Page 103 of Rival Hearts

But Ben and I had had a love-hate relationship from the start. With Chris and Dan, I had healthy sibling rivalry, what I imagined all brothers having. With Ben, it often got a little uglier.

Not when Charlotte was around, though. And I was grateful. Ben was a really nice guy. I knew his bitterness came from shit in his past, and I wasn’t one to judge. I had a pretty shit past, too.

So, we played our game and we did what we did because it wasn’t fair of me to judge him and call him an asshole when I knew very well that I could be one to him all the time, too. And I often was.

The fact we were calling a truce today and he was being so nice to Charlotte meant a lot to me.

Mom came to me at the bar rather than me taking the drink out to her.

“Thank you, honey.” She took the round glass and took a sip. We both glanced toward where Chris joined Dad and Charlotte. “She’s a sweet girl.”

“Very.”

“You like her.”

I nodded, glancing at my mom. I more than just liked her, but I wasn’t ready to put it into words just yet. Besides, my mom knew me better than anyone. She could tell what I felt without me having to say anything about it.

“You know, there’s never any rush to do something,” Mom said. “If you like her, that’s great, but there’s more than enough time to get to know her.”

I smiled. “I know. Thanks, Mom.”

“It will be nice to see her around more often, though. She fits in well with the family. A lot of girls seem to think that we should be worshipped, but she just talks to us like we’re people.”

“It’s part of why I like her so much,” I admitted. “She’s not scared to be who she is, she accepts me for who I am, and she’s not afraid to call it as it is if I step out of line either.”

Mom laughed. “Now that’s a strange thing to say. You would never step out of line.” Her eyes twinkled.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “Thank you for that.”

“Danny tells me that Charlotte is Gabriel’s sister.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s how we met. Gabe’s birthday thing.” I didn’t elaborate on the rest of the night, how we’d ended up sleeping together, and the hostility that had followed before we’d both given in.

“What does Gabriel say about your relationship with her?”

I glanced at my mom. “He doesn’t know yet.” I couldn’t lie to her; she would have known.

She raised her eyebrows.

“I know, Mom.” She didn’t need to lecture me. I already knew.

Mom frowned. “His birthday was a while ago, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah… it took a while before we saw each other again, and it grew from there.”

Mom glanced at Charlotte again, who was laughing so much that she covered her mouth with her hand. She was so fucking beautiful. I loved how she got along with my family. My dad had obviously put his serious look aside, and he was telling her something that made her react that way.

I wanted to be there and hear what it was, but seeing her laugh like that, watching her from a distance, was just as good.

“You should talk to him,” Mom said. “You can’t leave this.”

I nodded. “And I’m going to. He’s out of town now, though. When he gets back, I’ll take him out for drinks or something.”

“She’s a darling girl, Alex, and you deserve someone solid to stand at your side. But you can’t go behind Gabriel’s back. You don’t have sisters, so you don’t understand how protective he might be, but my brother made your father’s life a living hell before he finally allowed Thomas into the family. And Thomas and your uncle weren’t even related.”

I nodded. I knew what she was saying. But Uncle Edward had always been a difficult man; that he’d given my dad uphill about being with my mom wasn’t exactly a surprise.

“You should do this the right way,” Mom said again. “We never do things underhand. It’s not how Blackwoods roll, not in business and not in our personal lives, either.”