Page 73 of Broken King

Unlike Jessie, my sister is more like me, so maybe she’ll understand what’s going on. “I have a problem.”

She laughs and points at my face. “I already could tell that by your expression. You’re like me, Kate. We’d be terrible poker players. So what’s wrong?”

Blowing the air out of my lungs in a rush, I try to find the best way to explain what I’m dealing with. My sister is going through her marriage breaking up after her husband stepped out withanother woman, so the last thing she needs to hear is something similar happening to me.

“It’s Ronan.”

That doesn’t say much, so she eats another chip and says, “I could have guessed that. He’s the only new thing in your life. I thought you were crazy about him.”

“I am. I’m crazy, head over heels in love with him just like I always have been. All it took was just a couple times together, and I’m as in love with him as I was when we broke up.”

She listens, crunching on those potato chips, and swallows a mouthful. “Ah, I get it. You’re afraid he’s going to cheat on you again. That makes sense. I’d probably feel that way about a guy if I started dating now too. But Ronan isn’t like that. I mean, yes, he cheated on you that once, but he was crushed when you left him over that. Don’t you remember how he would call and text every day after? I think if he wasn’t away at school, he would have camped out on the doorstep to see you.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

At least she brought up the subject of cheating without crying. She must be feeling better. I bet if I mentioned that jerk husband of hers, she’d start bawling her eyes out, though.

Best to stay far away from that topic.

“Then what? Are you having a hard time with his disability?” she asks before grabbing another chip and popping it into her mouth.

What is she talking about?

“Ronan isn’t disabled, Kelly. He’s fine. He’s just working through what happened to him.”

That gets me an odd look, and she stops eating. Setting the bag of chips down on the table, she says, “He lost his hand in a car accident, Kate. He’s disabled now. You may not want to think of him like that, but that’s the way it is. I’m glad he’sworking through things, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s disabled.”

I’ve never thought of him as that until this very moment. Ronan has always been so much more than his physical body. I mean, of course I love how he looks. How could I not? His dark hair and dark eyes with his chiseled face and perfect mouth are nothing short of gorgeous. And that’s nothing compared to the rest of him.

But I fell in love with the person who made me smile and cared about what I thought, unlike the other boys at school who always seemed interested in only one thing—getting into my pants. Ronan was sweet. Is sweet. That’s what I love most about him. He’s a man who’s not afraid to show someone he cares about them.

He’s everything I ever dreamed of in a man all wrapped up into one incredible package.

“You know, it’s so typically you that you didn’t think of him as disabled. This is why you’re going to be a great teacher at that school. Kids need adults who see past what the outside is. You’ve got that in spades.”

My sister and I didn’t get along for a long time, but somehow through her sadness at the end of her marriage, she’s become one of my biggest cheerleaders. I like that.

“Thanks. I guess I just don’t care about him not having a right hand. To me, he’s still Ronan, the boy I fell in love with who I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with.”

Kelly returns to eating her chips and asks, “So what’s the problem?”

I hesitate to say anything about Sabrina, but since my sister already broached the subject of cheating men, I guess it’s okay. “There’s another girl,” I say quietly.

The stunned expression I see on my sister’s face says I might have been mistaken about her being able to handle that,so I quickly add, “He hasn’t done anything. Well, I’m not sure. Maybe he has. God, I don’t know.”

I’m surprised when she pushes the bag of chips away and sets her hands down on the table in front of her. “Okay, tell me everything. I have experience with this, after all, so I’ll know if he’s doing anything he shouldn’t be.”

“See that’s the problem. Why shouldn’t he do something? He and I aren’t exclusive like we were back in the day.”

She waves away that issue. “None of that matters. Now tell me what’s happening.”

I take a deep breath and start explaining the problem. “There’s a girl working for Ava and Matthias taking care of their kids. Not really a girl, actually. I’m not sure how old she is, but the way she fills out a bikini tells me she isn’t a girl at all. So let’s say she’s a woman. Pretty. More like beautiful. And she and Ronan spend time together. I don’t know how he feels, but I think she’s into him. Then I saw his brother last night, and he made things worse.”

As I tear up thinking about how frustrated that brother of his makes me, she grumbles, “Let me guess. Marius. I swear he’s the worst King of them all. What did he do?”

“He mentioned Sabrina like he knew something about the two of them together. I don’t know what to do, Kelly. I’ve wanted Ronan back for so long. I know you don’t understand how I could forgive him for cheating, but I did. And now that I have the chance to finally get what I want, this pretty thing with a gorgeous body who talks to him and makes him happy is getting in the way.”

My sister smiles at me. “It is what it is when it comes to what he did. The only person who has to forgive him is you, and you do, so that’s that. It’s settled. As for this Sabrina person, first of all, can I tell you how much I hate that name? Ever since that stupid witch show, I’ve hated it. I hate all witchy names, butthat’s the worst. But I digress. She may be pretty, but she’s not you, Kate. Ronan never stopped loving you. I’d bet money on it.”

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