Page 91 of Fire in My Heart

“I’m not so sure there’s anything worth fighting for.”

Wes sighed. “If you love her, there is.”

My jaw hurt; I was holding it so tight. “I loved who I thought she was.”

Wes’s forehead creased. “But you admitted she was the same person at her core. She didn’t lie about that.”

This is why I never talked about my feelings. They got twisted in someone else’s mouth. “I’ll think about it.”

He raised a brow. “You’ll think about talking to her?”

“Sure.” If it would get him off my back.

“That’s good because you wouldn’t want to let the love of your life go.”

“I never said that?—”

Wes gave me a look.

Jameson popped his head into the room. “Who wants to play football?”

“Sounds good to me,” I said as I rose. I wanted to pound something, and today, it was going to be my brothers. I didn’t care that it was supposed to be flag football.

When Izzy and Faith joined in, I had to keep things lighter than I wanted. Wes’s words made my blood pound in my veins. I was irritated, and I wasn’t sure why. He’d planted a seed in my head about Charlotte, one I wasn’t sure I wanted.

Had she messed up as badly as I assumed? Was there room for understanding and forgiveness? What she’d done was wrong. Did I owe her a conversation? This was an adult relationship after all.

By the time the game was over and we went inside to wash our hands for dinner, I’d decided to reach out to Charlotte. Maybe after the holidays. Once everything settled down.

Axel had already left to get on a plane to Florida.

I’d gone to the bathroom upstairs because the powder room was full. When I jogged down the steps, there was a knock on the door.

When I checked through the window, I saw Charlottelooking festive, wearing a red dress and holding some kind of heavy-looking dish covered in foil.

I opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

Charlotte flinched.

Wes appeared and pushed me out of the way. “Don’t be an ass,” he mumbled before greeting Charlotte with a smile. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Wes. Thanks for having me.” Charlotte stepped inside, and Wes grabbed the dish. I should have been the one helping her.

“Let it go, will ya?” Wes hissed to me as Charlotte headed toward the kitchen.

Irritation burned in my chest. I didn’t want to let it go. But I had to admit that Charlotte looked gorgeous in the dress.

Wes kept his voice low. “You can have her. You just have to apologize.”

“What do I have to apologize for?” I asked him, and he gave me a disgusted look.

I wasn’t experienced with relationships, but I was fairly sure she was the one who should be apologizing.

“For being a know-it-all, you’re pretty dense sometimes,” Wes ground out. “Besides, our sister married her brother. She’s family.”

I followed him into the kitchen, not liking how Charlotte was hugging everyone.

Since when had she become part of my family, and not just because Cole married Daphne? I had a feeling that my family was starting to like her more than me.

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