That definitely wasnotlike me.
After swallowing a slug of coffee, I explained to my brother what had happened when I’d been really sick with the flu.
After that, I told him how I’d asked Lauren to dinner and accepted her invitation to have drinks at The Mug And Jug.
Asher raised a brow when I’d finally stopped talking. “So you didn’t accept thefamilyinvitation. You wanted to see more of Lauren Collier.”
“I like her,” I admitted. “She’s never believed that we killed our father, and she didn’t have to stay at my place when I was sick. She could have just dumped the stuff that Millie sent and hightailed it back to town.”
“True. Are you attracted to her?” Asher asked.
I nodded. “More than I’ve ever been to any other woman. Before you tell me to be careful, I already know that she’s off-limits for anything other than friendship. She’s too close to our cousins, and our father nearly molested her when she was young.”
“Nearly?” Asher questioned.
Asher had always known what had happened with Lauren that day. I’d told him right after it had happened.
Like me, he’d always wondered just how far our father had gone before I’d found him in the barn with Lauren.
“He didn’t have a chance to do anything but some inappropriate talk,” I informed my brother.
“Thank fuck!” Asher growled. “She told you that?”
“Yeah,” I assured him. “I had to ask because we’ve always wondered. The bastard didn’t have a chance to touch her. She was scared, but she didn’t have to live with the memories of being molested by our father.”
I could visibly see some of the tension draining out of Asher’s expression.
My brother might seem like an unemotional and cold asshole to most people, but I wasn’t most people. I could read the subtle signals that he didn’t show to anyone else but me.
He cared about a lot of things, but he made damn sure that nobody saw those emotions.
“You couldn’t have picked a different woman to lust after?” Asher asked drily. “What’s the point of spending time with her if you think she can never end up in your bed?”
I shrugged. “I have no fucking idea. I’ve asked myself that a thousand times already. Asking her to dinner was an impulsive move, and I don’t usually act on impulse. We’ll have dinner and a drink, and that will be the end of it. It would be damn hard to have a female friend who I constantly want to fuck.”
“She’s smart,” Asher mused. “And she’s a well-respected economist. She might be an interesting woman to have as a friend.”
“Not happening,” I grumbled. “Lauren wants a forever partner someday. I definitely wouldn’t have the patience to give her advice on finding one.”
Asher smirked. “Why do I have a feeling you wouldn’t have the patience because you’d rather be the guy dating her?”
“I don’t date, and I don’t do relationships,” I reminded him flatly. “You know that.”
“Youhaven’t,” he agreed. “But that doesn’t mean that youcan’t.”
I glared at Asher as he sent me a questioning look.
“That kind of relationship would require some kind of trust,” I said irritably.
“I think you could trust the right woman,” Asher said thoughtfully. “There’s nothing wrong with trusting someone who’s worth trusting, Cole.”
“I’m broken, Asher. You know that.”
He shook his head. “You might be bent up, but you’re not broken. Not like I am. There’s no reason why you can’t have a woman who would make you happy. Hell, you could have kids and a real life if you want it. There’s nobody who would like to see that for you more than I do.”
“I know,” I answered gruffly.
My brother and I had engaged in this conversation before.
