Page 76 of Between Never and Forever

“I’m aware,” I grumbled, stabbing the fork into my salad.

“Also, make it believable, please. PR stunts never go over well publicly if you’re found out.”

Was she my mother? “Why would you think this is a PR—”

“It’s only obvious to me because I’m in and out of your home. The bedroom separation is a pretty good indicator—”

“Penelope, can you please let me eat in peace?”

“You’re such a drama queen.” She patted my hand before standing and straightening her skirt. “Ask her what she wants, Dex. Controlling the narrative with the one you love never works.”

“Penelope,you’regivingmerelationship advice? Are you married all of a sudden?”

“No.” She tapped the desk. “But I’m a woman. I know. Also, make it clear when you open car doors, escort her into dinner, and—”

“I know how to woo a woman.”

“Is it all about wooing her? Are we not concerned about the media now?”

I threw my fork down and leaned back in my chair to glare at her. “Jesus fucking—”

Yet, she was walking out as she held the door open for Dimitri.

He poked his head in. “What the fuck are you still doing in the conference room? Go home.”

I nodded, not about to tell him the real reason I wouldn’t be doing that anytime soon. “I’m finishing up a few security checks.”

He stepped in and glanced at the food on the desk. “We good for next month?”

“When have we ever not been?” My tone was defensive after dealing with Bane.

“It’ll be a big month with Keelani’s concert opening. And with the fact that you dropped the news about this engagement—"

“Dimitri.” His name came out a warning rather than a sigh. He sat down across the table from me, and I tried not to grumble. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Of course you’re not. You’re never in the mood to talk about her. But I still need to say a few things.”

My stomach churned, and my mind ran away with thoughts of my brother and Kee betraying me somehow. They were illogical and near deranged but that didn’t stop them. “Whatever you need to say probably isn’t relevant to—”

“She’s had stalkers before,” Dimitri said as if it were a revelation to me.

“She mentioned it.” I shrugged because she had when her eyes had skirted around my resort halls.

“No. Not like she says. These people aren’t just obsessed. They’re out of their minds and dangerous.” He dropped the bomb like it was nothing. “I’m not talking about someone peeping in her room here and there, Dex—though she’ll describe it that way. They’ve come to every one of her concerts, followed her home, filmed her, tried to…”

His voice drifted off while my whole body leaned forward to get the rest of that sentence. “To what, Dimitri?”

He shook his head. “She goes with the flow when asked about it, like it’s no big deal and part of the job. I’m ninety percent sure she hasn’t even told me everything.”

My brother stopped to rub his knuckles together. I did the same thing when I was trying my best to keep a lid on my emotions, to come to terms with something. I let the silence fill the air while I took one deep breath before asking quietly, “Why didn’t you tell me?” The question was a selfish one, and immediately, I wanted to snatch it back because I knew the answer.

He leaned forward and pounded a fist on the table. “I don’t tell you shit about her because you don’t deserve to know. You left and wanted nothing to do with her. Remember?”

I winced at his words.

“Look, damn it. It’s no one’s fault. We got dealt a shit card.”

Dimitri was the baby boy of the family. He would never understand that the car accident was on me, not him. I was supposed to keep his ass safe, not the other way around. I should have kept them all safe, and instead we lost a life and nearly ruined all of ours. “Sure, D. It’s a shit card.”