Page 83 of Forbidden Love

“That’s great. I’m so proud of you.” I never doubted her. It was a cause everyone could get behind.

I dropped my forehead to hers and kissed her again.

“What’s going on?” Xander came upon us without any warning.

Kylie stepped away from me, guilt settling in the lines on her face, and she wouldn’t meet my gaze.

It was like time slowed and there was no one else on the sidewalk except for Kylie and her very pissed-off brother.

Xander looked from Kylie to me. “Are you fucking my sister?”

I held my hands up. “That’s not what this is.”

Kylie’s eyes widened as if I’d denounced us—her. I was fucking this up.

“So, I didn’t just see you kiss my sister?”

I swallowed hard. “You did.”

Kylie glared at me and then turned her anger on Xander. “What business is it of yours who I date?”

Xander ignored his sister and kept his gaze on me. “I asked you to look after my sister. Not fuck her.”

Irritation finally pushed through the shock. “Don’t talk about your sister like that.”

“Xander asked you to look after me, and you agreed? What are you, my babysitter?” Kylie asked.

My breath caught in my throat. I was floundering. I couldn’t seem to form any words to appease either of them. This was spiraling downward fast, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Xander shook his head in disgust. “Friends don’t sleep with their friends’ sisters.”

“We were kids when you said that.” I knew that decree hadn’t waned in any shape or form just because Kylie was an adult, but I had to say something in my defense.

“You knew how I felt.”

Kylie’s fingers curled into fists. “You don’t want me to date anyone. If you could keep me in a glass ball, you would.”

My heart fell because this was how Kylie had always felt, and I had no idea if Xander got that.

“You’re just doing this to get a rise out of us,” Xander said, dismissing her feelings.

Kylie’s eyes shone with tears. “I’m with Tyler because I love him. Or at least I thought I did.”

Her words were like a sucker punch to my chest. That was what I should have led with when Xander confronted us. I loved her. But I’d missed my opportunity. She wouldn’t believe it now.

“You’ve never respected me as a person. If you did, you wouldn’t interfere with my love life and tell men not to date me.” Kylie rounded on me with an index finger pointed at my sternum, “And you. How could you promise Xander to watch out for me like I’m a child? I expected more from you.”

I nodded slowly, my heart pounding in my chest. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Was any of this real?” Her voice was filled with exasperation and so much pain.

“Of course, it was.” I was vaguely aware that Xander had stalked off, probably to tell his brothers where to find me and kick my ass. But my heart was pounding in my ears, and there was this roaring, like the surf pounding against jagged rocks. I couldn’t process anything. It was like the world had sped up around me and I was still in slow motion.

“You knew how I felt about my brothers’ interference and yet you were part of it. You talked to him about me. You made some promises to him. How can I ever trust that what happened between us was real and not some ill-advised promise to my brother?”

Before I could answer, she shook her head as if to rid me of it and walked away.

“Kylie, wait—” But I didn’t know what to say that could fix the situation. I’d fucked up, and everything was falling apart. I should have told her what Xander said to me, but I’d forgotten about it.

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