Beyond Us: The Hutton Family Book 4 Read online

  Praise for Abby Brooks

  “Abby Brooks is a wizard with Beyond Us—entertaining and pure enjoyment!”

  Adriana Locke—USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author

  “A masterful blend of joy and angst.

  Praise for Abby Brooks

  “As a voracious reader it is not unusual for me to read 5-7 books per week. What is unusual is for me to be thinking about the writing and characters long after I've finished the book. With just the perfect amount of angst and remarkable character development, Abby Brooks has crafted a masterpiece…”

  Praise for BEYOND WORDS

  "Once again Abby Brooks creates a world filled with beautifully written characters that you cannot help but fall in love with.”

  Praise for BEYOND LOVE

  "A lovely story of growing beyond your past, taking control of your life, and allowing yourself to be loved for the person you are."

  Melanie Moreland—New York Times Bestselling Author, in praise of Wounded

  “Abby Brooks writes books that draw readers right into the story. When you read about her characters, you want them to be your friends.”

  Praise for Abby Brooks

  Copyright © 2020 by Abby Brooks

  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

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  Beyond Dreams Sneak Peek

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Abby Brooks

  Connect With Abby Brooks

  Prologue

  The Pact

  This agreement is made by and among the roommates named herein who have signed a lease for a shared dwelling unit that makes the roommates jointly liable for all terms of the contract.

  The amount of alcohol imbibed while drawing up this contract does not make it any less binding—even though neither party is a lawyer and cannot state this fact with any degree of accuracy.

  I, Hope Maxwell, do hereby solemnly swear that by entering into this roommate agreement with Eli Hutton, absolutely no hanky-panky of any kind will exist between us, because there will never be an us. While we live together, all feelings of attraction will be expressly ignored, and our friendship will remain strictly platonic. In the case of accidental nudity, any desire that arises will also be ignored. (Which will be easy because I’m sure no desire will arise at all as I am swearing off men for the rest of my life. As handsome as Eli is, as glorious as he’s sure to be sans clothing, he’s like a brother to me. I’d rather claw my eyes out than see him naked.)

  I, Eli Hutton, do hereby solemnly swear that by entering into this roommate agreement with Hope Maxwell, absolutely zero physical shenanigans will happen between us. I further agree that anyone who becomes part of an us is a fool because relationships devour souls. For the duration of our cohabitation, I will not look at Hope as anything but one of the guys and in the case of accidental nudity, she will consider herself very lucky I will politely cover my goods and never speak of the incident. (And we all know she’d love to see me naked. No clawing of eyes would happen. I promise.)

  Neither “She Who Will Not Be Named” nor “He Who Can Burn In Hell” will be discussed, as those mistakes years of torture relationships are over and both Hope and Eli are better off without them. Speaking either of those names may summon them back from the pits of hell and no one wants to be responsible for what happens after that.

  If Eli considers entering into another relationship—whether with “She Who Will Not Be Named” or otherwise—Hope promises to hit him upside the head with a frying pan, stop baking delicious treats, and remind him what happens when he invites jealous, gold-digging, nagging women into his life. (Except for Hope of course. Hope is an angel and is welcome to stay as long as she likes.)

  If Hope considers entering into another relationship—whether with “He Who Can Burn In Hell” or otherwise—Eli promises to sit her down with a carton of ice cream, walk her through what happens when she allows men to put their needs above hers, and remind her to do her homework, as college is no longer on the backburner now that “He Who Can Burn In Hell” is gone.

  No jokes will be made at Eli’s expense regarding his place of employment and the fact that half his family still doesn’t know he dances mostly naked for crowds of women. He will tell them on his own time, when he feels it’s appropriate, and will not tolerate anyone sticking their nose into this business. (I’m serious on this one, Hope!) (Gosh, Eli! I get it. It’s totally up to you to decide when to tell your brothers. It’s not like it affects me, anyway…)

  No jokes will be made at Hope’s expense regarding the fact that she attends college online because she was too embarrassed to take classes with a bunch of eighteen-year-olds who might call her old.

  All rent will be paid on time by both parties. Utilities split equally. Living spaces must be kept neat, blah, blah, blah and yada, yada, yada.

  Any deviation from this agreement will signify the end of this friendship. The guilty party will relinquish any claim on the apartment and quietly remove him/herself from the premises.

  Signed, toasted, and agreed upon by two questionably tipsy new roommates.

  Hope Maxwell

  Eli Hutton

  One

  Hope

  Night after night, approximately four hundred women ogled my roommate, chanting and screaming as his well-oiled muscles flexed and twitched under hot lights. I took their drink orders with an understanding smile as they sighed dreamily, their eyes glued to his body. I couldn’t blame them. Not one bit. Even I couldn’t resist what I saw—and you’d think I’d be used to it, considering he strutted around the apartment half-naked on a daily basis. But, alas, I was not. And with good reason.

  Eli Hutton was a god among men.

  A beautiful male stripper with a body to die for.

  My roommate…

  …and…

  …the man I’d fallen head over heels in love with.

  Sure, I signed a contract swearing I’d never fall in love again, let alone with him. But the heart wants what the heart wants…and mine lusted after his.

  He didn’t know how I felt about him, of course.

  He couldn’t know.

  This would be a secret I took to my grave. Not only had I promised I would only ever see him as a brother, but more importantly, love was dangerous for me. Like, really, super-duper dangerous. When I got caught up in the feels, I lost parts of myself. I’d rather have Eli as my best friend than ruin what we had by throwing that nasty little word around.

  Watching the hoard of onlookers drool over him while he danced gave me an odd sense of pride. When I first realized the feeling for what it was, I tried to push my self-satisfied smile away. After all, Eli didn’t belong to me. We lived together. We laughed together. We took care of each other. That was it. But, as time went on and the pride continued, I decided to roll with it.

  That’s right, ladies! Behold! My roommate! My best friend! The best thing to happen to me since He Who Can Burn In Hell left my life in ruins. All you women want him, and I can’t blame you there. I want him, too. But none of us will ever have him because he’s sworn off women forever…

  Onstage, Eli strutted and swayed as a table of women in front of me sighed in unison. One of them glanced my way as I approached, only to immediately surrender her attention back to the Viking who was halfway through my favorite routine.

  “How does he manage to pull off sexy and adorable?” she murmured, making grabby hands for her drink, missing it three times before she finally took her eyes off him. When she realized she’d been missing by a mile, she blushed and grimaced an apology, even as her gaze darted back to the stage.

  “It’s okay,” I said to the side of her head. “Happens all the time.”

  That wasn’t just something I said to make her feel better. It literally happened all the time.

  The mesmerized woman beckoned me closer and I leaned in to be heard over the music. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”

  She pointed at Eli, her eyes glinting with desire. “Him.” Her smile told me she thought she’d made a very clever joke, indeed.

  As a cocktail waitress at an establishment named Eggplant—which was less of a male strip club and more akin to a
sexy, hip hop dance revue—I’d heard that line more than once.

  More than twice.

  In fact, I heard it at least four times a night.

  But, I laughed like it was still funny and replied with the truth. “Believe me. I understand.”

  With her eyes locked on the miles of man-flesh undulating in front of us, she pulled me even closer. “Do you think you could get a message to him?” She pointed at the stage. “The Viking who just tore off his kilt?”

  She meant Eli. They always meant Eli. The other men were just as beautiful. Just as sexy. Just as talented. But Eli had something more. Just a touch more charisma. A smile with a direct line to the butterflies in your stomach. The perfect combination of dark hair and warm brown eyes. His sexy face and boyish charm came together to create something no one could name, but everyone understood.

  Eli Hutton had it.

  And according to our pact, I was bound by honor and duty to make sure no one—not even little old me—would have him again. Ever.

  “Getting messages to the dancers is against the rules.” I made a sad face, even though I was glad to hide behind the company policy that kept our handsome hunks safe from the female population at large. “But, any tips you give to your waitresses, we split with the guys.”

  That statement was also company policy, and I always felt sleazy saying it. The men didn’t accept tips, another reason why Eggplant wasn’t considered a strip club, but we servers split our haul with them each night. It was the reason I took the job in the first place. The money was good. Good enough to help repair the damage done to my credit after He Who Can Burn In Hell ruined it, and to rebuild my savings while I got my business degree.

  I hustled and bustled for a few more minutes—refilling drinks and running interference for the guys while cramming dollar bills into my apron. After ensuring my tables were happy, I stopped to lean on the bar during one of Eli’s slow and sexy solos. His body moved like a serpent. A jaguar. A lion prowling the jungle. He stalked around the stage like a predator as the music danced in his eyes, the look on his face promising he would destroy each and every one of us with a single, obliterating touch.

  As the audience watched, rapt, I realized it’d be challenging to find anyone who didn’t believe him. I sure did. If Eli ever used any of those moves on me, I’d fall to pieces on the spot. Just a quivering mess of something that used to be Hope Maxwell.

  Tasha—another waitress—leaned against the bar beside me. Where I had plain, brown hair, she had mocha curls streaming down her back. Where I had an excess of curves, she had a perky little body that caught attention from everyone. Where my hazel eyes were difficult to nail down in color, her rich, chocolate browns sparkled in the light. She was almost as beautiful as Eli.

  Almost.

  “He’s something special, isn’t he?” Her soft voice flowed through the music, somehow managing to add to the atmosphere.

  “He seems to think so.” I smirked, watching the sultry tale he told with his body as bass throbbed through the bar. “Just ask him. He’ll tell you all about it.”

  “Is he amazing at home, too? Or does he turn into a normal man and burp and pick his nose?” Tasha sounded hopeful, as if knowing Eli had disgusting habits would make his beauty easier to bear. I was about to let her down. Hard. She would get no relief from me.

  “Nope.” I popped the P, shaking my head wistfully. “He’s pretty much perfect at home, too.”

  “Of course he is.” Tasha lowered herself onto a stool, her eyes glued to the stage. “I really hoped he wouldn’t be perfect.” She turned to me, desperate. “I can’t keep living this way, Hope. I need a reason to stop thinking about him all the time. Could you just tell me he was a monster or something? Because I am so totally in love with him.”

  You and me both, sister.

  “Are you really?” Suddenly, I was more interested in this conversation than any I’d had that night. As part of The Pact, I’d sworn to run interference for Eli under penalty of torture if I failed. But something about Tasha had me listening, even though I should have been planning my defense. Maybe, if I knew Eli was happily dating other people, I could get over my silly crush on him and all would be right with the world.

  “Oh my God. You have no idea. But I’m no good with men.” She hung her dainty little head.

  I laughed so hard, I hurt my throat. A woman who looked like that had no idea the power she had over the opposite sex. “You? No good with men. Sorry, but I’m not buying that.”

  Tasha widened her eyes and pressed a hand to her heart. “It’s true! I never know what to say and things always get really weird.”

  I doubted this woman knew the true meaning of an awkward silence, but I nodded in solidarity anyway. “Believe me. I have weird down to a science.”

  Tasha leaned in a little closer. “Plus, I know he’s not been dating much ever since he broke up with what’s her name, so I don’t want to push him if he’s not ready.”

  Just the mention of the She-Bitch had me ready to fight someone. It had been a little over a year since Eli discovered his girlfriend wasn’t the perfect angel he thought she was and I still got defensive for him. “She tap danced his heart into pieces. There’s a chance he may never fully recover.”

  Tasha covered her mouth, her eyes softening as she stared at the man we were both in love with. Her face said it all. Rising up inside her and fueling her already burning desire, was a need to take care of a beautiful man who had suffered heartbreak. She wanted to nurture poor Eli back to health—broken bird that he was. To press his head against her perfect little breasts and run her hand through his hair while she nursed his heart back to life.

  And maybe she could…

  Maybe she could help him learn to trust again…

  I swatted those thoughts away. If I broke The Pact, Eli would retaliate with diabolical torture and I had no intention of learning just how devious his rebel heart could be. Besides…our apartment was gorgeous. I loved living there, especially because my life had turned around the moment I moved in. Where I used to feel unsure of myself, with Eli’s help, I was starting to understand my quirks were what made me fun. Where I used to stress about never being able to please anyone, Eli seemed happy just to have me around. I’d be an idiot to jeopardize that.

  “Do you think you could set us up?” Tasha bit one luscious lip. “You know, help me through the awkward stuff. Maybe talk me up a bit? Since you know him so well.”

  “He’s pretty firmly off the market. But, maybe I’ll test the waters and see if he’s interested in getting back out there.” His answer would be no. For the rest of our lives, no. He and I together, forever united in our singleness.

  But still, whispered the strange voice in my head, maybe it would do him good to know someone was interested in him…and maybe if he ended up interested in her, you could get over him…

  “Would you? Oh my God!” Tasha fanned her face in flustered excitement. “And could you tell me what to say? Like, I’m not so good with my words and I’ll just say something stupid that makes him realize how dumb and shallow I am.”

  I laughed, but the look on her face suggested she might not be joking, so I clamped my mouth shut. “Dumb and shallow, huh?”

  Tasha’s eyes were glued to Eli’s abs. “Well, you know. Not really. I just manage to put off that vibe or something. You know what I mean.”

  I wasn’t sure I did know what she meant, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt, and got back to work.