Page 1 of Off-Limits Love
ChapterOne
And another one bites the dust,” Finn Blackwell heard his youngest brother say as they stood shoulder to shoulder and watched as Elias, Finn’s twin, proposed to the woman he loved.
Hudson’s hand clapped across Finn’s shoulder and squeezed.
“You know you’re next, right? Because I’m certainly not getting married anytime soon,” his kid brother said with a wicked grin. “I’m having way too much fun for that.”
Finn narrowed his gaze at Hud and shook his head. “You’ll wind up with something not so fun if you’re not careful.”
Hudson’s grin widened. “I’m being careful. No worries.”
Hudson paused and then jerked his chin toward Finn’s left. “Looks like tonight’s your night. She’s eyeing you hard, bro. And…now she’s coming over.”
“Don’t,” Finn bit out, knowing Hud’s welcoming grin and flirty attitude had undoubtedly encouraged the woman in question to make a move.
Finn had seen her staring at him but had purposefully avoided eye contact after that initial look. Mostly because he already knew the outcome.
“You’ve got this. Don’t be nervous,” Hudson said in a low tone. “Just…do that strong, silent, broody thing you do so well. She’ll love it.”
“Wow, talk about romantic,” the woman said as she joined them.
Finn practically vibrated with frustration when he watched Hudson flash them both an easygoing grin.
“Isn’t it? Excuse me, but I’ve got somewhere to be. You two have fun,” Hud said. “Talk to you later, Finn.”
“Oh, I like your name. Finn,” the woman repeated, blinking up at him. “I’m Gabby.”
She held out her hand, and he reluctantly lifted his to shake, releasing it quickly to glance outside again. Quinley looked ready to cry as she nodded and said yes, and Elias placed the ring on her finger.
The crowd gathering inside the newly designed restaurant for the soft opening erupted in cheers and applause. Finn clapped along with them before turning to find the woman who’d spoken to him staring up at him, waiting for him to carry his side of their conversation.
She was strikingly beautiful. Her long blond hair curled softly around her shoulders, and her dark-eyed gaze was direct and self-assured. Expectant. Yeah, she didn’t look to be the type of woman who ever got dismissed or ignored. And while he knew he held his own because of the way bolder women approached him the rare times he left his “safe zone,” they never stuck around once they heard him speak.
He inhaled a breath, feeling his pulse pick up speed when her full lips curved in an alluring smile.
“Wait a sec; are you the twin? I heard that Elias had a twin,” the woman said in a sultry voice, her head turning to gaze out at the happy couple before shifting toward him once again. No doubt comparing them.
Finn opened his mouth to speak, to say that he was, when he felt his tongue and vocal cords lock up. He clamped his mouth shut to avoid the stutter that plagued him whenever he felt the slightest bit anxious or stressed, and he tried desperately to calm the anxiety that had appeared with her arrival.
Around his family he was fine. He could speak clearly and freely without issue unless angered, but to anyone else? To gorgeous women?
He grimaced at the life-wrecking flaw and then watched as the woman’s expression changed when he still didn’t speak. He tried—he really did—but then just shook his head and made a low grunt as he turned on his heel to walk away, hearing the woman’s sharp gasp at his rudeness and catching the flash of disbelief that crossed her face before he ran away like a coward.
Another woman apparently joined the first because he heard them talking about him as he dodged the people gathered. He heard the woman call him a jerk and a caveman having no manners.
Finn made his way to a far corner of the penthouse restaurant, snagging a drink along the route to wait until Elias and Quinley reentered the restaurant and the soft opening officially began.
Finn downed the drink and snagged another as the happy couple reentered Haven and greeted their guests. More cheers erupted as they were surrounded with hugs and congratulatory murmurs.
He remained in the corner, tucked deep into an alcove where most couldn’t see him, and took it all in.
Hudson’s earlier assessment was spot-on. His brothers had fallen like dominoes over the last few years. Brooks was first and early on, considering he now had three baby girls and a son to raise, but more recently Dawson, followed by Alec and Cole. Now his twin.
He stared at his brothers and realized they looked happy. Ridiculously so as they stood with their wives and fiancées pressed to their sides. And they deserved that happiness. His older brothers especially, since they were the ones who’d given up the most to work long, hard, grueling hours to make ends meet after their parents had died in a car accident when Alec had just turned eighteen.
Maybe that was the key. They deserved to find love and settle down whereas he…didn’t.
Not when it was his fault their parents had died in the first place.
