Page 63 of Green Light

I lowered my hands. “Always straight to the violence with you.”

“Problem with being the youngest sibling, I’m afraid. Got to play to your strengths.”

“And violence is your strength?”

“I’ll give you a demonstration if you don’t quit trying to distract me. What happened with Kai? Why aren’t you fucking like a pair of Energizer Bunnies and staring lovingly into each others’ eyes?”

I sighed. Should I really be talking to Ruby about this? She was Kai’s sister, but she felt like mine too. I’d been in her life since she was a baby and regarded her as my sibling as much as Kai did.

“Two reasons. One, he has a boyfriend.”

Ruby waved her hand dismissively. “Tristan has been in his life for, like, five minutes. There’s no way Kai would let that stand in the way of the two of you.”

I snorted because that was exactly what was happening. “And two, he didn’t believe me. He thinks I’m jealous of Tristan taking over my role in his life.”

“Are you?”

“Of course I am. But that’s not why I feel like this. I think…I think I fell in love with Kai a very long time ago. Probably not long after we met. I was just…oblivious. Blind.”

“And it took seeing him with Tristan to realise that?” There was a note of suspicion in her voice like she could see where Kai was coming from.

“Nope.” I met her eyes, not hiding a thing. “I started to realise it when I kissed him. By the time he returned from filming, I was sure of it.”

Ruby regarded me silently for a beat. “You’re confident about this? About Kai? You’re not going to change your mind a few months down the line and realise you were better off as friends?”

“I’m sure. Kai is the one thing in my life I’ve always been sure about. I’m not going to change my mind.” I took in a shaky breath. “That’s what the fight was really about. Kai wasn’t willing to risk our friendship, but I’m not going to settle for that. I can’t. Not now that I know I want so much more.”

Ruby drained her glass in a few impressive gulps. “Okay. Then here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to go upstairs and shower while I clean up down here. You’re going to put on your jeans—the black pair, not the torn ones you normally slouch around in—your soft blue button-down Kai got you for Christmas, and your brown brogues.”

Ruby’s bossiness almost had me smiling. “Then what?”

“Then we’re heading to Mum and Dad’s, and you’re going to show Kai what he’s missing.”

ThepeptalkRubygave me was completely undermined by the sight that greeted us when we arrived at her parents’ house.

The table was full, every spot bar one occupied.

And in the seat at Kai’s side, the one usually reserved for me, was Tristan. The only other person who wasn’t a blood relative was Mia’s husband, Duncan.

Kai was the only one who noticed our arrival, his lips parting in surprise. He snuck a quick glance at Tristan before returning his gaze to me.

Was that guilt? Shame? Or was he just pissed that I was encroaching on their time with his family? Meeting the parents was a monumental moment, after all.

Everyone was chatting animatedly, asking Tristan question after question. It struck me then that this was a first for Kai and me.

For him, it was the first time he’d brought someone home.

For me, it was the first time in decades that I felt like I wasn’t part of the family.

I took a step back, preparing to flee. Kai’s eyes widened in alarm as his chair scraped along the floor.

Everyone looked up at the noise, swivelling in their seats to see what had caught Kai’s attention. I lifted my foot to step back again, but Ruby, the traitor she was, gave me a hard shove in the small of my back.

“Silas,” Mike cried, getting to his feet. “You’re here! I was starting to worry you weren’t coming.”

I ignored the burning stare from Kai, focusing instead on the larger-than-life man before me. “Wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Can’t let you make your diabetes worse by eating the cake all on your own.”

Mike’s laugh was booming as he wrapped me in a bear hug. “Give it a few more years and the doctors will be on you too. I’m telling you, it’s no fun getting older.”

---