Page 29 of The Forbidden
Harrison’s nostrils flare, eyes flashing. He slams the door shut and closes the distance between us. “You think I haven’t noticed the way you look at Evan?”
My eyes widen, breath catching. I shrink back, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. “What?”
Harrison scoffs. “Come on, Anais, a blind man could see the way you look at him,” he says, shaking his head. “Now, I’m ninety-nine percent sure Evan has seen it, too, but it’s notsomething we’ve discussed because I trust my friend not to go there. But now? Now you’re working five days a week together…” The implication is clear.
“I’m not a baby,” I grumble, sounding like the child he believes me to be.
“No, you’re not,” he states simply. “But you will always be my little sister and that means I have a duty to look out for you. I know you took that internship because of him. Sure, I know you love all things sparkly, but I know the majority of your decision was because of Evan.” He sighs, running a hand through his hair. I sit, frozen, stunned by how much he’s seen. I know I haven’t exactly been subtle, but because my brother never brought it up, I convinced myself he hadn’t noticed. Now, in this moment, I realize just how wrong I was. But what changed today? What finally pushed him to confront me about it? Is it because of last night? “Listen, Anais,” he says, softer now. “You might think you love Evan, but you don’t know him. I do. And trust me when I say, he’s not the man for you.”
“Seriously Harrison, you’ve got it all wrong,” I lie, shaking my head. “Where is this even coming from? I–”
He cuts me off. “I don’t think I have. And it’s something I can no longer ignore. Just please, listen to me, Anais.” He pins me with a look that’s part pleading, part authoritative. “You’re a good girl. Too good for Evan.”
My mouth drops open. How can he talk about his best friend this way?
“Just go, Harrison.” I sigh, suddenly exhausted. “I didn’t sign up for an unnecessary lecture this early in the morning.”
He leans down, pressing a kiss to my head. “Not unnecessary, but we’ll agree to disagree. I love you, Anais. You deserve someone who will worship the ground you walk on. And you’ll find him. It’s just not Evan.”
I mull over his words. Yes, Evan can be cold, indifferent, and sometimes cruel. And sure, he’s had more than his fair share of women, but that doesn’t make him unworthy of love. We all have history. My brother included. There’s a reason the seven of them have stayed friends since they were in boarding school together. They’re all the same.
Assholes of the worst kind.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I murmur, dismissing him.
“You will. Call Mom about travel,” he reminds me. I nod robotically, my mind racing. “See you tomorrow, little sis.”
And with that, the door closes behind him, leaving me alone to stew in my thoughts.
Despite everything he said, it doesn’t change my feelings.
This isn’t some stupid little childhood crush. I love Evan.
I might not have much experience with men, but I know with everything in me, it’s the truth. And last night, despite his indifference, I know something changed between us.
I saw it in his eyes.
Now, I just need him to admit it.
And something tells me that’s going to be a battle, but that’s okay.
Because I’m more than prepared to fight.
Chapter 15
Evan
Itake a steady drive out to The Hamptons on Saturday afternoon, my head a jumbled mess after last night.
I’d hoped going for a ten-mile run with Harrison would clear my head, set me straight, but it didn’t achieve shit. I still don’t know exactly what happened at that bar, but something changed between Anais and me – or more accurately, inside me. I saw Anais Lauder in a different light. And that could only mean one thing. I’d completely lost my damn mind. It was the only logical explanation for this... inconvenient shift.
For Christ’s sake, she was barely legal. Sure, she would be turning twenty soon, but I usually preferred my women old enough to at least order a drink. I wasn’t Theo, God damn it. If anything happened between Anais and me, I’d never live it down. Just imagining Theo’s smug, self-satisfied face, and the shit he’d surely give me, was enough to make my skin crawl. No way I was giving him that ammunition to use against me. I grit my teeth, my knuckles turning white as my hands strangle the steering wheel of my Aston Martin Vanquish S. My thoughts are in overdrive. And I can’t seem to stop them.
Anais had been back in my life for all of two weeks and already she was turning it upside down. With that sassy mouth, bratty behavior, and the way she’d mess with my fucking lunch like it was a damn game. This was not the same Anais I remembered. She challenged me. Teased me.
The girl who drunkenly, pathetically, confessed her feelings for me had vanished. And in her place stood a feisty, confident woman, determined to push all my buttons.
And it was fucking hot. An aphrodisiac. Which I hated.
