Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

Dustin had always been great at reading people, and right now, he knew better than to keep teasing.

As they arrived at Premier Palace, the nerves kicked in again.

"What if Ellie still doesn't recognize me?" Dustin wondered aloud.

"She's getting better," King reassured him, right before his phone rang. He answered as they walked inside.

""Hey, Brielle?"

"King, how about we take little Zack to the amusement park tomorrow? He hardly ever gets to go out, and he could use some fun."

A big smile spread across King's face, like he was soaking up a sunny day.

"Sounds great. I'm almost home, by the way, and I've got someone with me."

"Who?" Brielle asked, just as King pushed the door open.

Brielle looked over and immediately saw Dustin standing there. Memories flickered through her mind, and she blurted out, "Bro?"

Dustin had braced himself for Brielle not recognizing him, but hearing her call him "bro" made his heart melt. He quickly closed the gap between them.

"Ellie, how are you? I heard you were out cold for two days. Are you hurt?"

Brielle shook her head, cheeks turning pink from the attention.

Dustin then noticed Isaac and couldn't resist pinching the kid's cheeks.

"Has this little guy put on some weight?"

Brielle scooped Isaac up, "Yeah, I think he has."

Isaac and Dustin locked eyes, both sizing each other up. Dustin looked at Isaac's face, so similar to King's, and felt a pang of envy. His sister already had a kid, and he didn't even know where his own love life was heading. Brielle suggested Dustin stay for dinner, then turned to King, linking her arm through his.

"Which amusement park should we go to?"

King tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'll have someone look into it."

Brielle nodded, satisfied, and gave

him a quick kiss. King glanced at et

Dustin reflexively, his face

reddening. Her enthusiasm was hard to handle.

But then he remembered his aunt was visiting next week, and his mood dropped a bit. "Besides the amusement park, anything else you want to do?"

Brielle thought for a moment and then smiled. "Let's stick to the amusement park for now. We can skip the zoo. Zack's favorite animal is Noir, and he probably wouldn't like seeing animals in cages."

She knew Zack would be upset seeing animals locked up, especially since he couldn't bear to confine Noir even to a room, always insisting on taking Noir up the hills to play.

King was impressed by Brielle's thoughtfulness, marveling at her observation skills. Was it natural maternal instinct?

He couldn't help but pull her in for a deep kiss.

Dustin, sitting on the couch playing with Isaac, looked up and saw them kissing. He coughed loudly, dragging out the sound. "Ahem!"

King snapped back to reality, realizing they weren't alone. He quickly let go of Brielle, feeling a bit awkward.

Brielle, her cheeks flushed, turned to Dustin. "Bro, what would you like to eat? I'll tell the chef."

Dustin's face softened into a gentle smile. "Anything's fine, I'm easy."

That was a lie. Dustin was notoriously picky about his food.

He stood up and took off his suit jacket. "I'll cook."novelbin

Brielle's jaw nearly hit the floor, but then she remembered some conversations hinting that her brother was indeed a great cook.

King stood there, frozen in shock. Dustin, cook?

Dustin headed to the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and asked the chefs to step aside.

King, feeling it was rude to let him work alone, moved to help, but Dustin scoffed. "This isn't for you."

King, feeling a bit sheepish, retreated from the kitchen. Not helping wasn't such a bad thing after all; he wasn't much of a cook anyway.