Page 4 of The Unwanted Love

"Oh, shoot." Skylar glances over her shoulder, then grabs my arm and tries to hustle me out of the living room.

"Hold on, what are you doing?" I resist her, and given she’s less than a quarter of my weight, she can’t budge me.

"I’m not ready for company yet, and I do want to catch up with you, so can you come with me?" She huffs.

I take in the fold between her eyebrows, the ways she flicks her gaze in the direction of where Ben disappeared.

"Please?" she whispers.

I take in the nervousness in her gaze and my heart softens. I let her lead me across the landing, and up the staircase. She enters a room at the far end of the corridor. I follow her in, take in the pink curtains, the dark pink bedspread, the many throw pillows on it, and the fairy lights she’s strung up, to which are clipped polaroids. The pictures feature flowers, the sunset, a fallen leaf. There’s one of herwith Ben. One with Ben and their mom. None of them feature friends. Is it because she has none? Because she’s a loner?

An overflowing bookshelf takes up the wall opposite the bed and there are more books piled in stacks on her floor. Opposite the door is a window, below which is a love seat with more cushions. Set in a corner between the door and the bed is a desk and chair pushed up against a window. This is her room.

The scent of cherry blossoms hangs in the air. It’sherscent. A very feminine, verywomanlyscent, which instantly makes my groin harden.Jesus, man, get a grip on yourself.

I pull away, making sure to put distance between us. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Why do you think?" She turns to me with a strange look in her eyes—one I’m not quite sure how to interpret. Then it’s gone, replaced with the innocence I saw there earlier.

"I just need to get myself together, okay?" She wrings her hands together. "I… I’m not good with company."

I lower my chin. "Aren’t the people who’re coming your friends?"

She blows out a breath. "They are but… I’ve never been good at making friends. I tend to be painfully shy around people. I’d much rather be with my book friends, you know?"

"I do." I allow myself a small smile.

"What do you mean by that tone?" She scowls.

"Every time I've seen you, until today, you've been buried in your books."

"What can I say? Words make better friends than those in real life." She walks over to the window and peers out. Her shoulders are hunched. Her posture a little defeated.

A wave of tenderness washes over me. I don’t know this woman and yet, she’s also familiar. I have only exchanged a few words with her over the years. Only thought of her as Ben’s little sister. Now, suddenly, she’s all grown up. An adult. Someone ready to make her mark on the world. My head spins. It’s a shock to try to reconcile the gorgeous siren standing in front of me with the girl I barely noticed. I drag my fingers through my hair.

"Oh, I should have wished you a Happy Birthday earlier." I was too gobsmacked by her appearance to get my wits together to do so.

"Thanks." She peeps out of the corner of her eye, once again, looking more like a little girl. The way she flits between being a woman one second, then, a shy, much younger person, the next, confuses the hell out of me.

I jam my hands into my pockets. "I should have bought you a gift but—" I roll my shoulders.I wasn’t thinking that far ahead, again.

I was on my way to meet Arthur when Ben called and insisted I come over. I couldn’t say no to him. So, I promised I’d try my best, then headed on to my meeting with my grandfather. I knew what was in store for me, knew he was going to insist I join the Davenport group as CEO.

And the run-in was that, and much more. Gramps insisted I quit the Marines immediately, before any bodily harm comes to me. A part of me realized it was fear making him say that. He's worried about me. Not that Arthur would admit to that, of course. He voiced it like an order, which did not go down well with me. The only orders I take are from my Commanding Officer, and only because I know it means the difference between life and death for the rest of my platoon. To leave my brothers-in-arms in the lurch is not something I can fathom.

To be fair, I didn’t try to explain my position to Arthur, either. I left his office, angry with him, and was halfway home, when Ben messaged me again and reminded me—he was expecting me.

I couldn’t let my best buddy down. So, I simply turned around and headed over here. I only meant to stay long enough to catch up with Ben. It wasn’t until I glimpsed Skylar that my world turned upside down.

Fuck!I draw in a sharp breath.I cannot seriously be attracted to her… Right?

She turns and leans a hip against the windowsill. "You’re here. That’s gift enough."

The back of my neck flushes. "That’s a very sweet thing to say." I clear my throat. "I should have stopped to get something for you." I shuffle my feet. "Turning eighteen is an incredibly importantlandmark. You’re transitioning into becoming an adult, and with it, come all the responsibilities and complexities, not to mention the grey areas, that go into navigating the world."

"You don’t make it sound very palatable." She laughs.

"That wasn’t what I intended, but yeah… It can be a minefield." I shift my weight from foot to foot. "The only way to survive is to learn from your mistakes, so you don’t commit them again."

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