As the weeks went by, I hated myself for breaking up with Sam. The whole thing sucked. So I got in my car and drove to Atlanta. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I had to call Alec, and tell him. I couldn’t just sit there and give up on Sam. Damn it. I tried to do the “right” thing. But I wanted her. I needed her. Most of all, I fucking loved her. I was empty without her. I was a shell.

But I’m a greedy bastard. I knew Alec loved her. I remembered how he talked about her that day at Aunt Robin’s. Before I knew who she was. Before he destroyed her spirit.

He had that whole she’s-The-One, Emmett, kind of love in his eyes. Don’t get me wrong. I love my little brother, but Sam had consumed me, including the part that used to think rationally . . . selflessly. Without her, those parts were gone, leaving behind nothing but need and greed.

Fuck it, I should just go to Hartsfield-Atlanta airport, buy a one-way ticket across the pond, and never look back.

But it was too late for that. I knew Sam loved me, too. Needed me. Wanted me. I could see the way my presence affected her when she thought I wasn’t looking. I know because it’s the same way she affected me.

How could she think I didn’t care, that she was just another piece of ass to me? As if Samone Lang could ever just be someone’s fling. For fuck’s sake, she could lift my life up or destroy it with one breath.

No. I couldn’t just sit idle and let her go. If Alec thought he could just pop back into her life, apologize, and win her back, he was sorely mistaken. Little brother would survive. His broken heart would heal; he’d move on and live a long, happy life . . . but not with my peach.

He should’ve never let her go in the first place. When he broke her heart, he threw their love away. He threw her away. Whether any of us knew it then or not, he pushed her to me. And now she was mine. I’d be damned if I was gonna let her go. I just had to convince her to give me another chance after breaking up with her.

Just deciding to fight for Sam made me feel like I could finally breathe again. I had to call him before things progressed any further. Before she found the strength to open her heart up to him again. God, I hated to hurt Alec, but I might as well have been dead, than go on like I was, living without her.

I scrolled through my contacts in my phone and called him.

“Hello.” The word was clipped.

“Hey Alby.”

Silence. It made my stomach drop.

“What’s up Emmett?” he retorted.

I flinched at his use of my name. “Can we talk? In person, I mean.”

“I don’t have the time to drive to Auburn.”

“You don’t have to. I’m here, in Atlanta.”

“Fucking hell. Of course you are.”

I sighed. “Just meet me at my hotel. We can have a beer in the lounge here and talk.”

“Yeah. Fine. What time?”

“When can you be here? I’m staying at the Atlanta Marriott Suites in Midtown.”

“Okay, I’ll uh, see you in about an hour.”

He hung up. I groaned. I knew it wasn’t going to go well. The thing was, we both loved Sam. Alec didn’t know I loved her yet. I was sure he thought she was just a piece of ass to me, one among many.

I’ll admit, I used to be a player. I liked to have fun. I wasn’t the “different girl every night” kind of guy though. College was for learning and having fun. So . . . I had some friends with benefits. But how the hell could Alec think I could even look at Sam that way? I can’t imagine anyone ever thinking that of Sam. Especially not if they knew her. And, man, did I know her. She practically lived with me for months.

I was already there and waiting when Alec walked in. God, we used to be so close. It really hurt to see his expression when he saw me sitting there. I could feel the giant chasm between us as he walked toward my table.

“Mind if I sit?” Alec asked, his tone stiff.

“Please do. How are you?” I asked. He looked haggard. My once-carefree brother had the weight of pain and sadness on his shoulders, and it was palpable. The tormented expression on his face was almost enough to change my plans. But I reminded myself how he’d treated her, the way she would close up at the mention of her ex. I loved Sam, and I needed her in my life.

“Look, Emmett, this isn’t a social call, so let’s skip the bullshit. Obviously, if you cared how I was, you never would’ve tried to steal Samone from me.”

I almost came out of my chair. “Alec, that’s not what happened! How many times do I have to tell you? I didn’t know my Sam was your Samone! She lives here in Atlanta. I live in fucking Auburn. That’s a two-hour drive.” I grabbed my glass and tossed the whiskey back. “How the hell was I supposed to know you were going to throw her away, or that she and I would end up at the same frat party? What are even the chances of that happening? She told me she was running from a bad break up, but I had no idea you were the person who’d broken her heart.”

Running my hands through my hair, I remembered the shattered expression on her face when she told me she was getting over a break up. I never asked her about it, because I couldn’t stand to see that look in her eyes.

“I swear, Alec, I didn’t know who she was. We were just drawn to each other.”

“Yeah, yeah, Emmett, I’ve heard all of this before. Whatever. Doesn’t change the fact you were practically living with her for months. It doesn’t change fact that, even though you’re gone and she’s back here, where she belongs, things just still aren’t even close to being back to how they should be.” He slumped down in his seat. “Even though you left her, you’re still there, an unspoken part of everything. She won’t even give me a chance to win her love back. You know what? Fuck this shit . . . I didn’t even want to come down here, but you insisted it was so important we talk face-to-face. So, brother, tell me . . . what is so important? Samone and I are supposed to have dinner tonight. I’m hoping to rekindle her feelings.”

My head rested in my hands, and I scrubbed them over my face as I looked up at him. “All right then, fine . . . I’m in love with her.”

At first, there was a genuinely shocked expression on his face, but then he erupted in crazed laughter.

“Oh, isn’t this rich? Extra, extra, read all about it! My brother, Emmett Walker, playboy extraordinaire, is in love and off the market! Better watch out, bro, half of the teaching assistants at Auburn will be positively jilted!”

“Alec, seriously? Look, I’m sorry. I’ll never be able to express how hard this is, how hard it’s been for me.”

He let out an irritated grunt. “You? Ha! You have no idea, what can be hard to deal with in life.”

“The fuck I don’t! You think you’re the only one to deal with hard things in life? You think you’re the only one fate took people you love away from you? We both have suffered unbelievable loss when Mom and Dad died!”

“Whatever, man.” He slammed the beer I’d ordered him down. “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about Samone.”

I shook my head. “Yeah, I know it’s been hell for you, too. But Sam makes me feel alive and happy. I can’t bear the thought of not being hers, or her not being mine. Just the possibility makes it hard to fucking breathe. I’m all mixed up. I can’t eat, sleep, nothing. It’s like half of my soul is missing with her gone, and I can’t . . . I won’t let that slip away. I can’t live without her.”

Alec stood abruptly. “You know what, Emjay? Why don’t you go throw your poetic bullshit on someone else’s door? I love Samone, and I’m not about to let your dick get in the way of our happiness.”