Page 14 of Fragile Love (Fragile 3)
He swallowed. Maybe he should’ve kept his mouth shut.
Chapter 03
LILLIAN’S EXPRESSION was colder than a stone sculpture. Cayden wondered if he needed to say something else because she stood for so long, not moving even the slightest bit.
Just as he was about to dare to open his mouth and ask if she was okay, she blinked. “What?”
“What, what?”
“Cayden,” she said in a loud whisper, inching closer to his face, “How can this not be the best option?”
“I don’t know exactly, Lil,” he said, feeling the heat in his body. “I mean, I just said that you’re amazing for offering to take care of him and see him through until he’s ready and able to go back to his normal routine as he always did. But that’s going to be a long time from now.”
“So?”
“So, I mean, we just got back together. Don’t you think that we need some time to ourselves to figure out, well, us?”
She sighed. “Cayden, it’s not going to be like Andrew will have to be in the same room with us all the time. We’re still going to have time for ourselves.”
“Yeah, but we don’t know for sure. I haven’t even officially moved back yet. My clients still need me to finish up some things. I, well, I have a lot to handle there before I leave permanently.” He felt a grimace scrunch up his face. “So, my visits back home are going to be short until it’s all taken care of, and I’m not sure if I like the idea of having to share you when I’m home.”
“Share me?” Her brows pressed together.
&n
bsp; He paused. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Andrew’s not taking me away from you, Cayden. He’s family, and I’m helping him. He would do the same for me.”
“It’s just a hard thought for me. Having him around all the time seems like it would only add something else to your life to worry about. Look at the big picture: you have a successful business, and not only that but you’re a one-woman show. And we’ve just gotten back together, and both of our jobs are expanding in great ways. We might need to travel for work a lot more often.”
Lillian stared at him.
I wish she would say something, he thought. When she doesn’t say anything, it doesn’t help me make any more arguments. He couldn’t think of any other reasons that this wouldn’t work—except one. “I mean, will your cats be able to handle having someone unfamiliar in the house all the time?”
It finally clicked with Lillian where this was going. She crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. “Are you jealous, Cayden?”
What? He took a step back. “What?”
“Are you jealous of Andrew?”
“Hell no, Lil. Why would I be?”
“I don’t know, because you were last time he visited and you two didn’t exactly become best friends at first sight.”
“Maybe that’s because he likes you.”
A weird look came over her face. “No.”
“Well, he stayed over at your house before, right after our argument. Convenient timing. How do you know he doesn’t like you?”
“What reason do you have not to trust me? I’ve literally never given you any reason not to trust me. I’m not like your ex!” Her face grew red from anger. “How many times do I have to tell you? Andrew has always been and will always be my brother. The closest thing to a brother I’ve ever had, at least. That’s it. And that’s even more reason for you to not be jealous.”
“I’m not jealous!”
“Would you be quiet?” she hissed, looking around to make sure no one heard. “This is not a good place to have this conversation right now!”
“Do you want to go outside?”
