Page 27 of Family Forever
She sat frozen in place.
“Marissa, look at me.”
She slowly turned her head toward him.
“These things happen. Everything turned out okay that day with Nate.”
“You never forget. You do everything right,” she interjected.
Little did she know, he’d need at least two more sets of hands and feet to count how many times he’d felt like a big fat failure through the years when it came to raising his brothers.
“I wish that were true,” he whispered.
Her big ocean-blue gaze studied him. “It is, and like I’ve said before, I don’t know how you do it, never losing control like I did last night. I just felt like I needed a break, and going to Jake’s party seemed like the perfect opportunity to provide such.”
Not wanting to hear anymore, Dylan held up his hand. He felt like such a heel, making a nineteen-year-old girl feel guilty for going to a party. Though in many ways, she was mature beyond her age, he needed to remember how young she really was. What he’d give for her to be a few years older and through the party stage of her life. “As for last night, you’re young, you deserve to have fun, and you and Cole did the responsible thing by calling me for a ride. Furthermore, you are the best thing that has happened to my brothers in a long time.”
Her intense gaze bore into him, straight into his soul. He tried to look away but couldn’t. He hoped she couldn’t see the truth in his eyes about how he felt about her. He couldn’t admit it, not yet, maybe not ever, for her own good, that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She deserved a normal life, not the kind he could offer her at present, one full of more responsibility than any young woman her age should bear.
After a moment, her gaze softened, and he would have sworn a look of disappointment flashed through it. A tear glistened on her cheek and it took every bit of strength he had not to reach over and wipe it away with his fingers. Touching her at this very second would be too much of a risk for him. The feel of her soft, pale skin would make him want to kiss her, and that simply could not happen.
