Page 85 of Pucking Bad Boys

Talia doesn’t react to the insult. But I know she picked up on it by the way she bites down on her bottom lip before forcing her lips into a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.

“Sorry, my mom came by on her way to work and she wanted to drop off her famous triple chocolate fudge brownies. So I decided to bring them over for us. Macklin and Becks had practice not long ago, and I’m sure they must be hungry.”

She places the foil pan in her hands on the table.

“Brownies?” Gen’s eyes light up, her manicured hand reaches over to the pan, but stops short of touching the foil. “Wait, are they fat free?”

Talia shakes her head. “They’re brownies. There’s butter and probably oil in there too. It’s my mom’s secret recipe; she won’t reveal it to anyone, not even under torture.”

“Ugh.” Gen’s glossy lips twist with disapproval. “Are they at least low carb and sugar free?”

“Again, Gen. They’re brownies. There’s sugar, fat and flour in them. So no, they’re not low carb and definitely not sugar free.”

Gen pushes the pan away from her. “Then you can keep ‘em. I know you don’t care about your appearance, but I have to watch my figure. I’m ten pounds away from my ideal weight.”

That can’t be right. Gen is runway-model thin. She definitely doesn’t have ten pounds to lose. I open my mouth to say that, but Mack is faster than me to react.

“Whatever, all the more for us. You don’t need to be rude about it, though. Now, scoot over. I’d like to sit next to my girlfriend.”

“Then you and yourgirlfriendshould have gotten here on time, right?” Gen’s tone is ten times more sugary than any baked goods in town.

But the passive aggressive edge to it leaves the same bad aftertaste in my mouth as the stuff with synthetic sweeteners she’s always favored.

Mack opens his mouth to argue, but Talia pulls out the chair next to me with an eye roll. “It’s ok, Macklin. Let’s not waste anymore time and get started with this project.”

With her sitting between me and Gen, there are no obstructions to prevent me from looking at Talia.

Fuck, if possible, she’s even more beautiful than I remembered. Every time I see her, she looks more gorgeous.

Tonight her long blonde hair is down in soft, loose waves. A black halter top hugs her perfect chest. But my favorite thing in her outfit is the pleated black miniskirt with a pink and white tartan pattern.

It rides up to reveal a hint of Talia’s toned thighs when she sits down, and my jealousy over the fact that she isn’t mine makes it hard to breathe.

Talia

“So,” I begin, doing my best to ignore the heat that I can feel beginning to rise to my face. “Has anyone done a quick search of whatgarumis?”

The other three people at the table shake their heads.

“I have.” I say.

“Nerd,” Gen snickers.

“Gen.” Macklin bites out at his ex’s taunt. “If we have to get through this project, we need some ground rules. You need to be nice to Talia.”

Genevieve rolls her eyes. “But I was being nice. Isn’t being nerdy all the rage lately? It was a compliment, actually.” Her tone says it was anything but.

I ignore her, too flustered by the two pairs of intense blue eyes that are burning holes in my very soul.

If being the object of Macklin’s or Becker’s attention was elating, having both brothers stare at me at the same time might be more than I can take.

Becks’s eyes haven’t left me since the second I arrived with Macklin’s arm wrapped around my shoulders.

Is it possible that Macklin was right and that, regardless of how he felt the night we met, his brother wants me more now just because I’m with him?

I know I didn’t imagine the flirty vibe between me and Becks on that first night. And I’ve been racking my brain wondering why he never made a move.

But we have work to do. This isn’t the time to think about the two hottest brothers on the planet and the weird predicament I’m in.