Page 96 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

“How so?” I took a bite of my sandwich.

“Well, his brother was a real closed-off grump, but he eventually came around. But this kid that I’m working with… he never has a care in the world. He’s a perpetual good time.”

“Damn. This is my kind of guy. I’m sure he gets all the girls, huh?”

She nodded, a wide grin spread clear across her face. “He sure does. But you see, I think he’s got real feelings for this other girl.”

“His best friend’s sister?”

“Correct. And he’s scared shitless.”

“Because his friend will probably cut off his dick if he finds out how he feels. I mean, look at his track record.”

“Well, I mean, that’s not really fair. Who has a great track record before they find their person? I didn’t. River didn’t. Romeo didn’t. Demi didn’t. No one has a great track record before they commit to someone, do they?”

“They have relationships that last longer than five minutes. And I’m guessing your teen, well, he’s been a bit of a playboy, right? So his best friend won’t think he’s capable of changing, and it’s a fair concern.”

“Then, if it’s important to him, he’ll have to convince his best friend that it’s the real deal.”

“Maybe the girl he’s talking to won’t want to get the brother involved until they know what it is.”

She sighed. “I understand that. It is no one’s business, but it won’t go over well to keep this kind of secret either. That’s what’s going to get you into trouble—er, him into trouble. If he feels this way, he needs to talk to his friend. Before it all blows up in his face.”

“True. But perhaps as much as he’s worried about his friend finding out, maybe he’s more concerned with her needs right now. And she doesn’t want her brother to know, so he’s trying to be respectful.”

She studied me for the longest time. “This just isn’t about not knowing how to have a relationship because you’ve experienced a lot of loss. This is deeper, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“This is no fling at all. I think my teen is in love with his best friend’s sister.” She tilted her head to the side and smiled. “He’s probably been in love with her for a long time.”

“He probably has, Rubes.”

“Damn. I thought I was coming here to smack some sense into you, but you’re the one who smacked some sense into me.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“Don’t let this go too far, King. It’s going to blow up if you don’t figure it out soon enough. Your brother is noticing, and so is Demi. You two are not as sly as you think you are. It’s hard to miss it when we’re in the same room with you. Hayes will sniff this out in a hot minute, and he needs to know this is not you taking advantage of her.”

“I know. I’m going to talk to her about it. We’ve been trying to figure things out. Waiting for one of us to tire of the other,” I said, done with pretending we weren’t talking about me. “But I’m not tiring of her. I’m fucking crazy about her. She’s all I think about. And I can’t tell a fucking soul because I feel like a disloyal asshole.”

“You need to get this straight. There are two people you need to talk to first, and that’s Saylor and then Hayes. In that order. She deserves to know how you feel first, and then she has to understand that you owe him the respect of talking to him. He’s a great guy, King. He’ll understand if it’s from the heart.”

I closed my eyes and blew out a breath.

“I know. I just don’t want to fuck it up.”

“Well, start by being honest. Tell her how you feel. Make sure she feels the same, which she obviously does, but that conversation needs to happen. I mean, she’s been staying with you every night since Barry’s visit, and we all know he’s not a threat at this point. You like having her there. She likes being there. So have the damn conversation, and then be a grown-up and go to her brother and tell him you’re in love with his sister.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“Trust me, being vulnerable is never easy. But loving someone… it’s worth it, King.”

I nodded.

I knew she was right.

Loving Saylor was the easy part.

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