Page 3 of Forbidden Love

“I’ll be in touch.” I wasn’t ashamed to admit I’d transferred her number to my new phones over the years, even if I never reached out. I wasn’t going to ask her if she’d done the same. I was stronger than that.

She sighed and turned to leave.

“Kylie?”

She paused. Her brow arched. “Yes?”

“I’m glad you’re back.” It complicated things. I was worried about her brothers finding out, but I liked having her home. I wasn’t going to think about why that was.

“I’m not so sure I am,” she said when she spotted one of her brothers stalking toward us. She walked away before I could respond, probably trying to avoid him.

“What were you talking to Kylie about?” Eli asked. He oversaw hotel management, so he was always visible at an event like this.

“I talked to her about the possibility of working with Fletcher & Sons on a nonprofit.”

Eli raised a brow. “Was she game?”

I chuckled. “Not exactly. She has very clear ideas on what she wants.”

“I just wish she’d tell us what that is. She came back after whatever the hell happened at her job in Paris. She won’t say why she left, why she’s back, or how long she’s staying.”

I wanted to know more about her leaving her last job but asking would arouse Eli’s suspicions. “I can’t say I understand your sister.”

Eli shook his head. “Me either.”

“It might have something to do with us ignoring her when we were kids.” I hadn’t, but her brothers sure had. I’d never been able to ignore her. Every time she showed up where we were, I had this indescribable urge to protect her, to make her feel wanted, because her brothers always told her she wasn’t.

“She was always following us around. We did what any big brothers would do,” Eli said as he leaned on the bar to order a drink.

She was always sneaking out, trying to keep up with us, until that one time she got hurt. No one knew she was skiing on the hill behind us when she fell and broke her arm. I was the one who heard her cry out and carried her to the lodge.

She must have been in pain, but she didn’t cry. Her face was white, and I talked to her until we were at the bottom of the mountain, and I handed her over to her father. After that night, she never showed up when we were out like that again.

I wasn’t sure if it was her parents keeping an eye on her or if she didn’t want to get hurt again. I knew her brothers meant well. They pulled crazy stunts and were a little wild. They didn’t want her attempting to do the stuff they did. They wanted to protect her, but it came across like no one wanted her around.

Whenever I found myself alone with her, she grumbled about how lonely she felt as the youngest of five siblings. Even when her cousins visited, they were boys and played with her brothers. Each time she confided in me, I sympathized with her situation. I thought she was tough.

Eli took his drink, threw a few bills on the bar top for a tip, and turned to scan the room. “I heard you’re looking for a new place.”

“I want some land to build on.”

“Like Mac.”

Not that I wanted to copy my brother, but his place was amazing. He built a large house at the base of the mountains with enough property to grow and enjoy for a long time to come. It was perfect because he’d recently met and started dating Natalie, Kylie’s childhood friend. She had a daughter, and he’d even gotten a puppy. He’d said he was lonely before they moved in and was happy to fill his house.

I tried not to think about the fact that I’d be doing the same, building a house without someone to share it with. But then my goal wasn’t to be in a committed relationship. “Living downtown is getting old.”

“What are you talking about? You always talk about how you can walk to the bars.”

I chuckled and leaned an arm on the bar. “That’s not everything. Not anymore.”

“Your brothers settled down, and you are following in their footsteps.”

“They have their women locked down, but that’s not what I want.” I’d never thought about it too much. Mac had always been a romantic, wanting that relationship from a young age. When he got burned a few times, he took a step back, but we always knew his heart hadn’t changed. And when Natalie came around, we knew she was the one for him. It took him a little longer to figure it out.

Sam was a single dad, so he’d had to grow up in his early twenties. He didn’t think he’d ever have a committed relationship since he had a young daughter, but then he’d hired Alice to be his nanny, and the rest was history.

“I’m busy with work, and I enjoy my alone time too much to be committed to anyone. At least not anytime soon.”

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