The phrase "What does Lily Autumns love?" had never sounded so terrifying. And unfortunately, for all of Liam's faults, he knew exactly what and who I loved and shared every detail...

"Her brothers. She loves them more than anything. Calls them all the time. They live in Montana. Not close by."

"Unfortunately for you, that's untrue," Jack muttered, his hand inching towards the surveillance van door. But Sam's warning touch on Jack's arm stopped him before he could touch it. 

"Not yet," Sam murmured. "We have to plan this carefully."

"She loves everything from the 1930's," Liam continued. "Obsessed with old clothes and movies. You could drop her off in an old antique shop and she would blend into the background like a mannequin. Could never get her to want anything from this era."

"She has a weird roommate who she's pretty loyal to, but she doesn't have any other friends. She hasn't put herself out there. A lonely unmotivated girl who until recently had nothing interesting going on in her life."

Having every flaw laid out for your loved ones to hear is painful. Having someone saying it all because they care more about themselves and their promotion than your own well-being... is torture.

I was an idiot for ever going out with him, I thought as Liam began to describe me. A warped version of who I was that left me feeling fragile and breakable for the first time in weeks.

I listened while he chipped away at the details of who I was—my tics and hobbies, and other details that created a warped picture of me, painted by a brush of sharp lines and crude colors.

I was made out to be a sad, small, crumpled piece of paper, trampled and rain worn, torn and disheveled. In Liam's eyes I wasn't a work of art. I was a coupon. Something you get as a bonus, worth nothing on it's own.

I listened to Carter promise to let Liam know when I would be pliable enough to date him again. I listened to them wrap up their meeting and leave. And I listened to my family and friends pack up the surveillance supplies before we drove off, following them back to Liam's office.

"Now?" Jack asked Sam when Liam got out of the car, itching to tackle my ex-boyfriend.

Sam shook his head, glancing in my direction. He seemed to sense I couldn't take any more chaos. "Later," he promised, voice deathly calm. "We'll make a house call."

"I know where he lives," Bex offered. "I'll send you the info."

No one spoke to me, giving me a wide berth to process what had happened. And when the others called in one of Tate's bodyguard connections to tail Carter so I wouldn't have to deal with anymore conversations, or back door deals, my brothers took me out to tackle their long list of sight seeing stops, Allie waving me off for the day without a word.

I was dismissed, assumed to be too fragile to work. I'm not fragile. I just can't believe I dated a terrible person and let him define who I was for so long.

I felt naked. Vulnerable in a way I hadn't in a long time. And it wasn't until Sam sat down next to me at the edge of the Santa Monica pier, ice cream cone in hand like a tentative conversation starter that I let myself process what happened. I stared down at the chocolate and vanilla swirl, feeling small.

I let Liam define me. I let his vision of me become my own. I let it worm its way inside until I couldn't see the real version anymore.

My other brothers were sprinkled out across the pier, afternoon sun low in the sky, sending their shadows long across the walk.

"I don't want to talk about it, Sam. Can we just pretend I didn't date the worst person in the world? Can we pretend that my co-worker's brother doesn't want to use me as a prop in his twisted plot for revenge?"

I blinked down at the ice cream as it began to melt, a single drop landing on my wrist like a tear, a physical manifestation of something I refused to let come out of me.

"We don't have to talk about anything," Sam said softly. "We can just sit."

I looked out across the water, avoiding his penetrating, big brother gaze. "Okay."

"Just know..." he said softly, "that we've all known you a whole lot longer." He gently tapped his shoulder and my head slumped down onto it, taking the invitation and enjoying the familiar comfort that it always brought. "We all know who you really are and whoever that butt munch was describing... it wasn't you."

I scrunched my eyes shut, fighting back tears. "Really?" my voice broke on the word.

"Yes," he said fiercely, using that tone that was impossible to argue with. The one that said 'I'm right because I'm your big brother and I say so.'

"And you need to learn to trust the truth and push out the lies, Lily."

"I do most of the time..." I said, a hollow ache in my chest as I continued. "I've been getting better at it. So why is it so hard today?"

"Because you let him matter to you, which made his words matter, his opinions matter." Sam placed his chin on my head. "He should have been a safe person— someone who wouldn't use your relationship as a power play."

"His opinions don't matter anymore," I muttered.

"Doesn't mean the power behind them instantly vanishes. It takes time for us to get used to the change," Sam said, eyes on the water.

"It sucks," I said.

"I know. Some days are just hard. Life kicks you. It kicks you over and over until you don't want to get back up, or forget that you can. On those days, you need to be nicer to yourself. Because those are the days you really need it."

A flash of the life Sam led, the job he had, struggled to the surface of his expression before he blinked it away and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Until that self kindness kicks in, I hope the ice cream and company helps."

I took a bite of my ice cream, swelling with gratitude. "Thanks... and not just for the ice cream." I looked up at my big brother. "For the visit. For checking in on me."

Sam smiled. "We are always here for you Lil." Then he took a large bite of my ice cream, leaving me angrily squawking in protest. "But we are still us. And we will still mess with you."

I smooshed ice cream across his face, and he gave me a playful glare. "Do what you want, but the more you do that, the less ice cream you have left to eat."

It was my turn to glare at him.

Sam laughed, which made me glare harder. "Sorry, you just have the best angry face. It's all..." he squished my cheeks together. "Angry baby kitty face."

"I don't have an angry kitty face!" I hissed before I realized that my response sounded just like an angry little cat. "I'm terrifying..."

He laughed, throwing his head back in amusement. "Right."

I scoffed and turned to look out at the water. "Why didn't you rush into that coffee shop and destroy Liam, Carter and Derik? You've done it to guys who've hurt me less."

It's not that I wanted my brothers to cause a scene... but the part or me that wanted to feel less hurt wanted those men to burn.

Sam sighed, his hands dropping into his lap. "I wanted to. We nearly did. But if we had, we wouldn't have been able to set up a tail and see what else they're planning." He looked me in the eye, his own flashing with promise. "But the moment I can, there won't be anything left of them that looks remotely human."

Someone caught my attention, walking up the boardwalk, pulling my thoughts far away from sibling revenge. "Oh my gosh... What is he doing here?" I whisper hissed.

Sam pointed at me. "See! Angry baby kitty face." When I didn't respond to the bait,  he followed my gaze, up the boardwalk, surprised. 

"How did he find us?!?"

"No idea."

My phone chimed, a notification popping up on my work calendar.

'Meeting Autumns Family'

Attendees: Laurence and Lily

Without a thought, I yanked out my phone and called Dash. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" I yelled when he answered.

Dash yelped, startled by my volume level. "Okay, first of all... Hi."

"Why is Laurence here?" I hissed again.

"He asked me to tell him where you were. He missed lunch and wanted to meet your brothers so... I added it to his calendar. I swapped numbers with Jack earlier. Jack told me where you were going to be— Finn's schedule is crazy detailed. The meeting is on your calendar too."

"I know..." I said through gritted teeth. "That's how I knew it was your fault."

"Ah," he said sagely.

"Have I told you I hate you today," I muttered into the phone.

Dash laughed. "Used to it. Just let Future Non Work Husband meet your family Lily—"

"THAT'S NOT HIS NAME! DON'T YOU DARE CALL HIM THAT TO HIS FACE!" I shouted.

Dash's tone went from amused to gentle, and I could practically hear him trying to steady me. "It's gonna be fine, Work Wife."

I hung up the phone without saying goodbye and only then realized my mistake. While I had been on the phone, Sam had approached Laurence and was now in a full conversation with him. UNSUPERVISED.

"OH MY GOSH." I went to stand up, but Will plopped down next to me, arm wrapping around my shoulders, keeping me in place.

"Nope. Let Sam assess."

I glared at Will. "NO WAY."

"Lily, you've liked this guy for years. And we've done as you asked and stayed away..." Will turned to look at me, face serious. "But considering how things went with the last one..." He ran his hands through his hair, sending his brown curls, that were so much like mine, falling out of his face before they bounced back. "Please let Sam do the big brother thing and check him out."

"I'm not dating him," I said softly. "So you guys don't need to like him."

Will looked from me, over to Sam and Laurence, who had been joined by the rest of my brothers, a smile crossing Will's face. "You aren't dating yet. But it's gonna happen."

I snorted, face burning red. "No. It's not." I peeked over at my other brothers nervously. Henry had shoved a cone of chocolate ice cream into Laurence's hand, and Finn was currently explaining the chemical make up of the ingredients. I didn't have to be within earshot to know exactly what Finn was saying.

"It's just a matter of time before Jack picks him up and tries to bench press him," I said, wishing I was wearing a hoodie so I could hide inside of it. "Ryan will ask something inappropriate... or worse, tell him something about me that I don't want him to know."

Will snorted. "If he can't handle us, he isn't worthy of you." He looked past me, a smug smile pulling up his lips. "Besides, I don't think you are giving your guy enough credit."

I turned and took in the sight of Henry, Ryan and Sam shouting excitedly. Finn was taking bets and Laurence was about to arm wrestle Jack like it was a completely normal thing to do on a Tuesday afternoon.

I was on my feet walking toward the commotion, wide eyed, Will bolting ahead. "My money's on Jack!"

"Hey!" I shouted, irritated on Laurence's behalf.

Will shot me a look over his shoulder as he handed his money to Finn. "What? I don't bet to lose, and Jack is clearly going to win."

Finn glanced at me as he organized a large wad of cash. "The hot money is on Jack."

I looked at each of my brother's none of who made eye contact with me— except for Will who had no shame— they knew I would be angry at them for trying to win 'easy money' off of Laurence. 

"Everyone put money on Jack?" I asked evenly. None of my brother's— except for Will— would look at me, guilty.

"Laurence didn't," Finn replied, not very helpfully, eyes focusing on the wad of cash like a lifeline.

I glanced over at Jack and Laurence who stood on either side of a small table next to a food stand. Jack wore a dark t-shirt, his arm bulging with strained muscles, itching to get started. Laurence had taken off his suit jacket, buttoned down shirt sleeves rolled up to his forearms, his upper arms covered, the flashes of muscle I had seen underneath his clothes were covered like a well kept secret.

"He's gonna lose," Will said, a flash of determination in his eyes.

I leveled Will with a stare, my competitive nature flashing against his. We had gotten into deep completions over every game imaginable through the years, and I knew deep inside that this time, he was wrong. If my brothers wanted to see how easy money was made, I would be all to happy to show them.

Without looking away from my competitive brother, I handed cash to Finn. "I'm betting on Laurence." Several of them snorted in response. 

Laurence shot me a brow raise, his arm locked against Jack's, both of them ready to start. "A lot of pressure."

I raised a brow back, my eyes steady on his. "I don't pick losers. Show them what you're made of."

He gave me a sharp nod, his eyes turning to focus on the task at hand, a spark of something I couldn't read coming into his expression. 

As Finn shouted for them to start, I was momentarily distracted by the sight of my worlds colliding. My brothers and my ex-boss competing in an arm wrestling match like it was a normal thing to do. Muscles flexed, faces pinched, voices shouted in a single flash of a moment.

Jack let out an angry grunt when Laurence didn't go down as easily as he expected.

My brothers went from cheering to shouting at Jack.

"DON'T YOU DARE LOSE!"

"I don't want to lose that fifty bucks!"

"I thought you said you had this!"

"WHAT?!?! NOOOOOO!"

"If Lily wins, I'll kill you!" Will shouted above them all.

I began to smile wickedly at Will when he turned to look at me. "Who the heck is this guy?"

Laurence slammed Jack's hand down on the table so hard that the table tilted and they hit the ground at full speed, the table crashing with them.

Jack was on his feet a moment later, Laurence above his head. I was about to scream, terrified that Jack was going to throw Laurence off the pier in an adrenaline induced failure frenzy, but quickly realized that Jack was cheering, holding Laurence up in an excited celebratory hold.

"That was amazing!!!" Henry shouted. "No one ever beats Jack!"

A moment later all of my brothers piled on to Jack and Laurence like they hadn't all just lost money, completely won over by the powerful display Laurence had pulled off.

Laurence received pats on the back, fist bumps, and endless praise as they broke up, their reaction startling a smile out of him.

"He's Laurence Royal," I said, somewhat breathless as I took in the sight, my heart squeezing tight as my brothers made a laugh burst out of him. A laugh so genuine, so raw and real that it hurt. He seemed... happy. Happier than I had seen him in a long time.

My brothers did that.

Will looked back at me, catching my words, and shooting me an amused smile.

"I like this guy," Jack said, tucking Laurence under his arm and running his knuckles across Laurence's scalp, ruffling his hair. Laurence pushed him off, but the smile was still there, a smile I wanted to stay on his face forever.

And in that moment, my brothers were won over, and to my utter surprise, so was Laurence.

---

Thank you for reading chapter twenty nine! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes! Add this story to your reading list to know when the next chapter drops!

UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!

Why is Laurence at the pier?

Does Laurence like Lily's brothers or is he just being nice?

Will Lily tell Laurence about Carter and Derik meeting up with Liam?

When will Sam and the others get revenge on Liam and the others?

What is Carter planning? 

What will happen next?

CHAPTER QUESTION - Have you ever met the family of someone you liked? How did that experience go?