Page 32 of The Forever Rule

“Stop. All of you.” I stared at the group and realized that I was probably the eldest Cage here, other than the moms. I would deal with this. We didn’t have a choice. “Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.”

“You’re in charge now?” Isabella asked, but Sophia shushed her.

I was grateful for that, because I had a feeling Isabella and I were going to butt heads more often than not.

I shrugged, trying to act as if my world hadn’t been rocked. “I would say welcome to the Cages, because DNA evidence seems to point that way, however perhaps you were already one of us all along.”

Kyler muttered something under his breath I couldn’t hear before speaking up. “You have my eyes,” he said.

I nodded. “Noticed that too.”

The other man tilted his head. “So what, we do dinners and we make nice?”

I sighed. “We don’t have to be adversaries.”

“You say that as if you’re the one in charge,” Isabella said again.

“Because he is,” Theo said, and they all stared at him.

I tried to tamp down the pride swelling at those words—along with the overwhelming pressure.

Theo continued. “He’s the eldest. He’s the one thattakes care of us. And he’s the CEO of Cage Enterprises. He’s going to be the one that deals with the paperwork fallout.”

“Because family is just paperwork?” Emily asked, her voice lost.

I shook my head. “No, family is insane, and apparently, it’s been secret all along. And it looks like we have a few introductions to make, and a few tests to redo. But if it turns out it’s true, we’re Cages, and we don’t back down.”

“And what does that mean?” Isabella asked, her tone far too careful.

Theo was the one who finally answered. “It means we’re going to have to figure shit out.”

And for just an instant, the thought of that beautiful woman with that gorgeous smile came to mind, and I pushed those thoughts away. My family was breaking, or perhaps breaking open. And I didn’t have time to worry about things like a woman who had made me smile.

The Cages needed me and after today’s meeting there would be no going back to sanity.

Ever.

Chapter Two

BLAKELY

Dear Diary,

Love at first sight can’t exist. Because if it did, he’d have called.

Three MonthsLater

By the timethe seventh door had been metaphorically slammed in my face, I probably should have taken the hint. Only I didn’t know exactly what hint that should be at this pointin my desperation.

Me:

They said no, and this time didn’t even bother to put on a fake smile as they pushed me out of their lovely high-rise.

Isabella:

Seriously? Not even a real “excuse?”

Me:

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