AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I frown, because he usually only comes to Wellington on business, maybe once a month, and we usually meet either at my office or at his hotel in the city. He’s never actually been to my house. He’s wearing jeans and an All-Blacks shirt, not a suit, so he’s obviously not here on business.
“Something up?” I ask, concerned.
He slides his hands into his pockets, and his gaze drifts past me. I turn and follow it, and realize he’s looking atLimerencewhere I’ve hung it on the wall. It’s quite clearly Belle in the flowing robes.
I look back at Alex. He doesn’t seem surprised. Oh… he knows about us. That’s why he’s here.
I go completely cold. Belle and I have joked about how to tell Alex about us, making teasing comments about how he’s going to go thermonuclear when he finds out, but the truth is that she’s his baby sister, and he’s very protective of her. The reason I haven’t told him is because I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship or our business relationship.
We study each other for about thirty seconds. His gaze is steady, calm. My heart races, and my mouth has gone dry.
I can’t think what to say. This guy is my best friend. He told me years ago to stay away from her, and I know I’ve betrayed our friendship by seeing Belle. I can’t talk my way out of this. And I don’t want to. I surprise myself by feeling a surge of resentfulness. I’m crazy about Belle. Of all the people that could be dating his sister, surely I’m one of the better options?
I realize he’s waiting for me to explain myself. I clear my throat. “Are you going to hit me?”
He rarely smiles, but for the first time the corners of his mouth curve up. “Do I need to?”
I blow out a breath. “Did you Uber here?” He nods. “You want a whisky?”
“Yeah, sure.”
I lead the way into the kitchen, retrieve two crystal whisky glasses, and toss in some ice cubes. I take out a bottle of forty-two-year-old Bunnahabhain Islay malt and, hoping he can’t see the way my hand is shaking, pour a splash in each glass, then pass him one. He takes it, and when I gesture at the living room, he goes in.
I look at the bottle of malt, pick it up, and take it in with me. I think I might need it before the night is out.
He sits in one of the armchairs and leans back, one ankle on the opposite knee. “I could totally take you, you know,” he says, having a mouthful of the whisky.
I give a short laugh. He’s lighter than me, and although we haven’t wrestled in many years, I’m pretty sure I’d win any physical battle. “You and whose army?”
“I’d cut you down with my witty sarcasm.”
“That I can believe.”
He runs his tongue across his teeth and swirls the whisky over the ice in his glass. “When were you going to tell me?”
“Soon,” I say. “How did you find out?”
“Juliette let it slip. She’s very upset about it.”
“Did you yell at her?”
“A little bit. It came out of left field.”
“I’m sorry. I should have told you before now, but I wanted to make sure there was something to tell, you know?” I realize that might sound as if I expected my fling with his sister to be a short-lived sex-fest, and almost blush. “I mean… Christ. You know how much I value your friendship. I would never jeopardize that…” Except I have, haven’t I? I swallow hard and stare into my whisky glass.
“Bro,” he says softly, “I’m not mad at you.”
I stare at him. “What?”
“Dude, she’s twenty-one. She can date whoever she likes. And I can hardly be outraged if she chooses you. You’re smart, dependable, loyal, and loaded. You’re my best mate. I’d rather her be with you than anyone else in the world. It’s not her I’m worried about.”
I blink. “Huh?”
He has another mouthful of whisky. “You’ve been through some shit, that’s all. I know you have issues after what happened with Christian and Kennedy.”
I’ve never told him the more intimate details, but I guess he’s picked up through the years that Christian’s death had a profound effect on me.
“The thing is,” he continues, “Belle is…” He hesitates. “She’s complicated. And I’m worried about the pressure it might put on you.”
