it 's hard to keep quiet but benjamin keeps his hand on my arm , silently telling me to please let him handle this . i approached duke behind the book counter . you know the drill ; settle here for a bit , and then you may be on your merry way . if brett realized who she was , there would be no way to stop him from telling her brothers . `` we all can handle ourselves , each in our own way . that i had to raise my hand to cover a smile . 