His to Love (His #3)

Chapter 3

Braden picks me up at 7.30 in the evening for the dinner. And Victoria is with him. I frown the instant I see her big fake smile on her face. 

She has her hand on my brother's knee in a possessive way and it just makes me roll my eyes in disgust. ''Hey, Braden. Victoria.'' I nod at her. 

Braden glances at me and gives me a silent warning with his look to just be nice. Can't you see how hard it is to be nice to her, Braden? I glare back at him and he simply says. ''Brooke. How are you?'' 

I shrug. ''Good. A bit tired. You know, from having to walk all these stairs every day,'' I say pointedly. 

Braden's face is full of amusement now. ''No, I wouldn't know anything about that,'' he says dryly, but I can hear the laughter in his voice.

I want to roll my eyes. Of course he wouldn't know anything about it since he - surprise, surprise - works out, too. Not only that, he's got his own gym in his suite! 

''Why would you be tired of the stairs? You live on the second floor ...'' Victoria's looking at me with a confused expression. 

I turn my eyes to her. And of course my brother's model girlfriend wouldn't know anything about that, either. 

I think I need to surround myself with people who are more similar to me. Because I can just see the judging eyes of Victoria Bertley staring at me. 

''Well, not everyone has that kind of time to spend so many hours on themselves and getting paid to just look good in photos.'' I give her a fake smile. 

''Brooke, that's enough,'' Braden says lowly, instantly stepping on Victoria's side. 

Alright. I might be rude to her, but she puts me off so much, I just can't be nice to her. I really can't. As a woman, I know when other women are with someone who they love. And I know when they're with someone just to get something from them. And Victoria is not a woman in love. I don't think she's even capable of loving. 

It pisses me off that my brother is so blind that he can't see it. But at the end of the day, it's him who has to go to bed with her and spend his life with her, not me. 

I sigh. ''Sorry,'' I mumble. ''Where are we going?'' 

''To Basilico.'' 

I want to roll my eyes. Of course it has to be something fancy every time. ''Why don't we go to McDonald's once?'' I say, jokingly. 

Victoria gives me such a horrified look that even surprises me. Even Braden makes a disgusting face. 

''Do you know how unhealthy that food is?'' Victoria asks in a high-pitched voice.

If only I could get a dollar every time I heard these words ... ''Don't worry, Victoria. They sell salads, too.''

Braden coughs and when I look at him, I see he's trying to hide his smile. 

Victoria looks at me like she doesn't understand the joke. ''If it's from McDonald's, it surely can't be good and healthy.''

I rub my temple, refraining myself from saying anything too bitchy back. ''Yeah. You're totally right,'' I mumble sarcastically. Why can't my brother pick himself a girl who eats? He always goes for these skinny models who don't eat anything and I know it bothers him, too. 

And they're not even that attractive! What do men see on them, honestly? 

We arrive at the fancy restaurant Braden chose for us and go to the table he reserved. The waitress comes to our table instantly and we all order our drinks. Braden chooses water because he's driving. Victoria chooses water because she can't drink anything that contains calories. And I choose a glass of white wine. Because I can. And because I want to.