Page 101 of The Forever Rule

“Eyes up here, I don’t think even you can go for round three right now.”

I had looked down at my not-so-quite-limp dick, and grinned. “I could probably find a way to enjoy this hot fudge.”

She shook her head. “No. Sweet things do not go down there. Breasts are okay, nowhere below the belt.”

We had left, and then indeed enjoyed hot fudge above a certain equator.

And in that month, we had had one more monthlydinner, where seven of us had joined in, though Kyler hadn’t come at all. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was supposed to say to the brother who seemed to have known the secret all along.

However, the dinner had gone off quite well at Dorian’s place. Hudson had even come down from the mountains, joining in for the first time. While checking in with the lawyer each dinner felt as if we were on some form of house arrest, most other things felt normal. Just family dinners. Instead of having to deal with our mother at ourotherrequired dinners, we were learning the other half of the family at equally required dinners.

But in that month, things felt right. I had never expected Blakely, not once, but twice in my life, and now here we were, feeling as if things could be more.

Or perhaps I was just thinking too hard. I didn’t know where this was going, but it felt like it could be going somewhere. It sure as hell felt different than the last time I had been on this path. Of course, it wasn’t Meredith’s fault that I had fallen out of love with her before she had even broken it off. She had been the one to see the signs it seemed, though I still didn’t know exactly what her game had been the night she had come to my house. But she had left me alone since.

But now, I wasn’t near Denver to figure out what Meredith had wanted, not that I cared. And I wasn’t near Blakely.

How the hell was I already missing Blakely? How had she become so important to me in such a short amount of time. Or perhaps in the nearly two months wehad been in each other’s lives once again, that wasn’t such a short period of time.

My phone buzzed, and I looked down at the text from my brother.

Flynn:

Are you planning on gracing us with your presence anytime soon?

I looked across the expanse of the restaurant that the dinner conference was being held at and narrowed my gaze at my brother. He just grinned, while James stood beside him, rolling his eyes. Even though James wasn’t the one texting me, I knew they were equally making fun of me.

Me:

Is there a reason you two are watching me and not working on getting the contact we needed?

The fact that all three of us were at the same conference was unusual. We usually took turns, or when our father had been alive, he had done most of it. Or perhaps there hadn’t been any conferences at all and he had just been with his second family. The mechanics of how that man could keep so many secrets still eluded me. I could barely keep up with the work I was trying to do, and spending time with Blakely, and our new family. But maybe it was because I actually cared about the people in my life.

I paused at that feeling. Yes, I cared for Blakely. Wasit love? No. Clearly not. It was way too soon for that, and I wasn’t even sure that would be appropriate in this situation. It would get far too complicated if it was.

I once again pushed those thoughts from my mind, and focused on the fact that we three Cages were at this conference. We needed to ensure backers for an upcoming project, and that meant Flynn needed to be his normal people person self, and James needed to act as the steady rock. While I had to be the face of the company, The Cage. I had to put on my shield and ensure the naysayers that we had not fallen or crumbled when the secrets of my father’s past had come out. We hadn’t lost a single client when the news of a second family had broken. But it had been a precarious situation that we were still dealing with the ramifications of. And the vultures were circling, ready for us to make a mistake.

It didn’t help that a certain so-called rival was also here.

I nodded at my brothers, and then went to go speak with the client, doing my best to keep my attention on him, and not the asshole older gentleman that was walking toward us.

Mr. Howard of Howard Enterprises shouldn’t be here at all. He should have lost his title and so much more when he had fired Blakely as he had. But then again, we wouldn’t have Blakely with us if he hadn’t made such a misstep.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the documentation you have,” Patricia Novel said and I forced my attention back on her. As a woman who had not only comefrom money, but married into it, she had decided to put her incredible wealth toward philanthropic work. And that meant not only with charities, but with businesses that could provide help for others. And that’s what we were trying to get her to do. We had worked with her before, and things had worked out well. However, she had come in through my father, and now we needed to ensure that the connection stayed the same with the second generation.

“We have everything set for tomorrow for the presentation. However, you know Flynn and James, they already have a few things I can send you right now.”

Flynn who had been coming by, just grinned. “You know we do.”

“You Cage brothers, you always know how to step up to the plate.”

James had his phone out, and I had no doubt that he was already sending over the information that had been at his fingertips.

“You know I say Cage brothers, but you have sisters now, don’t you?” the other woman asked, and there was only curiosity in her tone, not any slyness. A few others stopped what they were doing to listen in, but there was no hiding it. There never had been. Not since the news had broken.

“We do have sisters. So I guess our moniker has to change,” I said, keeping my tone light.

“I would think so. You needed more estrogen in your household anyway. I don’t know how your mother did it.”

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