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“Thanks.” I took a swig of beer.
“I know you'll never hurt her. I know you'll always love her. I also know that you're blaming yourself for not being with her tonight,” Finn said. “But I'm telling you right now, stop that thinking. We all know you would give your life to protect her."
Finn dropped his hand on my shoulder for comfort.
“I seem to be the only one who didn't know what was going on, but I'm not like Finn.” Conor had chosen to jump in at that moment. "I won't skip over the big brother lines."
Conor stood a little straighter and he looked at me head on.
"I may be learning all this now,” Conor said. “But I'm still going to tell you right now . . . If you hurt my baby sister, if you even make one tear fall from her eyes, I will end you." He raised a brow, then smirked when he finished speaking.
I glanced back and forth between them because it was important for me to have them both hear what I had to say.
"There isn't a time I can remember not loving her. Even when she was gone for those years in Boston, my heart was still hers. I tried to fight it, I swear I did, but there was no hope. My love for her was—is too strong." I directed my gaze to Conor. "She is everything to me. I swear to you I will always love her, and I will do everything I can to protect her."
When I finished, my eyes went to the kitchen doorway, and there she stood—my beautiful girl in my t-shirt, her legs bare.
My eyes traveled up her legs and didn't stop until I reached those gorgeous green eyes that I loved, a bright emerald green. She couldn't hide the smile she directed at me. I knew it must have hurt for her to smile right now, but she did, and that made my heart burst.
Her legs began to move, bringing her closer to me, and her eyes stayed on mine.
Matching her pace, I made my way around the kitchen island. I would be damned if she was going to do all the work to get to me. I closed the distance, and when we met, I gently wrapped both my arms around her waist, bringing my face to her neck.
She turned to face me. "I love you, Ryan. I've always loved you.” A breathy sigh escaped her pink, kissable lips. “I tried to stop it when I was just a kid, but no matter where I was or how old I was, it was you. It was alwaysyou."
I pulled away and cupped her beautiful face in my hands. “And it will forever be you.”
The moment my lips touched Kenna's, Conor cleared his throat.
“No. No. No.No!Please, I can’t,” Conor said in a stressed tone.
My forehead rested against hers. I slightly turned, and that’s when I saw the look on Conor's face out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed, shocked, or relived, but either way, I smirked.
"Okay, listen up,” Conor said. “I'm going to try hard to accept this, but if I see you put your lips on my sister, Iwillpunch you in the face. This is so gross to me."
Kenna and I both laughed.
I released her from my hold, and she went over to Conor, who held his hand out to her.
As she reached him, he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head. The tension visibly left his body the moment he held her.
Conor needed that. He needed to feel as if he was the one taking care of her. I would give him this moment. I knew Conor and Finn were feeling the same as me. We felt we had failed her—that we didn't protect her.
Making my way back to the kitchen island, I couldn't help but smile a little. Only a little because I was still so upset about everything that had happened tonight. But now, seeing Conor holding his sister in his arms, I thought about how much we all loved this girl. She was our everything. For Conor and Finn, she was their little sister—the girl they harassed and tortured as they had grown up but, at the same time, loved and cared for through all the difficult times.
But for me, she was my heart, my strength, and my oxygen.
I can’t imagine my life without her—never holding her, loving her, having her.
The girl had my heart in a vise, and I was fine with that.
We all claimed our spots in the kitchen, and eventually, there was a long stretch of silence. We were all trying to individually come to grips with everything that happened tonight. It was safe to say that every one of us was emotionally drained, especially Kenna, who was not only drained emotionally but physically as well.
After the silence stretched too long, Conor lifted his head that was resting on top of his sister's and glanced down at Kenna.
"Why are you still awake?” asked Conor. “I thought you were upstairs sleeping."
Kenna released her arms that were wrapped around her brother and took a few steps back toward me. I was now sitting on a stool at the island. I opened my legs and took Kenna by the hips, guiding her between my legs. She leaned into me, her body relaxing.
