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“And the other?”
“What?”
“You said, ‘one of the reasons,’ so what is the other reason you are here?”
“I came for Amelia.”
My blood ran cold. Every last cell in my body turned frosty and rigid.
“I made a mistake.”
And just like that, my brother snubbed every ounce of happiness I had acquired within the last few months.
You have got to be fucking kidding me.
29
NATHANIEL
The drive back to my apartment was silent. I was still trying to process that my little brother was in Chicago, and he was here to take the woman I was falling in love with away from me.
Once again, all things Braven Bay were being taken from me.
Why couldn’t he stay on his side of the state line? Illinois, especially Chicago, was mine. Yet he had come to taint it for me too.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re acting like I killed your cat?”
My hand tightened around the steering wheel. “What are you talking about, Jacob?”
“You’re mad, and I don’t know why. Is it because I came unannounced? You’re the one that refused to come to Braven. You should have guessed I would eventually make my way down here.”
“I would rather you didn’t.” I was being snippy with him. And from his perspective, it was uncalled for. But from my perspective, he was here to steal my girl.
But was she my girl? I had no actual claim to her. But that didn’t make my feelings for her any less valid.
“What’s your issue with me?”
I pulled into the downstairs parking and cut the engine off once I got into my spot. I didn’t bother to wait for him. I just grabbed my bag and left. I headed for the elevator, hoping he would get the hint and not follow me. But I heard his footsteps.
We got in and a loud silence blanketed us. The tension was so thick it was suffocating. I didn’t want to be in here with him, and I sure didn’t want him to see Amelia. At least not until I spoke to her first. They had a past that I knew I couldn’t compete with. And our history was… complicated at best. I held this long grudge against her, and now…well, I loved her. With every last ounce of my being, I loved that woman and wanted her to choose me.
But how could I compete with almost a decade of loving someone?
The door opened, and I made my way to my apartment. Thankfully I was on the other side of the floor. I didn’t want him running into her.
I opened the door and he followed inside.
“I could have dropped you off at your hotel.” I put my bag on the couch and turned to face him.
“I need to talk to you.” He went to sit on the couch. “Please.”
I walked over to the armchair to the side and sat down. I leaned back into the cool material and waited for him to start.
“I fucked up.” He placed his arms on his knees. “I need her back.”
“Amelia?”
He lifted his head. “Who else would I be talking about?”
