Page 30 of Take What You Want

“Then just stay here.” He says it like it’s that easy.

“I can’t just do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not you.” I poke at his side. “I need more planning than that. Plus, I have this thing called a job.”

He steps on my foot, and I yelp, pushing him away.

“Asshole.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stick around for a movie? Scar and I are making our way throughThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy.”

“I’m sure. Plus, by the way you can barely keep your hands off her, I don’t think you’re going to be too disappointed with my lack of presence.”

He smirks and runs a hand through his messy hair. “We’ve been traveling a lot, so it’s hard to always find?—”

“Nope. Don’t need to hear it.”

“Shut it and spare your sister or else it’ll be a lonely night for you,” Scar calls out from the kitchen. It does the trick and he keeps his mouth shut.

I hug her goodbye, and she tells me to make sure I give Liam hell at work and not allow him to put me back into that place of inferiority. I refrain from telling her he already has.

Jesus, when the hell did that happen? Since when did my backbone need bolstering? Where did I lose that?

And most importantly, how am I going to get it back?

My brother walks me to the door and eyes the black SUV that’s sitting in his driveway. “When did that get here?”

“It hasn’t left,” I mutter.

“Nikolai arranged that for you this whole weekend?”

I nod, and Walker smiles proudly and waves at the driver standing by the passenger door.

“As he damn well should with you helping him out.”

Yep…

“When am I going to see you next? Do you have another trip planned out here?”

“I don’t at the moment,” I say. “But maybe I will soon. Nikolai actually, um, he told Arun that I was looking over the contract for him. And Arun offered to connect me with some of his clients if I’d like.”

Walker’s face lights up. “No shit.”

I chuckle. “I don’t know if I’m going to take him up on it or not. I have my life out there, you know. But it’s an option I’m considering.”

“You have to do it! It’s what you’ve always wanted to do.”

“I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do. Back home.”

Walker waves a hand at that. “No, you’re not. And it’s not your home.”

“It is.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“I need time to think about it,” I state, cutting off the discussion.

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