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out his hand for me to fist bump, and when I didn't, he launched it at my scalp for a noogie instead.
    I wrestled him off with a struggle, forgetting that even with my Marine Corps training he still had about 40 pounds of muscle on me.
    "Actually, isn't that why Finn is here?" Julian picked up my bowtie, motioning for me to stand still while he tied it expertly around my neck.
    "Nah...he's only here because he's tired of crying into his Wheaties over Leighton."
    Julian's face darkened at the mention of her name. Might as well get it over with now so they weren't having a meltdown over her being here on national TV.
    "About that..." I gathered my breath, preparing for the backlash. "Leighton is here."
    All movement in the room stopped for about 20 seconds, a feat that my mother had been trying to accomplish since we were little kids.
    And then it started again. "What?" and "No fucking way!" came from my brothers' mouths at exactly the same time.
    "She came here?" Julian tried again.
    I nodded, patting him on the shoulder as he finished knotting the tie at my neck. "Says she wants to win me back. Says we are meant for each other, in so many words."
    Carter ran a hand through his curly brown locks and pulled on the collar of his button down. "Shit man...I mean, when you all were together, I can't say I didn't believe that. Even my non-commitment ass saw what you had was special."
    I knew Carter had always been partial to Leighton, even after the split. I think it was because they were so similar in their ideologies, in the way they saw the world around them.
    "That bitch cut out your heart and ate it for breakfast,” Julian practically spat.
    Well...I always knew his opinion on her.
    Even before the shit hit the Right Now Island fan, he hadn't been a fan of our quickie engagement. He'd kept his mouth closed until everything had gone south, but he refused to keep his feelings hidden now. I would only be half-surprised if he clocked her when we walked into the cocktail party. The only part of me rejecting that idea was that Julian would slit his own throat before he'd put his hands on a woman.
    "Whatever. I'm just glad you guys are here. I've missed you." And it was true, we hadn't seen each other in awhile.
    "Well, if you'd ever come home and quit playing Mr. Hollywood, you'd see us more." Carter joked as he checked his phone.
    "Glad to be here. So, any other girls peaking your fancy?" Only Julian would speak like that.
    "There is this teacher from Illinois, Erin. And then Haleigh, she's a nurse from Florida. The last one is Kennedy, but she's kind of religious and I don't think when it comes down to it she'll be open to dating, or marrying, an atheist like me.”
    "And then there is Leighton of course." Carter flexed his knuckles, cracking two of them while smirking at me. "I mean, it is the third week and she's still here."
    I scowled. "She's here because Chuck and the producers are making me keep her here. It’s good for ratings. Believe me, if I could have thrown her off the first night, I would have."
    I heard the next statement he half-hid under his breath. "For some reason, I don't believe that's true."
    "How are the brothers Wyatt?" Mitchell boomed in that overly-professional stage voice he used during hosting. I rolled my eyes while my brothers stared at him with annoyed looks on their faces. "Alright...well, let's get you out there to meet Finn's women."
    Mitchell did a presenter's flourish with his hand as if he was Vanna White selling these women to the highest bidder. Yup, total slimeball.

Chapter Twelve
Leighton
    G od , Mitchell was a total slimeball.
    He'd come to my room tonight and handed me a skin-tight black evening gown with lace cutouts and insisted I wear it to the cocktail party. And then proceeded to look at my tits as if he could see them through the material of my t-shirt.
    I skimmed my hands down the dress as I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom I shared with three other women. It fit like a