Page 23 of Spark of Attraction

His gaze flickered past me and his lips thinned. Then he turned and stalked downstairs, me hot on his heels. The moment he hit the porch, he wheeled around and turned on me.

“You fucking promised me you’d leave her alone. You gave me your word—guess you proved that’s worth shit, isn’t it?”

“For fuck’s sake, we were sixteen. We’re not kids anymore. Ellie is perfectly capable of making her own decisions.”

“And look where that got her. She ended up with that fucking son-of-a-bitch who fucking cheated on her and then tried to blame her, saying she was useless in bed.”

Ah. I hadn’t heard that part before. I wasn’t about to say her ex was completely wrong, either. No use adding fuel to Josh’s self-righteous fire.

“Yeah, Mom told me. Did you know?” Josh’s whole body shook, his voice cracked in rage.

I nodded. “Ellie told me.”

“Eight years, she endured that fucker’s treatment. Eight. Fucking. Years. And now here I find you with her? After you promised you’d leave her alone? I’m not standing by and watching her get hurt again. Not by you, not by anyone.”

“You think I’d hurt her?” I stopped myself from taking my own step forward this time. Forced my breathing and my tone to stay even against the welling betrayal. “You know me, Josh. You know I’d take a bullet for Ellie before I’d let her get hurt.” My control cracked so I couldn’t stop myself from blurting, “And how do you know I’m going to hurt her and not the other way around?”

“I don’t give a flying fuck if you get hurt,” Josh snarled. “You’re not my sister.”

Whoa. I got where he was coming from, but to hear such a pronouncement from the guy who had been my best friend since I could walk? It fucking hurt, man.

“Give me your word you will stay away from her,” he demanded.

There it was. Time to choose.

A week ago I would have considered it to be Sophie’s Choice, but today? There was no doubt in my mind who I chose and it wouldn’t be him.

Except he didn’t wait for my response. “I want you to guarantee me that if she tries to hire you to do the electrical in her house, you’ll refuse the business. That you’ll send her somewhere else,” Josh shouted, his finger stabbing the air at me. “I don’t want you to even approach her. If you even fucking think you see Ell on the street, you’ll cross to the other side and leave her the fuck alone.”

“No.” My control shattered. I’d prided myself in being able to closely guard my temper, in maintaining my control. In being the peacemaker in tense situations. But Josh had taken things a step too far.

I suspected my own face was almost as bright red as Josh’s, my fists clenched. “And not just no, but hell fucking no. Ellie is a grown woman. She’s a fucking smart woman too. If you try to control who she dates you’re as fucking bad as her fucking former husband.”

“She’s. My. Sister,” he bit out through clenched teeth, his color rising until he resembled a firetruck.

“Then stop trying to control her. Ask her what she wants, and then respect her opinion. You can give her advice, but then you need to step back and trust her.”

“Like I did last time? I knew Gareth was wrong for her from the first time I laid eyes on him. But I stepped back then and look what happened.”

Not once had I heard Josh say anything negative about his brother-in-law, but maybe in hindsight he’d realized he had seen—and ignored—some red flags and was blaming himself?

“It wasn’t your fault, Josh.”

We both whirled at the sound of Ellie’s voice.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MALCOLM

“It wasn’t my fault either,” Ellie said, her voice firm and steady. “Gareth played us all. He knew how to behave in public, how to look like he was such a great guy. Abusers are like that. You weren’t the only one to fall for his charade. But d’you honestly think I’ve been crying into my pillow and playing the victim for the last two years? No.” She stepped down off the porch and stood beside me, taking my hand in hers. As much as I appreciated her silent show of support, I couldn’t miss the glower Josh gave me when he noticed it too.

“I’ve had therapy, Josh. I’m still in therapy,” she continued. “I’ve learned the signs when someone’s gaslighting me. I’m not going to be a victim again. I’ve got a support system in place.” She took few deep breaths. “I appreciate you think you need to stick up for me, and I’ll welcome your opinion. But it stops here.”

“Ell—” Josh stammered.

She shook her head. “No. It’s my turn to talk, and your turn to listen.”

He closed his eyes and grimaced before nodding with a whispered, “All right.”

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