My Brother's Five Friends Read online

  My Brother’s Five Friends

  B. B. Hamel

  C opyright © 2017 by B. B. Hamel

  All rights reserved .

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review .

  Contents

  Mailing List

  1. Emily

  2. Aiden

  3. Emily

  4. James

  5. Emily

  6. Daniel

  7. Emily

  8. Ryan

  9. Emily

  10. Carter

  11. Emily

  12. Aiden

  13. Emily

  14. James

  15. Emily

  16. Carter

  17. Emily

  18. Emily

  19. Emily

  20. James

  21. Emily

  22. Ryan

  23. Emily

  24. Emily

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  Prince Player: A Royal Romance

  Prologue: Bryce

  1. Bryce

  2. Trip

  3. Bryce

  4. Trip

  5. Bryce

  6. Trip

  7. Bryce

  8. Trip

  9. Bryce

  10. Trip

  11. Bryce

  12. Trip

  13. Bryce

  14. Trip

  15. Bryce

  16. Trip

  17. Bryce

  18. Trip

  19. Bryce

  20. Trip

  21. Bryce

  22. Trip

  23. Bryce

  24. Trip

  25. Bryce

  26. Trip

  27. Bryce

  28. Trip

  29. Bryce

  30. Trip

  31. Bryce

  32. Trip

  33. Bryce

  34. Trip

  35. Bryce

  36. Trip

  37. Bryce

  Step Bride: A Stepbrother Romance

  Prologue

  1. Natalie

  2. Lucas

  3. Natalie

  4. Lucas

  5. Natalie

  6. Lucas

  7. Natalie

  8. Lucas

  9. Natalie

  10. Lucas

  11. Natalie

  12. Lucas

  13. Natalie

  14. Lucas

  15. Natalie

  16. Lucas

  17. Natalie

  18. Lucas

  19. Natalie

  20. Lucas

  21. Natalie

  22. Lucas

  23. Natalie

  24. Lucas

  25. Natalie

  26. Lucas

  27. Natalie

  28. Lucas

  29. Natalie

  30. Lucas

  31. Natalie

  32. Lucas

  33. Natalie

  34. Lucas

  35. Natalie

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  1

  Emily

  “N ice place.”

  I stare down the long gravel driveway toward the house. “Thanks. It’s my brother’s .”

  The cabbie just shrugs. I hand him a twenty and he rolls up the window, not even bothering to offer me change .

  “Dick,” I say as he drives off .

  I stare at my bag on the ground for a second. The smell of the ocean almost overwhelms me. I haven’t been near the beach in years, not since I was a little girl. I live in Philadelphia these days, and I go to the University of Pennsylvania. I’m used to the big city, lots of cars, sirens, homeless guys trying to grab my ass, the usual crap. Out here though, it’s a whole different world .

  I start up the driveway toward the house. It looms huge, dunes on either side, pristine and white and glass. The beach is maybe five feet away, and I can hear the ocean lapping up against the sand. The sun is high in the sky and I have to block my eyes as I drag my suitcase behind me, stumbling on along like an idiot .

  I’m not dressed for this. I have on short jean shorts and a crappy Ramones t-shirt. I feel totally out of place heading up toward this multi-million dollar mansion. I mean, I knew my brother was rich, but this is a little ridiculous. I saw some pictures after he bought it and my parents told me about it, but I haven’t actually gotten to see it yet .

  Henry’s nine years older than me. I’m twenty-one, and he just turned thirty this year. We’re not super close, since we basically grew up in different households. When we do talk, he likes to remind me that I was the mistake baby, which I guess is true. My parents always tell me that’s not true, especially my dad. He just smiles and says, “You were the gift baby, not the mistake .”

  That’s typical of my dad. My parents are both pretty mild-mannered academics, or at least they used to be. My mom worked at Penn for years, which is why I’m going there, and my dad was at Temple, another school in the city. Dad was a chemist back in the day before teaching, and mom was already a teacher as far as I know. She does liberal arts, and together they like to joke that they have all the bases covered in terms of academics .

  They’re retired now, though. I wish they weren’t. I’d much rather go home, but I’m stuck coming here. My parents are on safari, and their house is getting renovated, so I’m shit out of luck .

  Henry is my only hope. I got evicted yesterday, well, sort of evicted. My landlord got arrested for cooking meth in the basement and apparently the building isn’t safe to live in anymore. So I had to pack my stuff and get out of there. Henry agreed to let me come stay with him until I can find a new place in the city, but he didn’t sound excited about it .

  I’m not excited, either. I didn’t expect to spend my summer vacation in New Jersey, of all freaking places .

  But I guess it could be worse. I get to the front door, this big behemoth of a thing, and I ring the bell. It echoes like a gong inside, and I’m picturing cavernous ceilings, modern paintings on the walls, all glass and steel and white .

  The door slowly opens, but it’s not Henry looking out at me. Instead, it’s one of the most handsome men I’ve ever met in my life, and he’s not wearing a shirt .

  I stare at his chest, surprised, before quickly catching myself. “Ah, uh, is this Henry’s place?” I don’t know why I’m asking. I know this is my brother’s house .

  “Sure is,” he says, crossing his arms. “Are you Emily ?”

  I nod quickly. “Yeah. I’m the sister .”

  He grins at me. “Welcome then. I’m Aiden .”

  We shake hands awkwardly. “Nice to, uh, meet you. Are you a friend of Henry’s ?”

  “Sure am. Here, let me get that.” He grabs my bag from me, effortlessly hoisting it onto his sculpted shoulder. I get a chance to check out his muscular back as he turns in toward the house. “There are a few of us staying here, you’ll meet the crew. Henry said you were coming .”

  “Yeah, uh, sorry to intrude like this. I didn’t mean to drop in on boy time .”

  “Nonsense,” he says, flashing me this charming, gleaming white smile. His handsome face is covered in stubble and I think his back is almost as hot as his chest. “We’re happy to have a little femininity around here .”

  I don’t feel super feminine in my ill-fitting t-shirt, but I do
n’t tell him that. I follow Aiden into the house, and it’s about what I expected: gleaming chrome, white, minimalistic décor, the sort of shit you expect from a rich bachelor .

  The main hallway (high ceilings, tasteful modern chandelier) leads into the main great room. Couches are to the right in front of a huge screen, old arcade games line the one far wall, and a kitchen is to the left .

  And four more absurdly handsome guys are lounging around the space. Two are playing ping-pong, one is making a drink, and the other is reading on the couch .

  The four guys all look up at me as I walk into the room .

  “Hey, guys,” Aiden says. “This is Henry’s sister, Emily .”

  They all snap to attention, and I’m feeling so exposed it’s insane. The ping-pong ball bounces to the floor, the guy making his drink stops and sips it, and all five pairs of eyes are staring directly at me. I’m center stage, with five hot as hell guys staring at me, and I don’t know what to do .

  “Uh, hi,” I say stupidly .

  The two guys at the ping-pong table put their paddles down and walk over. “Hey,” The one on the right says. He’s tan, with short blond hair and bright blue eyes. He’s tall and muscular, like all the guys in the room .

  In fact, they’re all impossibly attractive. Like seriously, my brother must have met them all while they were modeling underwear or something .

  I shake the guy’s hand. “I’m Daniel,” he says .

  “Carter,” the other guy says. He has jet black hair, a bit of a beard, and he’s thicker than the others, more muscular but in a good way. I shake his hand, too, feeling lost .

  “That’s Ryan over there,” Aiden says, pointing at the guy making a drink. He grins and nods at me. He’s sleeker than the others, less muscular, but no less toned and in-shape. His hair is longer, pulled back into a messy bun, and he has a shaggy beard .

  “And that’s James.” The guy on the couch stands and waves at me, leaning up against the back of it .

  “You’re all Henry’s friends?” I ask, looking at Aiden .

  He grins. “Yeah, I know. You’ve never met us before. He doesn’t actually say much about you .”

  “Not surprising,” I say .

  “It’s a shame, though,” Carter cuts in. “I didn’t know his sister was so cute .”

  He grins at me and I blush. “Uh, thanks .”

  “Me and Henry met at college,” Aiden says. “Then we met Daniel not long after that .”

  “I met them right after college. We played fantasy football together,” Ryan ays, coming over and sipping his drink. “Carter, when did you join the crew ?”

  He shrugs. “I think it was at some party. Henry told me that I suck at ping-pong, so I proceeded to whip his ass .”

  The guys all laugh. “I remember that,” Aiden says .

  “And what about James?” Ryan asks .

  “He bought one of my paintings,” James says, joining the group. “Couldn’t get rid of him after that .”

  “You’re an artist?” Aiden asks sarcastically .

  James rolls his eyes and looks at me. “They’re a bunch of philistines. Don’t know art if it kicked them in the balls, which if might, if they don’t chill out .”

  The guys laugh again .

  “So you all, uh, you all hang out with Henry ?”

  “Sure,” Carter says. “Your brother’s a good guy .”

  “Where is he, anyway ?”

  James nods upstairs. “In his room. I’ll get him .”

  “Okay. Thanks .”

  James walks off toward the stairs and I turn back to the other four handsome guys. Carter and Ryan drift over to the ping-pong table, leaving me with Daniel and Aiden .

  “What brings you to our little party?” Aiden asks me .

  “I got evicted,” I say .

  He raises an eyebrow, a small smirk on his face. “Loud sex ?”

  I gape at him. “Excuse me ?”

  “Your loud sex got you evicted ?”

  “Err, no,” I say, unable to stop myself from blushing and imagining myself with him. “No, the landlord was cooking meth in the basement .”

  They both laugh. “Holy shit,” Daniel says. “Are you serious ?”

  “Very serious. Apparently meth is really bad for buildings .”

  “You’re at Penn, right?” Aiden asks .

  “Yeah, how’d you know ?”

  “Henry mentioned it. And I think your mom worked there too .”

  I nod. “Right again .”

  “Aiden’s a good listener,” Daniel says. “He’s the most sensitive construction worker I’ve ever met .”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Construction worker?” He looks like a male model .

  “I own a construction company,” Aiden says, nudging Daniel. “Daniel here is just a jealous dick .”

  “Hardly. I’d rather starve than work a real fucking job.” He crosses his arms .

  “What do you do?” I ask him .

  “Daniel is a professional poker player,” Aiden says .

  Daniel sighs. “Yeah, I am .”

  “Wow. That’s really cool. Like, the World Series of Poker ?”

  “I made it once,” he admits. “But mostly smaller tournaments .”

  “Online stuff too,” Aiden adds .

  “What are you studying?” Daniel asks me .

  “Marketing,” I say. “I’m a year behind because I switched from English after my first year, much to my mother’s annoyance .”

  “Nothing wrong with a practical major,” Aiden says .

  “Fuck practical,” Daniel answers, grinning at him. “Boring prick .”

  Aiden laughs and pushes him. I watch the two guys knock each other around a little bit before my attention’s pulled away by Henry walking into the room .

  “There you are,” he says. “I’m sorry I was upstairs. Busy with work .”

  “Like always,” James says, giving me a look as he heads back over to the couch .

  I give my brother an awkward hug. I haven’t seen him since last Christmas. “How are you?” I ask him .

  “I’m good. How was the trip ?”

  “Easy,” I say. “Thanks so much for letting me crash here .”

  “No problem. Come on, I’ll show you to your room.” He looks at the guys. “And all of you, stay the fuck away from my sister. She’s off limits .”

  I turn beet red as all the guys make comments. We hurry out of the room and I try not to imagine them staring at my ass .

  “Don’t mind those guys,” Henry says. My brother is shorter than they are, much more out of shape, but he still looks good, healthier than I remembered .

  Henry wasn’t always rich. He’s been buying and trading BitCoin and other cryptocurrencies, or whatever they are. He tried to explain it to me over Thanksgiving two years ago, but I wasn’t fully listening. Basically, he got involved in all this from the very start, and now he’s worth millions because of it. He still trades it, buying and selling to make a profit, but I think it’s more for fun these days .

  “We’re having something of a guys’ time here,” he says. “I mean, you’re more than welcome to stay. Just explaining why it’s a bunch of dudes sitting around .”

  “I get it. Thanks again for inviting me .”

  He waves his hand. “No problem. I know we don’t spend a whole lot of time together.” He pauses at the foot of the stairs. “That’s mostly my fault. But maybe we can fix that while you’re here ?”

  I smile at him. “Yeah, of course. That’d be good .”

  “Cool.” He smiles, looking relieved. “Come on, up here .”

  I follow him upstairs. The first thing I notice is a huge painting on the first landing of a gorgeous abstract cityscape. I stop and stare at it, totally taken by the colors and the splash of paint .

  “James did that,” Henry says. “Amazing, right ?”

  “Amazing,” I agree .

  “Come on .”

  I pull myself away from the painting, h
ead spinning. I can’t believe that gorgeous guy down there painted that. He doesn’t look like an artist. To be fair, I imagined all artists are skinny guys in slim jeans with menthol cigarettes, like what I see in the city, but still .

  The house is enormous. I get a better sense of that upstairs .

  “The guys are staying in these rooms,” he says, motioning at the doors as we pass. “You’re in the other wing, with me .”

  I follow him around a bend, down a hall, and around another corner. This hallway is like the first one, but with fewer doors .

  “Exercise room, kitchen, sauna, feel free to use whatever,” he says, gesturing at some doors. “And this is you.” We stop in front of a black door with a gold knob .

  He pulls it open and we step inside. “Holy crap,” I say .