“There’s nothing we can do at this point other than ride this out and see what happens,” I replied after taking a long drink of ice-cold water.
“She’s my cousin.”
“Yeah, and?”
“She’s off limits.”
“Kinda like howmy sisterwas off limits?”
“This isn’t the same, and you know it.Things with Julie were different.”
“Why?Because it benefitedyou?”
“No, because she is only a few years younger than I am.You’re ten years older than Poppy.She was practically a kid when you first met her.”
“Teenager,” I corrected, though that didn’t make it any better.“And in case you haven’t noticed, we’re both grown adults.”
“Don’t fucking start with me,” Gage warned.
“I could say the same.”I set my glass down on the island with more force than I had intended.“You need to get your head straight and stop obsessing over stupid fucking shit.Your cousin is in trouble and needs our help.Instead of worrying about me possibly fucking her, you should be more concerned with her getting out of the situation she’s in.You should be focused on keeping her safe and making sure she doesn’t end up going to jail for this, you stupid, self-centered asshole.”
Gage pulled back and scoffed, rolling his eyes.
“Don’t stand there and act like you don’t know that I’m right.”
“I do.That’s the fucking problem.”
“Well, at least we finally agree on something,” I replied with a smirk.
“Poppy is my top priority right now.But don’t think for a second that I’m just going to look the other way if you try something with her.This isn’t like things with Julie and me.Poppy is different.She’s had a rough life, and I want to see her get on the right track.”
“And you thinkI’mgoing to hold her back from doing that?”
“No.But I think you sometimes let your cock do the talking for you and Poppy has made enough stupid mistakes as it is.”
“Oh.So I would be a mistake?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, you’ve made your point crystal clear,” I replied, pushing past and shoulder-checking him as I stormed out and went back to the living room to check on the girls.
