Page 41 of Forbidden Love

“They wouldn’t want me dating her. One more reason to keep my distance.”

Sam’s jaw tightened. “I was going to say that you’re both adults and her brothers’ opinions shouldn’t matter.”

I shook my head. “They shouldn’t, but they do.”

“I have a feeling Kylie doesn’t care what they think, and any man good enough for her won’t either. It’s one thing to respect her brothers, but another to bow to them. And I don’t care if she hangs out with Maggie. I’m sure she’ll love her.”

“Me too.” Kylie was worried she wouldn’t be good with kids, but it was impossible not to adore Maggie.

“How do you want to juggle building your house with the rest of the scheduled projects?”

“I thought we’d work on it on the side. It’ll take longer, but then there won’t be any interruption to the business.”

Sam frowned. “What do you think about focusing on just your house? It will be done in a few months, then you can refocus on other projects.”

I shook my head. “I couldn’t do that.”

“I talked about it with Mac, and that’s how we’d like to handle it. We want you in a house sooner rather than later.”

“Why? We worked on your house and Mac’s house on the side.”

“We weren’t in a rush to move. We were already in a house. You’re in an apartment.”

“I don’t mind waiting.”

“We agreed this was best.”

“So that’s it, then? You already decided.”

“It’s not a bad thing. We want to do this for you. You’ll still be the foreman, overseeing everything.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “This is because you and Mac don’t have time on weekends and evenings anymore.”

Sam nodded as he leaned back in the chair. “That’s part of it. Mac’s having a baby. He wants to spend time with his family, and so do I.”

I felt something unfurl in my chest; it felt a lot like jealousy. I didn’t have anything taking up my weekends. I could go to the bar and have a drink with my buddies, but my brothers would be too busy for me. I used to think that freedom was everything. Now I wasn’t so sure. It must be nice to have someone waiting on you when you came home instead of an empty apartment.

“We want you to be happy. Settled.”

My forehead wrinkled. “You feel bad for me because I’m all alone.”

“That’s not it at all. We build houses. That’s what we do. We talk about the importance of home and that it reflects who you are. We want that for you too.”

On some level, they were worried about me, and that felt good, even as it chafed. I didn’t want my brothers talking about me, questioning whether I was settled and happy. Mostly because those same thoughts were plaguing me.

“And this thing with Kylie, let it flow naturally. Don’t worry about what other people would say or think. It only matters how you feel.”

I wanted Kylie. I was obviously attracted to her, but Sam was right. There had always been a connection there, even when we were kids. Didn’t I owe it to myself to explore it?

“Have you decided what you want yet? You should start ordering fixtures, cabinets, and appliances. I figured we could break ground as soon as you’re done with your current project.”

I was just overseeing the finishing touches on a home renovation. It was just the bathrooms and a kitchen, so it was fairly quick and easy. The owners weren’t micromanaging our every move.

We moved to the conference room and went over some basic styles of homes we’d built recently, but nothing stood out to me. I knew I wanted a two-story colonial, but I had no definite feelings about brick versus stone exterior, trim colors, or the interior design.

“You have a bit of time, but this is something we need to know to get started.”

I ran my hands through my hair. “I know. I’ll figure it out.”

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