Icing On The Date (The Bannister Brothers #1) Read Free Page B

angel.”
    Bane offered her a smile. A smile filled with the same easy charm as his brother’s. “Thank you, Gabby-who-might-be-an-angel.”
    “Seriously, she smells like chocolate,” Owen told him, his voice slurring a little.
    “You smell like booze. How much did you have?”
    “I don’t know. I stopped counting.”
    “You know you’re not supposed to be drinking.”
    Gabby looked from Owen to his brother. Why was he not supposed to be drinking? Was Owen an alcoholic? An addict like her brother? Was Bane actually the dark counterpart to her—the one who always showed up and carted their drunk sibling home?
    Bane shoved his hands under Owen’s arms and pulled him up. “All right, let’s get you out of here. And hope no one sees you. We don’t need any more trouble.”
    What kind of trouble had Owen caused? She wished she could ask, but she didn’t want to pry. If anyone knew anything about family secrets, it was her. And she didn’t want to cause Owen, or his brother, any more embarrassment.
    She stood up, brushing the remains of the dried frosting from her chest. She could only imagine what a mess she must look like to Bane—frosting smeared across her wrinkled front, kiss-bruised lips, and unruly hair that only moments before had been tangled in Owen’s large hands.
    Owen leaned against him, throwing his arms around his brother in a bear hug. “I’m sorry, Bane. I know I screwed up. It was all my fault.”
    Bane clapped him on the back as brothers tended to do. “It’s all right, buddy. We’ll figure it out later. Let’s get you out of here.” He glanced at Gabby. “Thanks. I appreciate you calling me.”
    “Of course. Do you need my help getting him to your car?”
    “No, thanks, I’ve got him.” He lowered his voice. “I hope we can count on your discretion though. I’m sure you can understand why we’d prefer to keep this incident quiet.”
    Um…no, she didn’t understand. She didn’t understand a single dang thing about this whole night. She didn’t understand how her brother had ended up in jail again, and she sure as heck didn’t understand how she ended up making out with a gorgeous mystery man on the floor of a hotel restroom.
    Who was this guy? It didn’t matter. She was sure she’d never see him again.
    She smiled up at Bane. “You don’t have to worry. I won’t be telling anyone about this.” Except maybe her journal. Dear Diary—tonight I kissed a ridiculously hot guy with huge muscles who tasted like whiskey and chocolate, and now I will never see him again. Awesome night.
    “Thanks, Gabby.” Bane pulled open the door of the restroom and checked the hall. “Neither of us need any more bad publicity right now.”
    Owen hung his head in shame. “Yeah—the Bannister boys don’t need any more bad press. They’ve got enough, thanks to me.” He looked up at her and offered her a lopsided grin. “Thanks, angel. I might be piss drunk, but I won’t forget tonight.”
    A flush of heat crept up her cheeks, and she gave them a little wave. “I won’t either. Bye, Owen.”
    “Okay, the coast is clear. We gotta go while the hall is empty.” Bane gave her another charming grin. “Thanks again for calling me, and we really do appreciate you keeping this out of the press.”
    They slipped out the door, and Gabby leaned against the sink. She wouldn’t have any problem keeping this out of the press. First of all, she had no idea who either of those guys were and secondly she had no idea how to even get something in to the press.
    She wished she did.
    Then maybe she could get her own business into the press and not have to scrimp and save another two thousand dollars for advertising.
    Spying her lost elastic band on the corner of the counter, she grabbed it and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She sighed, letting go of the bizarre events of the last half an hour and thinking about the busy night she still had ahead of her, cleaning up after the party and bailing her