Page 30 of Forbidden Bond

It doesn’t happen often.

CHAPTER 10

Topher

“Question,” Katie says, lifting herself onto the hood of my car beside me.

I give her a look because I stepped outside the garage seeking some quality time to think on my own. She smiles and hands me a cup of coffee. I sigh, accepting it and beckoning for her to speak.

“What did you study in college? And what college did you go to?”

I smile. “I really don’t want to tell you.”

“Why not?”

It’s been a few days since she started working here and things have been going well. There haven’t been any issues and I’m not sure what I was even worried about in the first place.

Then I look into her eyes and I remember. Too pretty.

“Because my college qualifications might be the only aspect you haven’t pegged about me yet. And I like being mysterious,” I tell her waggling my eyebrows.

She scoffs. “Please, you’re great with cars. Like really, really good from what I can tell. You probably studied mechanical engineering in college or something along that line.”

“That’s the easy enough part to guess. What do you think, princess? Am I Ivy-League material? Or did I go to a normal college.”

Her gaze narrows.

“You probably went to an Ivy-League school,” she finally says on a sigh. “With you, it’s always good to expect the unexpected. Plus, you seem like exactly the kind of guy that likes to downplay his intelligence.”

“I don’t downplay anything. I just don’t see the need to input my qualifications into every conversation.”

“I don’t do that,” Katie says defensively.

“You do,” I tell her with a small smile. “It’s fine. It’s a product of your upbringing, not necessarily a mirror of your personality.”

“Just tell me what college you went to,” she grumbles.

“Princeton,” I say, to which her eyes widen. “Surprised?”

She shakes her head. “No, like I said. You’re exactly the type of guy to downplay how smart he is.”

She slides off the car and I follow. “You seem upset,” I note.

“I am not.”

“It irks you, doesn’t it? That I might be smarter than you.”

“You are smarter than me. And no, it doesn’t irk me.”

Liar. I don’t push it, though. She heads over to her desk and I’m about to follow when someone appears in front of the garage. Carlo walks in like he owns the place and I immediately rush to my brother’s side.

“What are you doing here?”

He raises a dark eyebrow. “Visiting my little brother? Why are you so jumpy?”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. The gang war that Katherine’s father was shot in happens to be one of the first times our dad let Christian and Carlo be actively involved in the business. Which means they were probably there, and there’s a possibility one of them might have pulled the trigger.

“Nothing. Come on, let’s take a walk,” I say, placing my hand on his shoulder, intent on getting him out of here.

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