Page 75 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

“She does look like Stella, but she’s got my eyes,” Donald said proudly, as if it was his claim to fame, or as if he’d had anything to do with the beautiful girl that he’d abandoned.

“She has my eyes!” Destiny shouted, and everyone startled.

What was with the fucking outbursts?

When her fists hit the table, some of her pink fur detached from the coat and fluttered around me. I waved my hand around to push it away as I coughed over a little piece that had gotten into my mouth.

“I actually think I look the most like my brother, Hayes,” Saylor said. “So, tell me, why has it taken so long for us to all get together?”

Ahhh… the million-dollar question.

Finally, a voice of reason.

Donald paled a bit, but Constance looked unfazed, though it could be her overly injected face because it lacked all expression. Her eyebrows hadn’t moved since she’d entered the room and her lips were so plump they looked painful.

“We’ve just been living our lives, dear. But Destiny was determined to meet you.”

I looked up to see Phoenix looking at me with a wicked smirk. He’d warned us to buckle up, and clearly, he’d meant it.

nineteen

Saylor

“That’s not entirely true.I wanted to see you, as well. Tell us about the bookstore that you opened,” my father said, and I studied him for a long moment.

I’d held onto a memory from when I was young for such a long time. It was my father holding my hand at the Magnolia Falls fair. He’d bought me cotton candy and bent down to give it to me, and he’d laughed when I’d tried to tear a piece off. I wasn’t even certain that it was a real memory after all these years. Maybe I’d dreamt it or made it up in my head after he’d left.

Because the truth was, I didn’t know this man.

And I’d been uncomfortable since I’d walked through the door.

This was not my family.

These were not my people.

But I was here, and I’d make the best of it. At the very least, I could get some answers.

“I opened a bookstore in town just over a week ago. So, it’s still new, but I’m enjoying it.”

“And you didn’t have to go to college to do that?” Phoenix asked.

“I went to college. I just finished my MBA this past year,” I said, noting the way they all looked at one another. “However, it wasn’t a requirement to have a degree to open a bookstore, but I wanted to have an understanding of how to run my own business.”

“I thought you said none of them went to college!” Destiny shouted, and I was about done with her outrageous, high-pitched hissy fits.

I was on edge every time she spoke.

“I said that her mother and her brother didn’t go to college, and I thought Saylor had dropped out, as well,” Constance said, as her icy gaze locked with mine, and she forced a smile.

A growl came from Kingston, as if he’d heard enough, and I leaned forward and looked at him. That’s all I’d ever had to do with him. He understood me without any words being said.

I’ve got this.

“I see. Let me clear things up for you. My mother met my father when they werebothin college.” I paused when one of the ladies in uniform cleared my uneaten plate of fish eggs. “My mother got pregnant bymy father.” I shot him a look, because the asshole had obviously been telling lies about everyone and everything.

“Correct.” He cleared his throat and asked for a refill of his wine.

“I wasn’t finished,” I said when he started to speak again, and he clamped his mouth closed. “My mother dropped out of college to raise my brother,your son, Hayes.”

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