The Girl With Hearts (Midtown Brotherhood #1) by Savannah Blevins Read Free Book Online Page B

mean to say it like that.”
    He held up his hands in surrender and threw the apron on the counter. “Don’t worry, this complication is going home.”
    “Henrik—”
    “No, you had your say.” He grabbed his sweatshirt off the table and headed for the door. He couldn’t help but think about Leila, standing there with that look of desperation and fury on her face that would forever be cemented in his memory. Then he remembered the panties. The panties she left just for him. So he wouldn’t forget.
    Drew had it all wrong. Leila wasn’t a mess because of Derek. She wasn’t some heartbroken and vulnerable damsel in distress. She knew exactly what she wanted when she showed up that night. She’d always been that way. Strong. Independent. Something was definitely going on with her, and she needed their help, but keeping him away from her wasn’t what she wanted right now. He had her panties in his room to prove it.
    He paused in the doorway, turning around to look back at his brother. “You know, maybe you should ask Leila what she needs instead of just assuming it for her. I heard assuming everything is what shitty brothers do.”
    Drew ran a tired hand through his hair. “I never said you were a shitty brother.”
    “You didn’t have to.”
    He slammed the door as he left, angrier with himself than with Drew. It was his own fault his brother and everyone else thought those things about him.
    He abandoned his mother, smothered Drew, and betrayed Austin.
    All he had left was Leila. He had to get it right with her.
    Only, he had no idea how to do that.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 6
     
     
    LEILA’S THANK YOU
     
    The Midtown skyline was breathtaking, or maybe it was the cool November chill in the air that made it hard for Leila to breathe. She’d crashed at Drew’s apartment for the past two days, confused about how to even begin living her life again. She’d shoved her black bag into the bottom drawer of the night stand in Drew’s guest room, determined to do the same with the memories that filled it. She could avoid reality for a while.
    Reality was overrated, except when Henrik Rylander was involved. Then, fantasies had a lot to live up to all of a sudden.
    She pulled the oversized shirt she’d stolen from Drew tighter around her shoulders as she pushed her billowing hair away from her eyes. The wind in the city was treacherous, and it instantly caused that familiar homesick pain in her stomach. The wind in Minnesota had a mean bite too. It had been almost a year since she’d been back to St. Paul to see her parents, not because she didn’t miss them, but because Derek would never take the time to go with her, not even in his off-season.
    She would go back. Just not yet.
    She refused to show up at their house an emotional wreck. They didn’t deserve to have that kind of burden placed on their shoulders. She had to get her life back together.
    Find a job. Get an apartment. Be free.
    When she finally made it back home, she wanted to do it on her own two feet and prove she didn’t need help.
    She almost laughed at the thought as Drew’s shirt fell off her shoulder again. She had to get out of the apartment and at least go buy herself some new clothes. Showing up at Derek’s to retrieve hers was out of the question. She could do that much, she assured herself. Shopping was supposed to be fun.
    Then why did such a simple task sound so daunting?
    She stood at the corner, waiting for the crosswalk signal. The city bustled and chirped with horns and sirens. Everyone had somewhere to be, and they were in a hurry to get there. When the signal turned, she didn’t move. Instead, she stood there, allowing the cold to bite her cheeks so she could pretend she felt something again. She reached up and touched her nose.
    Numb. Just like the rest of her.
    A gust of wind blew, bringing her attention and dulling willpower back to the signal. The seconds ticked down, and she only had ten left to decide if she