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“I think so, considering Haylee called me from hers.”
Thankfully, we were all on the same floor and knew where everyone was staying. We walked quickly down to Josh’s suite, and I hoped they were still there.
Haylee answered the door with tears in her eyes. “They’re all in the sitting room as not to wake the baby, but it may not be a good idea for you to go in there, Kenzie.” Her face was sympathetic. “I called Mark, and he should be here any minute and may be able to calm everyone down.”
My first inclination was to wait on Mark’s voice of reason. However, when I heard both my brother and Josh laying into Colby from the doorway, I couldn’t help myself. I squared my shoulders and marched into the other room, freezing at the sound of Brian’s voice.
“What gives you the right to touch a girl like my sister? You’ve paid escorts for sex, Colby, and had countless women. And how do you think Kenzie would feel about the sex tape or the coked out sorority girl who almost overdosed during your twenty-first birthday?”
I gasped. I couldn’t help it. Brian bringing up such things to make Colby feel unworthy—it was absolutely stepping over the line.
Colby turned to see me standing there, the color draining from his face the moment he realized I’d overheard my brother. I swear I could see the light extinguish in his eyes.
“You weren’t meant to hear that.” My brother looked apologetic that I had. “I was only trying to emphasize how you deserve better.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t.” Shit that came out wrong. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
Brian focused on me. “He’s the reason why you wanted to stay in LA, isn’t he? I thought Mom was crazy when she said she suspected some guy was influencing your decisions. Nope, not my sister, she’s too smart for that.”
Colby’s gaze met mine, his expression showing that my brother’s irrational accusation was sinking in.
Completely stunned, I watched Colby stride out of the room without another word. I glared at Brian and quickly followed after him. I’d have to deal with my brother later.
When I walked into his room behind him, I could see he was already grabbing his suitcase, starting to frantically throw things into it.
“What are you doing?” I asked even though it was obvious.
“I need to go.”
I tried to swallow past the growing lump in my throat. “Give me a couple minutes, and I’ll come with you.”
He shook his head. “It would be better if you didn’t.”
I noticed he wouldn’t meet my eyes. Instead, he busied himself with loading his suitcase. “Please don’t shut me out. None of what they said matters.”
He turned toward me, his eyes finally locked on mine, a storm of emotions reflected in them. “Yes, it does. You heard your brother. He wasn’t making shit up about my past.”
“I don’t care about that. I never did.”
“You should. You can do a lot better.”
No, no, no. I was losing him and didn’t have a clue how to get through. “That’s not true. You know what we have, how we feel when it’s just the two of us. You said it. When the world tilts, we’re back to center only when we’re together.” I reached out, putting my hand on his chest, watching as he put his in his pockets.
He shook his head. “I can’t let you give up your future for me. God, how many times did I talk you into staying? The whole time I was selfish.”
“No, you weren’t. You knew all along that I didn’t want to move home and only tried to give me options.”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“You haven’t. Not yet. Please don’t start now. It never mattered to me what they thought about us. I meant to tell you before you talked to my brother. I love—”
He wouldn’t let me finished the sentence. “Don’t say it. Don’t make it harder. It absolutely matters what they think because they want what’s best for you. And most importantly, they know me and the fact I couldn’t ever give that to you. I’m not worth staying in LA for or giving up things that you want to do with your life.”
Thankfully, my temper over my brother’s comment kept my tears from falling. “They don’t know what I want, but I do, and it includes you. I’m not giving up anything. I told you from the beginning that I’ve only ever wished to stay in Los Angeles.”
“Which is where you moved because of me in the first place? Be honest.”
Oh, crap. Back to my dreaded sister-in-law bringing that up in front of him months ago at my graduation party. “It may have had some influence initially, considering how much you talked about enjoying the sunshine and it being so far away from my mom—”
