Outsider by Olivia Cunning Read Free Book Online Page B

took her son in her arms and snuggled
him close, kissing his neck until he giggled.
    “Babies
are easy,” Dare said. “When Malcolm’s two, Trey will have to watch him on his
own. I don’t deal with tantrums.”
    “You
deal with Trey’s tantrums all the time,” Myrna said, elbowing Trey to show she
was teasing.
    “I
can only handle one toddler at a time,” Dare said.
    Letting
Dare’s barb pass, Trey turned to Brian. “Did you finally get her out of your
system?” Brian had been complaining about his limited sex life for days and had
jumped on the idea of Trey babysitting for a few hours.
    “She’ll
never be out of my system,” Brian said. “But I do feel loads better. What do I
owe you?”
    In
the past, Trey would have teased him about owing him sexual favors, but they’d
moved beyond that. Trey had let him go. Mostly. He refused to flirt with Brian,
no matter how natural it felt to do so.
    “You
don’t owe me anything,” Trey said. “Malcolm’s a good baby. I don’t mind
watching him.”
    “I
figured Reagan would help you babysit,” Myrna said.
    “Last
I heard, she’s with Toni, trying to convince her to wear a corset to an after-party.”
    Dare
laughed. “Logan will shit a brick if any of her considerable cleavage is
showing. I guess I’ll have to make his life miserable tonight by flirting with
her.”
    “You’re
deliciously evil,” Myrna said, her face flushed as she looked Dare over from
head to foot. So even women recently fucked by Brian “Master” Sinclair were not
impervious to his big brother’s charm.
    “It’s
a gift.” Dare slapped Trey on the shoulder in farewell. “See you backstage
later?”
    “I’ll
be around.”
    The
suite emptied of visitors all at once, and Trey found himself alone. He settled
on the sofa in front of the TV with a beer and lasted all of five minutes
before he retrieved his phone and called Ethan.
    “They
baby’s gone,” he said when Ethan answered. “It’s safe to come home now.”
    “Is
Reagan back?”
    “Not
yet.”
    “I’ll
be there in a while. I still have a few things I need to take care of.”
    “Are
you avoiding me?” Trey asked, trying not to feel hurt. Failing at that.
    “Of
course not.”
    “It
feels like you’re avoiding me.”
    “I’m
not. I just need to think things through, and when I’m with you, I can’t keep
my head on straight.”
    “My
brother said I need to try to understand why you’re struggling with our
relationship. Make me understand, Ethan.”
    “You
talked to your brother about us?”
    Trey
shrugged even though Ethan couldn’t see the gesture. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”
Ethan was quiet for so long, Trey started to think the call had disconnected.
“Ethan?”
    “I’ll
see you later.”
    The
call ended, and Trey dropped his phone on the sofa cushion beside him. He
tilted his head back and rubbed his face with both hands to scrub the hurt from
his expression. Maybe Reagan could get through to Ethan. She’d known him a lot
longer than Trey had. He wondered if she’d be pissed if he interrupted her good
time with her gal pals. He supposed he could let the situation rest, but he
didn’t want miscommunication to tear them apart. And if any one of them was unhappy
in the relationship, none of them could be happy in the relationship.
    “Are
you still babysitting?” Reagan asked when she answered his call.
    “I
figured that’s why you left again as soon as you got back from shopping. Malcolm
is perfect. How could you not want to hold him?”
    “It’s
not Malcolm, it’s me. I’ve never been around a baby before. I don’t understand
how you figure out what they want. All they do is cry.”
    “The
best way to figure out what they want is to be around a baby. You just go down
their comfort checklist, fixing potential problems until they stop crying. It’s
not that hard. It’s just troubleshooting.”
    “It’s
not a skill I need or want to learn,” Reagan said.
    Trey
sighed. He was sure Reagan