Page 139

He’s still talking in his Irish accent. When I proposed my plan for the night, Abe pounced on the chance to gain ‘real life experience’ for his acting role.
I haven’t seen him this excited about anything in a long time. And I feel slightly guilty for threatening to take the play away from him when he loves acting so much.
“Night, Abe.” Cody smiles and nods.
I watch my son disappear up the stairs.
When I take a step to follow him, Cody raises his hand to bar my way. “An explanation, Clay.”
“Thanks for your help tonight.”
“That’s not what I asked for.”
It’s what he’s going to get.
Cody watched Regan in the kitchen while Abe and I served Island. He was also watching my kids while Island and I had our… discussion in the hallway.
Regan slings a small, dark hand over my shoulder and nuzzles into my neck. I pat her back gently. “I need to put her to bed.”
“Fine. Don’t tell me.” He whirls around, clearly agitated.
“I really do appreciate your help, Cody,” I say, not wanting to end the night with yet another relationship severed.
He stops mid-step. Voice quiet so he doesn’t wake Regan, Cody hisses, “I’m your brother. I’d show up for you in a hurricane. But when you’re the one wreaking havoc on your own life, I have to ask questions.”
“I’m not wreaking havoc.”
“Then she is!” He hurls a finger at the car as if Island is driving it. “Why rent out an entire restaurant just to serve food to your nanny? That doesn’t make sense. In fact, nothing you do with her makes sense. You bought a bank to get revenge on her. Then you trusted her with Regan out of the blue. Now this. You don’t make crazy decisions, Clay. Neither of us do. But I’m starting to question your sanity right now.”
I stare at the ground, my jaw muscles working.
I’m questioning my sanity too.
I planned on telling Island about how I felt tonight.
But not while she was still on her date.
And definitely not while my hands were buried under her dress.
The whole ‘there are no rules in love and war’ saying is wrong. Therearerules in war. And there sure as hell are rules in love. Crossing lines without remorse doesn’t mean the lines weren’t there for a reason.
I planned on showing Island that there’s more to me than the guy who crashes into places, buys businesses and forces people into a corner. I wanted to show her I could respect her choice while at the same time, emphasizing she’d made the wrong one.
But I lost my mind when I saw her in that dress. And I lost it again when I saw her sitting across the table from someone who wasn’t me.
“Do you love her?” Cody asks quietly. “Island?”
I meet his eyes. “It’s complicated.”
He lets out a shaky breath. “Regan is obsessed with her. And Abe is, well, he’s Abe.”
“I know.”
“I’m not saying this as your brother. I’m saying this as their uncle.” He stabs a finger at Regan. His green eyes harden. It’s the look he gets when he’s closing a deal that matters to him. “You better un-complicate it. Fast.”
My brother stalks into his convertible and speeds off.
I grit my teeth. I hate being scolded and it doubly burns coming from someone who usually looks up to me.