Page 28 of Buying Time

Kenz glanced at me, as though telling me to take point.

“Not long—just a month or so.”

“And yet you’re already serious enough to go on TV and air your dirty laundry?” my father asked.

So much for a nice conversation.

“It’s not dirty laundry.” I flashed a forced smile that I knew lacked warmth or humor. “And what was I supposed to do? We got caught on camera, and I was being hounded by reporters. By doing an interview, it made the story less fun.”

“It would be better if you behaved yourself so you didn’t end up in the tabloids in the first place. I honestly do not understand how you can cause us so many problems? Your brotherneverdoes this sort of thing.”

Right.The precious golden child who always did the right thing, who never made a mistake. Erik Moore, the child my parents had always wanted, and me? Just the spare, the fuck-up, the one who never lived up to expectations.

I sighed because having this fight was the last thing I wanted. I didn’t enjoy them in general, but I sure didn’t want Kenz to witness it.

“And what do you do?” my mother asked Kenz, in that same tone she used when trying to calm things down between my father and me. She always was the peacemaker, huh? Still, the way she could just move on and pretend nothing had happened was so indicative of how our family ran.

“I’m a student,” Kenz said, her tone light and cheerful. It told me all I needed to know—she’d grown up in theexactsame sort of household and knew how to play that game.

“Oh really? What are you studying?”

“Fine arts with an emphasis in painting,” Kenz said, a light in her eyes that showed how much she loved art.

I missed that feeling…

My father snorted softly, the dismissive sound making me draw my hand into a fist to keep myself quiet. He could put me down all he wanted, but I sure wouldn’t stand for him doing it to Kenz.

“Are you at the local university?” my mother asked.

Kenz shook her head. “I’m going to the Art Institute.”

This time my father at least paused. “That is a difficult school to gain entrance to.”

“It was, but I was lucky enough to manage it. I took a lot of extra credits before I got in and had to get so many reference letters. Still, it was worth it.”

“But you’re so young,” my mother said. “You barely look old enough to drink.”

Her cheeks flushed, and I knew the reason. In reality, shewasn’told enough to drink, at only nineteen, but she couldn’t say that. Watching her walk the line between truth and lie was always amusing, though. “I know I look young, but I’m actually twenty-one. I went to boarding schools, and I knew what I wanted to do, so I made sure to be ready.”

“That is surprisingly studious,” my father said, sitting back as someone served the plates of food to us. “Most of the woman my son runs around with are nothing more than pretty faces. I have to wonder what you’re doing around him.”

And there it was, the disappointment I was so used to with my father.

Of course, I had to wonder the same thing. The way Kenz had admitted to loving us, it had thrown me for a loop, and I still couldn’t quite get a handle on it. There was no doubt—the girl was so far outside of my league it wasn’t even funny.

“You realize that any spouse of this family will have a prenup, correct? So if you’re hoping for a payout, that won’t happen.”

Kenz didn’t flinch under the harsh look from my father. Her smile never faltered. “I’m not worried about that. My father passed away about a year ago and left me more than enough to live off comfortably in a trust, even after funding my education, so I have absolutely no designs on his money. I’d be happy to sign a contract to that effect right now.”

My father blinked slowly, a look I’d never seen on his face. Not much shut my father up. He’d spent his life in the world of politics, used to dealing with rich and entitled people. I’d watched him force the ugliest and most arrogant of men to back up, where his stern expression and sharp words had caused them to submit.

Yet here he was, silenced by the spit of a girl beside him.

Pretending I didn’t love her was stupid, wasn’t it? Even if I couldn’t do anything about it, even if I couldn’t give in to it, there wasn’t a point or reason for me to lie to myself. Each time I saw her, each time we spoke, each time I saw another side of her, I fell more hopelessly in love with her.

“Sorry I’m late,” came a voice that made my shoulders tighten.

I turned to see my brother there, dressed in a black suit that made him look so much like our father. I’d taken more after our mother, but Erik? He was Father’s miniature in every fucking way. “If I’d known you were coming, I would have skipped.”

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