Page 46 of Falling For The Enemy (The Gilbert Curse)

“Too fancy?” she asked. “You just said you are a CEO. You can have whatever you want. You’ve worked hard and you deserve it.”

He let his breath out in one long exhale and then moved around so that their eyes met. “I don’t think that I do deserve it. I’m sort of on the path that I think my father wanted for my brother.”

Her heart ached for Kit. She put her hands on either side of his face. “You’ve done them proud. It’s time to start living for yourself.”

“I’m not sure I know how,” he admitted hoarsely.

There was a rawness to his tone that made her wanted to hug him tightly to her. “Well, as it turns out, I’ve got some experience in that. I can help you out.”

“Would you do that?” he asked.

“Yes, I would. It’s the least I could do for you, Kit, in return for all you’ve given me.”

He kissed her then, pulling her fully under his body, and made love to her slowly and completely. She drifted to sleep afterward, and for once her sleep wasn’t full of dreams of what she’d never had—they were dominated by Kit and their life in the future.

Kit left Rory sleeping and walked into town to Lulu’s coffee shop to get some pastries and coffee for them both. He didn’t let himself dwell too much on the fact that last night he’d made a decision for his future and he wasn’t sure what his aunt was going to think of it.

But hewasgoing to have to talk to her. And while he could use her busy social schedule as an excuse, the truth was that the moment he’d started sleeping with Rory, he should have let his aunt know that he wasn’t as committed to their plan of ruining the Gilbert family as he’d been before.

There was a chill in the air as he walked back to Rory’s place. It was early November and he couldn’t help but feel that everything was coming together in his life. The accident that had taken his brother’s life had been on December 12. Not too much longer until the eleven-year anniversary of his death. It was hard to think about a decade without Dec.

Last night was the first time he’d admitted to himself that he had been living the life that he thought that Dec would have wanted for himself. But they hadn’t been close when Dec died, so Kit really had no idea what his brother had wanted.

Like Rory said, it was time to start living for himself.

He wasn’t paying attention when he turned onto the street that he and Rory lived on but when he got to his house, he noticed his aunt’s car in the drive. She got out when she saw him.

“Nephew,” she said.

“Aunt Mal. I wasn’t expecting you today,” he said, going over and giving her a hug.

“I figured. You haven’t been in Boston lately and you’ve been avoiding my texts. So I decided to come to you,” she informed him.

“I’m glad. I’ll let you into my house and then I have to go and give this coffee to my friend,” he said.

“What friend?” she asked as he unlocked the door and motioned for her to go inside.

“Rory Gilbert.”

Aunt Mal looked down her nose at him. “So you’re still working that angle?”

“No. I’m not working her at all. I like her, Aunt Mal. Also, I have some questions about the Gilberts’ involvement in our family’s misfortune.”

“Okay. Like what?” she asked.

“Well, for one thing, Dad and Dec were sent a letter telling them that the factory was closing and offering them work in Boston,” Kit said. “That’s different than what we were led to believe. Just makes me wonder what else we might have wrong.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I see. Well, I guess we’ll have to talk to the family.”

“That’s what I’m thinking. Get their side and see where there are discrepancies,” he said.

“And you want to do all of this for the girl?”

He wasn’t sure he liked the way his aunt referred to Rory. “She’s a woman. And we’ve been dating. I like her, Aunt Mal. A lot.”

His aunt stared at him for a long time before nodding slowly and then smiled. “It’s about time you started dating seriously. I’d love to meet her.”

Kit let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding. He’d been so afraid that Aunt Mal wouldn’t want him to date Rory. But instead she was cool with it. How crazy was that? “I know she wants to meet you, too. Family is important to her.”

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