Page 162 of By His Rule

Guilt sits heavy in my stomach, and I hate myself for not putting them first.

I tell myself that Lorelei needed me after the elevator debacle the night before, but I’m pretty sure I’m lying to myself. Sure, she needed us to help get her out, but after that, she was more than capable of looking after herself.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Mom said you used to go to all Kieran’s games as a kid. I know cheer isn’t the same, but?—”

“I’ll be there,” I say, meaning every word of it.

Pulling my cell from my pocket, I open up my calendar.

“Give me the dates and locations. I’ll make sure everything else is canceled. No matter where it is, I’ll be there.”

Her eyes light up with excitement before she begins rattling off dates and venues.

“I’ll make sure my assistant knows that these trump everything else.” Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I pull her closer and press a kiss to the top of her head.

“Love you, Tilly-bob.”

“Love you too. She’s going to be okay, isn’t she?”

“Of course she will.”

“But if she’s broken it then she won’t be able to cheer.”

“It’ll heal, and then she’ll be as good as new. And just think, in the time she’s out, you can get even better,” I say with a wink.

She smiles up at me with wide, dark eyes, and my heart tumbles.

These two little rugrats stole my heart from the moment they were born.

Our family might be a little disjointed, but when it counts, we all pull together. Even King, when he really has to.

I get it. His relationship with Mom is strained because he remembers more than Kieran and me. I’m pretty sure he’ll always hold her infidelity against her. Me, though…sure, her cheating on Dad was wrong. But we don’t know what their lives were like back then. Dad loved her, that’s more than obvious, but love isn’t always enough. We all know that.

She’s happy with Neil. Probably happier than she would have been if she stayed with Dad. And Dad? He’s…enjoying himself.

I figure that I either believe everything happened for a reason, or I’ll end up all bitter and twisted about it like King.

I don’t need that in my life. Nor do our sisters.

Our parents’ decisions and mistakes are their own. At this point, the only person’s actions who can influence my life are mine. Okay, and possibly a certain curly-haired woman I can’t get out of my head.

When I glance over at Tilly, I find that she’s distracted watching some other video on YouTube, and I take the opportunity to open my message thread with Lorelei.

She’s read my message, but she hasn’t responded.

I want to say I’m surprised, but I’m not.

She didn’t want to go on this date tonight. She’s probably feeling pretty smug about the fact that she got her way despite my slightly unethical win earlier.

I hate the thought of her sitting at home alone, thinking about the fun we could have been having.

Wanting to make it up to her, I find the phone number of one of my favorite restaurants and hit call.

“I’ve got to take this,” I say, waving my cell in front of Tilly, not that she’s paying any attention.

I make quick work of ordering each of my favorite dishes on the menu, along with a bottle of wine, before giving the guy on the phone Lorelei’s address.

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