“Again? You didn’t come up with them in the first place, Mr-how-‘bout-Debauchery-or-Depravity.”

“Wait, you mean I could’ve named my club Depravity? Shit, why didn’t I get a say in this?” Zane smirked.

Travis pretended not to hear his brother, grinning as he continued, “So, y’all are still content with Crave and Covet, right?”

“Yep, that’s what we agreed on,” Sawyer confirmed.

“Which one do I get?” Zane asked. The man was enjoying this way too much, but Travis didn’t have it in him to piss his brother off at the moment.

He could thank Gage and Kylie for that. For the last week, they had ensured Travis didn’t have enough energy to crawl out of bed, much less to build up a good mad. He had to say that he was enjoying the feeling.

He wasn’t even trying to keep it hidden anymore. Those four walls constructed of steel beams, granite and encased in bullet proof glass around his heart had crumbled into dust. Although he fully accepted what that meant for him, he’d opted to take things one day at a time, reluctant to bring up anything that might have either of them running in the opposite direction. As a natural-born pessimist, Travis still had his doubts on forever, but at least he wasn’t hunting down Cupid with an assault rifle.

“So, you ever gonna spill what happened?” Zane’s question pulled Travis from his thoughts, and he faced his youngest brother.

“You talking to me?”

“Hell yes.”

Confusion wracked him as he searched his memory banks for what Zane was referring to. When he came up empty, he jacked one eyebrow up, cocked his head to the side and waited for Zane to continue. As he expected, he didn’t have to wait long.

“You know… when’d you have the lobotomy performed? Who was the doc? I’d like to send a thank you card and flowers.”

“Fuck. Off.” Travis smiled, and he was almost positive his lips reached his ears. Both Sawyer and Zane laughed right along with him.

They quieted when the door opened and in walked Braydon and Brendon. Great. Just what Travis needed. The damn peanut gallery. Knowing the twins, they were armed and ready to give him shit too.

Travis glanced behind them to see Jessie, looking as though she’d been told that morning that she was going to witness some kind of demonic exorcism.

“Hey, Jess,” Travis greeted her as the others glanced back at them and echoed their good morning’s.

“Hi.” So she wasn’t talkative in the morning like her sister was. Remembering how Kylie managed to crawl out of bed every morning, chipper and grinning, made him smile again.

“Hey, you guys heading over to Gage’s?” Brendon asked as he stepped into the small space, his head bouncing around as he looked at the three of them individually. “Wait. What happened?”

 “It’s no biggie,” Zane answered in all seriousness. “It looks like Travis’ personality transplant is permanent, and we were just getting the goods on who performed the surgery so we can buy him a gift to show our appreciation. You know, like a house.”

Travis forced a frown and wiped the smile from his face, hoping they’d take the hint. As he glanced down at his laptop, the damn thing came back. Shit. The room erupted in more laughter, and for once, Travis gave in and joined them.

Braydon stepped around Brendon and the smile that broke out on his face told Travis that he was going to hate where this conversation was about to go. “So what’s the word, Bubba? Who’s responsible for this amazing feat?”

“Don’t y’all have work to do?” Travis asked, the smile falling of its own accord as he watched the silent interaction between Brendon and Jessie. If his instincts were correct, and they usually were, there was some tension between the two of them, and it wasn’t sexual.

“We’re on our way to Gage’s,” Brendon told the room when everyone quieted down.

“Who’s coming with?” Braydon asked.

“Every one of you better be there,” Travis responded, glancing at each of them in turn.

“I’m in. V’s getting ready and I told her I’d stop back by and pick her up.” Zane’s response came with the sound of a man in love.

Travis couldn’t help but wonder if that was what he was feeling. Love? The word was so alien to him, he wasn’t sure he even knew the accurate definition.

“Yeah, I’m in. As soon as I finish up here with Travis,” Sawyer stated and Travis knew that since they didn’t have any more real business to tend to that there was a personal conversation he was required to join in.

Tempted to run out the door and avoid any and all interrogation, Travis had to force his ass to remain in his chair. He was not up to talking, and he didn’t care if it was Sawyer doing the questioning. He had no intention of sharing. Not yet. He didn’t want to jinx what currently was as perfect as he could have imagined it to be.

“Where’s E?” Zane asked, searching the room as though Ethan might just jump out from behind one of the file cabinets.

“Haven’t seen him since last night at Moonshiners,” Brendon responded. “Think he was arguing with Blake. At least it looked like an argument to me.”

“I saw him talking to Beau before I left last night,” Braydon tacked on. “It was late, so I’m sure he’s still in bed.”

Right. Travis knew E better than that. The man didn’t sleep late. Ever.

“Well, we’re stopping in town to get breakfast tacos and then heading over. You might wanna get your ass in gear. I doubt Gage is gonna be all that happy we’re runnin’ late,” Braydon informed the room.

“We good, Trav?” Zane asked.

Travis looked over to see his youngest brother standing to his feet. Rather than risk what might come out of his mouth, he nodded his head and then returned his attention to the computer screen. Not that he had any interest in what was reflected there, nor could he even tell you what it was.

“You coming with us, Bubba?” Braydon asked, and Travis looked up.

“I’ll catch up with y’all at Gage’s. Seems like I’ve got an unexpected meeting that’s come up,” he told them as he peered over at Sawyer.

The twins and Zane picked up their own conversation as they walked out the door, and Travis pinned Sawyer with a glare.

“Answer me this, big brother.”

Travis wanted to ignore Sawyer, but he knew it wasn’t going to work.

“I’ll wait all day, you know I will,” his brother said when Travis didn’t take the bait.

If he was close to any of his brothers, it was Sawyer. Probably because they were the oldest of the seven. Regardless, Travis knew he was being called to the carpet, and he would answer his brother’s question, no matter what they were, despite his reluctance. Much to his relief, Sawyer didn’t pull this shit often.

“Is this thing with you and Gage and Kylie serious?”

The abrupt tone of Sawyer’s question told Travis the man wasn’t looking for gossip, and he wasn’t looking to pass judgment either. That didn’t make answering the question any easier.

“Would it bother you if it was?” Ok, that was so not the answer that was cued up in his head. In fact, he’d prepared something along the lines of “fuck off, it’s none of your damn business”, but it somehow got translated into something ridiculous on the path from his brain to his mouth.

“Have you ever known me to be one to judge?” Sawyer asked, the gravity of his tone reflecting how serious he was.

Travis pulled off his hat, set it on the edge of the desk as he leaned back in his chair. Thrusting his hands through his hair, he closed his eyes. Fuck.

“Since I don’t need to hear your answer to know what you’d say, I’m going to ask you this. Are you trying to keep this to yourself?”

Yes. “No.”

“Ok, bro, I’m calling bullshit.” Sawyer’s tone had turned dark, his offense at being lied to apparent.

“What does it matter?” Travis met Sawyer’s eyes.

“It doesn’t. Not beyond the fact that we just want you happy, and it’s clear you are. That’s a good thing, Trav. You know I’m not one to offer advice, but you need to look at it this way. If you’re happy, what the fuck does it matter what others think?”

“Do you even know what you’re asking? You know my track record, right?” Shit. He didn’t want Sawyer to see his self-doubt.

“And like I said, if you’re happy, what does it matter?”

“Because this is serious shit, damn it. I’m not just playing fucking games like the rest of ‘em. I’m not looking for a temporary threesome.”

Sawyer leaned back, steepling his fingers over his massive chest and stared at him as though he’d just revealed the secret to the universe. Surprisingly, there wasn’t any judgment in his eyes. Travis wasn’t sure that made him feel any better or not.

“You love them? Both of them?”

Travis looked down at the desk. He damn sure wasn’t answering that question. Even if he was starting to believe that it was true. He had no interest in ruining a good thing by spouting words like “love” or “forever”.

“And just so we’re clear, I don’t care if you need two people to make you happy or ten. When it’s right, it’s right.”

Travis didn’t make eye contact. Wasn’t sure he could. His brother was saying all of the things Travis had been thinking for the last few days.

“Trav, look at me, bro,” Sawyer said gently.

When Travis looked up again, there was a world of understanding in his brother’s blue eyes as he once again leaned forward, his forearms resting on his desk.

“In case you don’t remember, we grew up in the same house. Under the same roof with the same set of morals and values. Our parents taught us to be ourselves, and that means we don’t judge others. Granted, we might get away with straddling that moral line more than others, but it also means it’s expected that we do what we should to be happy.”