Take these,” Noah says, giving me a few pieces of paper.

  “What are these?”

  “Your reservation at the spa. We also asked your friends from brunch to go with you,” Nathan says.

  “Tony, Jessica, and Sarah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How did you . . . When did you . . .?” I look through the pieces of paper. It says there’s a paid reservation for four adults tomorrow, not long after school lets out—about the time the hearing starts.

  “We have our ways,” Ollie says.

  “Don't worry. We’ll take care of everything. You should just relax,” Nathan says.

  “What if I still want to go?” I ask softly.

  “Just trust us to handle this for you, please,” Mason says.

  “I do trust you. I just feel like . . . like I should be doing something. You’ve been working so hard on this, and I haven’t done anything.”

  “That’s not true,” Liam says. “You helped me with the research, remember?”

  “And you helped us deal with some customer emails,” Noah says.

  “Yeah, Ava,
don’t think of it as us doing something for you,” Ollie says. “We’re a team. We stick together. We band together and share our strengths and weaknesses with one another.”

  I pause to consider what they’re saying.

  Is it really okay for me not to go? Is it really a good idea to just walk away from this?

  If we’re going to lose, how am I going to pay Joseph? It’s going to take me a while to come up with that much money, and I don’t know if the legal system will allow me to pay in instalments.

  Maybe I should ask Liam, but I don’t want him, or any of his brothers, to know I don’t have the money and offer to pay it for me.

  As these thoughts swim around in the fog of my mind, I realize I have enough things to worry about, without also having to see Joseph in person.

  I’ve been filled with so much dread at the thought of it. I’ve been having nightmares—like wake-up-in-cold-sweat-in-the-middle-of-the-night kind of nightmares.

  Luckily, I always have at least one of the Hunters in bed with me now. At least, I’m not alone, and I have someone to cuddle with (although we often do more than that) so I can fall back to sleep.

  “Okay,” I tell them. And suddenly, tension I didn’t even realize I had just vaporizes from my body, leaving me with lightness.

  I can deal with the money thing later. For now, I’m just glad I don’t have to see Joseph in court.

  I don’t know why I ever thought I’d be able to relax while a hearing is being held where people are literally discussing whether I should give all my money to my ex and eat ramen for the rest of the year.

  I mean, this spa looks expensive. How much does this cost? And for four people? I’m probably about to go broke. I shouldn’t be going around having luxurious Swedish massages.

  Besides, it feels like my masseuse is just pressing random areas of my body. But maybe I’m just spoiled because Ollie’s so much better at giving a massage than this woman.

  “Excuse me,” I say when I see my phone screen light up on an adjacent table.

  “Please don’t use a cell phone during a massage,” the masseuse says.