Passionate Love Every Day

3

As soon as I walked in, I heard my brother chattering away.

"My sister's usually on time.

"It must've been something unexpected at work.

"Her boss is always making her work late…"

Honestly, this guy would say anything to score points with his future brother-in-law.

I tuned him out and looked around, and my gaze locked onto someone, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I'd heard my brother talk about him.

Brandon Elliott, 26 years old, owned his own company, and he was doing well for himself.

I figured someone like that would be more mature—probably the type who slicks back his hair with gel.

But there he was, in a simple black t-shirt, looking effortlessly stylish, like he had just walked off a fashion magazine cover. His hair was casually tousled, giving him a relaxed yet put-together vibe. His strong features had a touch of warmth, too.

It made sense that with a sister as gorgeous as Maria, her brother would be equally attractive.

In fact, he might even be better looking.

He smiled and nodded at me, and I awkwardly returned the gesture.

"Sorry for being late. Something came up."

My brother jumped up immediately when he heard my voice, pulling me over to his side.

"Sis, did you get stuck working late again?"

He gave my arm a slight squeeze, a signal for me to play along.

I didn't want to ruin his carefully crafted image in front of his future brother-in-law, so I reluctantly went along with it.

"Yeah, work stuff."

Just then, a deep voice with a hint of laughter chimed in beside me.

"You know, overworking employees is illegal. You could report him."

I was about to defend my boss when my brother interrupted.

He gave us a brief introduction.

The girl kept complimenting me on how good-looking I was. Who wouldn't love being praised by a pretty girl?

But my brother, being the buzzkill he is, stared at his girlfriend for a while and said, "Not blind, huh?"

4

"I heard you two have been dating for seven years."

I nearly choked on my soup.

Seven years? My brother is a sophomore in college—does that mean…?

I put down my spoon, trying to wrap my head around it.

Wow, he was dating someone else's daughter since he was in eighth grade?

I looked at my brother in disbelief.

He sheepishly scratched his head. "Yeah, we met online and agreed to go to the same college together."

I felt my jaw drop. I had planned to take Maria's brother down a peg if he gave me any attitude, but now…

I figured I'd let my brother dig his own grave.

I calmly sipped my soup.

Maria sided with my brother. "Brandon, why are you being so harsh?

"We're both committed to moving from campus to the altar; you can't be against it."

Brandon chuckled, "I'm not opposing anything, just asking.

"Oh, but I do need to remind you to be careful; I don't want to become an uncle too soon."

I spat my soup back into the bowl.

Why was this guy so blunt?

My brother turned red, patting my back.

The instigator handed me a napkin. I took it, carefully gauging his expression, unsure if he was offering advice or if he was annoyed.

Sure, my brother may have taken another guy's sister, but that wasn't a crime worthy of death. I still wanted to help him out. "Don't worry; our family has strict values. He's very respectful around women."

I patted my chest to emphasize my promise.

My brother kicked me under the table.

What a jerk—here I was trying to help him, and he kicked me? Maybe I should let Brandon bury him alive.

Brandon frowned, then said seriously, "I'm not worried about your brother; I'm worried about my sister going wild."