Page 32 of Corrupted Lies

There was no way his family hadn't seen what was about to happen, and for some reason, that set him on edge. That little bit of peace he’d finally found when Alannah had agreed to go away on her boat for a while vanished as though it had never existed.

“No, not interrupting anything,” he answered, his tone firm, brokering no argument, but he couldn’t help noticing that Alannah flinched at it and took a small step away from him.

Clenching his hands into fists at his sides was the only way to stop himself from reaching out for her. There was a time when he wouldn't hesitate to reach out and give his best friend whatever comfort she needed. They’d been friends for thirty years, there had been plenty of times he’d held her when she cried about some new way her family managed to show her just how little she meant to them.

But something had changed, shifted slightly, and he felt like he was standing in a huge hole filled with quicksand, one wrong move and he’d sink. The rules felt different now, almost kissing her wasn't best friend appropriate, and he wasn't sure how to proceed.

“It looked like you and Alannah were going to kiss,” Essie very unhelpfully pointed out.

“Shh, cuddle bug,” Gabriella shushed the child as everyone piled into his front hall.

Glad to have a reason to move instead of standing there and doing something stupid like taking back his answer and offering a more truthful one, instead, Jake led everyone through to the kitchen.

“But that’s what it did look like, Mommy,” Essie continued, the slightest hint of a whine to her tone. “You and Daddy kiss all the time.”

“Notallthe time,” Cade protested, looking slightly embarrassed, although there was no reason for him to. Still, Jake got it. They were the two who had the most trouble showingtheir emotions, they were both stoic, gruff, grumpy, and filled with anger.

Except Cade had now found a balm to his anger since admitting to himself, Gabriella, and the rest of them that he had feelings for the former nanny.

A surge of jealousy hit him hard and fast, coming out of nowhere and catching him by surprise.

“Pretty much all the time,” Gabriella teased, not put off by Cade’s gruffness in the least, just like Alannah was never put off by his.

Cade rolled his eyes, although he leaned down to brush a kiss to Gabriella’s lips when she tilted her face up toward his.

“See, Daddy, alls the times,” Essie said excitedly, bouncing up and down in her boundless energy way. “And Uncle Cooper and Willow kiss lots, and Uncle Cole and Susanna, and Uncle Connor and Becca. If you and Alannah are going to do lots of kissing, Uncle Jake, then that means you have to get married sos I can be the flower girl.”

“Married?” he repeated, his voice giving away his shock.

“Uh, I don’t think they’re going to get married, Essie,” Gabriella said, quickly ushering the girl up to the table and rifling through his pantry to find her something to eat, no doubt to keep her occupied.

“But they were going to kiss, I saws it,” Essie protested. “Only peoples going to gets married do kissing.”

“Uncle Jake and Alannah are just friends,” Cade told his daughter, although the look in his eyes said he didn't quite believe what he was saying.

“So friends can kiss too, like you and Mommy do?”

“No,” Cade quickly answered his daughter. “I don’t want you trying to kiss your friends like that. It’s only for grownups, and I don’t want you kissing anyone until you're married.”

“Yeah, that’ll work,” Gabriella said with a snort, then handed Essie a couple of Oreos.

“Then only peoples getting marrieddokiss,” Essie said, looking confused. “Then I can bes the flower girl at their wedding.”

“You know what, Essie girl, you absolutely can be the flower girl at my wedding when I get married, it just won't be Jake as the groom,” Alannah told the little girl, walking over to give her a hug.

That little spark of jealousy he’d felt when he watched how easily his brothers interacted with the women they loved turned into a full-on raging inferno at the thought of Alannah falling in love and marrying another man.

He’d seen her date before, and now that he thought about it, he’d always felt a little unsettled by the idea of her with another man. But he was her best friend, they weren't lovers and were never going to be.

Watching her fall in love and get married one day, find the love she’d longed for all her life was something he was going to have to accept.

“Yay!” Essie cheered. “That means I gets to be a flower girl in one,” she held up a finger as she pointed to Gabriella and her father. “Two.” She held up another as she pointed to Cooper and Willow. “Three. Four. Five.” She added another finger each time she pointed to a different couple, finishing on Alannah. “Five. I gets to be a flower girl five times.”

“Very exciting, Essie,” Alannah said, her gaze darting over to him and then skittering away.

“Okay, enough talk about weddings,” Gabriella said, and he couldn’t be more grateful to her because he wasn't sure he could handle any more of this conversation without doing something stupid.

“Right,” Cole agreed. “Did you talk to Alannah about our plan?”

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