Page 7 of Forbidden Love

“When will you stop caring about who I date?” I asked them, the familiar irritation flaring to life.

“Never,” Xander said, softening his response with a wink.

“You’ll always be our little sister,” Oliver said.

He was the oldest and the one I was the least close to. By the time I was in fifth grade, he’d left for college.

I sighed, weary of pointing this out. “I’m not little anymore. I’m a grown-up and can handle myself. If you want me to stick around, you need to start treating me as the independent woman I am.”

Xander winced. “You haven’t been around in a while. We just need to adjust to having you home.”

“We want you to stay. I hope you know that,” Eli said, ever the peacemaker in our family.

“I lived on my own in Europe. I don’t need you warning me off guys.” Silence fell between us. “Not that it matters. I’m not ready for a relationship yet.”

Eli leaned his elbows on his knees, his eyes soft. “You want to talk about that?”

“I don’t ever want to talk about men with you. Any of you.” I gestured around the room at them. I was closest to Killian since we were nearest in age, but I wouldn’t even talk to him about guys.

There was some agreement between them to thwart any relationship they discovered. They were notorious in high school for warning guys off me. No one wanted to cross a Wilde boy. They were known for being reckless, eager to get into a fight, and held the power to ban them from the resort. The last part probably wasn’t true, but kids always believed it when they said it.

“As long as you don’t date any of our friends,” Xander said.

Xander was the adventurous one and usually pulled our older brothers out of their serious and contemplative moods. Growing up, we joked that Oliver and Eli both had oldest-kid syndrome, and the younger ones just got wilder and more fun loving. No one included me in those descriptions. I was merely the youngest, the only girl. I was an afterthought. “I’m not ready to date, but even if I was, your friends wouldn’t look at me twice.”

Xander crossed his arms over his chest. “Then we’ve done our job.”

“You don’t need to protect me from anyone.” With three of my brothers in the tiny office, their eyes on me, I felt like I was under a microscope.

Oliver shifted his weight. “We don’t want you to feel like we’re interfering.”

I bit back the familiar feelings of resentment and said, “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me since I’ve been home.”

“We just want you to be happy,” Xander said.

“I am.” Except I wasn’t even sure what that word meant. It seemed like something elusive that other people experienced. I hadn’t felt truly happy in a long time.

I’d wanted to leave Telluride after high school, and I had. I stayed away for years, but now I was back, and all my old insecurities were popping up again. I could stay and deal with it or run away again.

CHAPTER 3

TYLER

I spent the morning touring potential properties to build my new house. A few were just lots so I could build exactly what I wanted, but my realtor insisted on showing me a couple of houses. I wanted a new build like Mac had.

There were a few possibilities, but I wanted to show my brothers. They both had a good sense of what lots were conducive to building. I was a little wary of making such a big decision without their approval.

I intended to meet my brothers at Mac’s house afterward. Their women, Natalie and Alice, had gone shopping together, leaving them with the kids. When I arrived, Delaney was pushing Maggie on the new swing Mac had hung from a large tree in his backyard.

It was one of those round discs that could spin in any direction. Delaney was taking turns pushing Maggie and spinning her in circles. High-pitched screams and giggles floated over the yard to where we sat on the patio.

I balanced a beer bottle on my thigh as I considered my brothers. Mac stood in front of the grill, and Sam sat next to me.

Over the past few years, our parents allowed us to take over more of the business, and the charity project was solely ours.

“How’d it go at Kylie’s event the other night at the lodge?” Mac asked.

“I don’t go to many of these, but it seemed well-organized. I hope she raised a lot of money.”

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