Page 47 of Falling for the Bad Boy
“Says who?” I’d avoided run-ins with my siblings in the past by leaving. Whenever things got a little heated, I’d take off on a new adventure to avoid the conflict. When my parents pressured me to pick a college, I signed up to volunteer at a mission in Colombia. When they wondered when I was going to find a nice boy and settle down, I followed a friend to Thailand and spent six months hopping from island to island. Leaving was my way of dealing with things. But that wasn’t going to work this time.
“Look, Trinity, I just want to make sure you’re not throwing it away. You’d be better off burning it than investing in this”—he waved a hand at the front of the building—“money pit.”
I swallowed the lump growing in my throat. “Thanks for your concern. I’ll put you down as a no for the grand opening.”
The door next door swung open, and Oliver stepped onto the sidewalk. “Oh, hey. What are you doing out here?”
Seeing him standing there, towering over my brother like a life raft in the choppy waters of my current situation, I wanted to climb on board and let him navigate away from my brother’s jealous concern.
Instead, I glanced up to where the crew had secured the sign to the top of the building. “Got a new sign.”
Oliver followed my gaze. “Wow. Looks good.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” I smiled, relieved to have a distraction from my run-in with James. “You remember James, don’t you?”
“Of course.” Oliver thrust his hand at my brother.
James took it in an awkward handshake, probably sensing he was outnumbered. I took in a deep breath. He wouldn’t give up, not that easily. But at least I’d held him at bay for today. He wouldn’t dare discuss family dealings with Oliver present.
“Nice to see you again…Oliver, isn’t it?” James pressed his lips into a polite smile.
I almost laughed. He was pissed all right. I’d hear about it later, but there was nothing else he could say in the moment.
“I’ve got to get to the office. We’ll talk later.” James made a move to give me a hug at the same time I stepped to the side. Our interactions had always been awkward. We did a half-embrace kind of thing then he pulled back. “See you soon.”
I waited until he’d rounded the corner of the building before turning back to Oliver. “Nice timing.”
“I take it you and James aren’t seeing eye to eye on something?”
“That’s one way of putting it.” I leaned against the bricks, the rough texture pressing against my back through the thin T-shirt I’d thrown on.
Oliver put a hand next to me and leaned in. “Want to talk about it?”
“I just wish…”
“What?” His finger brushed a chunk of hair back from my face and tucked it behind my ear.
I stopped myself from turning into his hand, nuzzling my cheek against his palm, and inviting him upstairs to finish ruining the canvas I’d all but given up on. “Nothing.”
Brown eyes drilled into mine. He didn’t buy it. Who would?
“Does it have to do with your brother not wanting you to buy the building?” He reached out, guiding me away from the building as the crane lowered.
“Yes. He thinks I made a mistake.”
He lowered his voice, leaned in so the heat from his breath brushed across my cheek. “What do you think?”
My toes curled in the slip-on sneakers I’d shoved my feet into this morning as his voice thrummed over me, making my skin pebble. “I think my grandmother would be proud of me for following up on the dream we talked about.”
“Your grandmother sounds like a strong woman.”
“She was.”
“She sounds a lot like you.”
A laugh bubbled up. “Hardly. She was strong. Never afraid to speak her own mind. She didn’t take crap from anyone, especially my father.”
Those broad shoulders rose and fell in an exaggerated shrug. “Yeah, still think that sounds a lot like you. The two of you were close?”
