Page 21 of If You Were Mine
Weston smiled though I wasn’t sure it reached his eyes when he looked at me. Of course, that was probably a projection. “I am brilliant. Thank you. Your sister tells me that all the time.”
That made me snort, the smile on my face feeling slightly disused. “I’m pretty sure Isabella has never said that.”
Weston smiled like a man in love. A man who had his life before him and was damn happy with the outcome. “Your sister loves me. And one day she’s going to marry me, and you’re going to have to deal with me as your real brother-in-law, rather than just playacting as we’re doing now.”
That made me roll my eyes. “I call you my brother-in-law in my head, so whenever you get the balls to actually propose, it won’t change much.”
“You always say the kindest things.” He shrugged as I followed him into the old house.
The place had already been furnished when I moved in, and though there had been a caretaker thanks to the lawyer, they hadn’t done much. It left little to be desired. And from the look on Weston’s face, he agreed.
“By the way, I’ll propose eventually. When Isabella’s least expecting it.”
I snorted. “Seriously?”
Weston leaned against the counter, that knowing and secret smile once again on his face. “That woman is amazing at everything she does and likes things in a certain way. So I’m going to surprise her. Because you know how she loves surprises.”
“I might not have grown up with my sister, but I know her well enough to know that you are delusional.” Isabella was headstrong, brilliant, and always spoke her mind when it came to protecting those she loved. As the eldest of her branch of the family, she reminded me of Aston in a lot of ways. And oddly enough, a little bit of Theo in the way she pushed in a kind way.
“But she loves me.” Weston just smiled. “And I was waiting for the twins to be settled in college and my brother to be set with his next phase in his career, that way I didn’t have to play big brother.”
Weston, much like Joshua, had lost his parents when he was younger. But unlike Joshua, Weston had been forced to raise his three younger siblings. From the time the twins were ten, Weston had been their guardian.
Joshua on the other hand, hadn’t had the chance to be Harper’s guardian.
My hands fisted at my sides for a moment as Weston opened my fridge to see what meager offerings I had. I’d picked up a few things from the main general store, but there wasn’t much.
I had a feeling that’s how everyone knew I was in town, because you couldn’t walk through the small downtown of Cage Lake as a Cage without people noticing.
My business was always out there for everybody to see. I had grabbed a few things to get me through and really missed delivery already. I did not like the stares, because they weren’t as kind as the ones from my family. No, my family had good intentions. I didn’t know what the town wanted.
Because the town and Joshua hadn’t been able to keep Harper safe. Not when she had been a kid. Joshua hadn’t been able to keep custody of Harper, not until he had won a vicious battle with their grandparents.
My best friend had hidden most of it from me, at least the parts of why he was able to get his kid sister back. And I didn’t dare to think about what Harper had gone through in the process.
But now I was back in town, and my best friend was gone, and that meant I was the only person left to make sure Harper was okay. That she had someone in her corner.
I was doing a piss poor job of it.
“Do you want a beer? Water? Because we don’t have much else,” Weston drawled.
“I’m fine.”
Weston gave me a look that spoke volumes. “You’re not in the city. There’s no food delivery. Though the pizza place does have a delivery boy. Just not when there’s ice. Or heavy wind. Or a chill. And since you’re in the middle of the forest in this shack, that makes the chance of him showing up around zero.”
I laughed at that though it was a hollow one. The place was three stories with six bedrooms and four bathrooms, let alone countless other tiny rooms with different names. It wasn’t a shack.
“It’s fine. I have enough food to get me by.”
“And I have a feeling you’re not going to want to go into the restaurants to eat there, so we’re going to need to make sure you get more.”
“Do not text Isabella,” I warned, but Weston just smiled at me.
“Too late. I snapped a few photos of your bare cupboards, so the love of my life will probably be over soon with a color-coded spreadsheet and a meal wheel for you.”
“What the hell is a meal wheel?” Hudson asked as he stomped inside, kicking off snow as he did. “Wood’s done. But fuck, Dorian. What the hell are you doing in this place? Do you even know how to fix the subflooring?”
There was probably a metaphor somewhere in that but I didn’t have the energy to find one. “Contrary to popular belief, I did help build my clubs. I didn’t just sign a check and call it a day. I know how to fix this place up.”
