Page 90 of The Forever Rule

She nodded against me, pulled back, and then wiped her face. “I’m sorry we’re not staying for dinner.”

“Well, if the lawyer asks, you did. After all, we already sent him proof,” James said dryly, and then Sophia fled after Kyler, and I stood there with my brothers, wondering what the hell was going on.

“So, baby brother knew.” Dorian tipped back his drink, before setting the glass down on the side table. “No wonder his music gets a little angstier every once in a while. Dear old Dad sure liked to fuck with all of us.”

“I want to be angry and a little annoyed that he knew and didn’t tell anyone, but then again, what did Dad do to make sure he kept quiet?” James asked, and my gaze shot to him. “I have no idea. But I have a feeling we’re just scraping the surface of Dad’s secrets.”

James sighed and gestured toward the table. “Let’s eat, since you have everything out, and we can discuss business.”

Dorian blinked. “Oh joy. I’m excited.”

“You are welcome to leave,” I said. “Since it seems that our second dinner is going to be a little shorter than the first.”

“No there’s food. I’ll stay and listen. Maybe you’re going to need my expertise.”

James laughed, and Dorian flipped him off, before I took a seat at the table, my brothers following. “You know, you have to head to Cage Lake next week,” James said after a moment, and I sighed, knowing he was right.

“Going to go visit Hudson?” Dorian asked.

“Yes, and I have to meet with the resorts. A few business dealings. I could just go there and back in one day.”

“Or you could take a couple of days off.”

I stared at James as if he’d lost his mind. “Excuse me?”

“Go on a Friday, enjoy the weekend.”

“Why are you telling me to take a vacation? You know we’re busy.”

“It’s just a weekend. And maybe you could take Blakely.”

Dorian choked and slammed his fist against his chest. “That was so subtle. But yes, you should totally take Blakely on a weekend trip.”

“I have no idea why you two think that my relationship, whatever it is, with Blakely has anything to do with the two of you.”

“You’re going to be wrong there,” James added with a sigh. “However, maybe you should just enjoy yourself.”

“Where is this coming from?” I asked, honestly confused.

“Because Dad keeps ruining everything. Look what he did to Kyler. We don’t even know the half of it. You need to go up to the town in order to get work done, and I know something weird is going on in your head about this relationship with Blakely.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, my tone icy.

“You don’t have to lie. You could just stay silent, but we both know you’ve got something in your head about being the leader of this family, and whatnot.”

“I don’t know what that has to do with me and Blakely.”

“I just don’t want you to fuck things up like Dad did.”

James winced at his words, and Dorian cursed under his breath. I looked between the two of them, wondering if they had been talking about me behind my back. Or if I was just seeing things.

“Well, it’s good to know exactly what we all feel about Dad and what we do with him and his legacy.”

“That’s not what I meant. But there’s something going on in your head. So take this time. You’re allowed to you know.”

“So you want me to take Blakely and show her our small town, and what, make her fall in love with me?” I asked, not liking the tone of my voice.

“Or maybe you could just take that stick out of your ass for once and relax. I wasn’t there the time you met her, but I heard about it. I heard that you smiled more. So just do something. Don’t let Dad ruin everything.”

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