“Do you?” I grab my water bottle. “Because he’s our best friend. He trusted us with his sister. And we’re?—”
“Making her happy,” Evan finishes. “That’s what he wanted.”
“Not like this.”
“Then how?” Callum’s in front of me now. Close. “How were we supposed to make her happy? By treating her like a business transaction?”
“Yes.” Even as the word leaves my mouth, I’m not sure I truly mean it anymore. “That was the deal.”
“The deal changed.” Callum turns away from me, picking up a dumbbell.
“You don’t get to change it.” I set the water bottle down. “We’re going to Ben’s house in an hour. You think he won’t notice?”
“Notice what?” Callum’s voice has an edge.
“The way you look at her. Touch her. The way she looks at you.”
Eva is quiet for a second. “Then maybe it’s time to tell him.”
“No.” Telling him is the wrong thing to do. “We will lose everything.”
“Why?” Evan stops mid-rep. “You think we can’t have both? The empire and the girl? Or are you just too scared to try?”
“I’m not scared.”
“Bullshit.” He steps closer. “You won’t let yourself want her.”
Heat crawls up my neck. “That’s not?—”
“It is.” Evan is watching me carefully. “And you’ve been doing things like this your whole life. Putting duty first. Control first. Everyone else’s needs first.”
“Well, somebody has to!” I yell.
“No.” Callum shakes his head. “That’s your excuse.”
I look at the time. “We are not doing this right now. We have to leave soon.”
We keep having the same argument, and nothing is changing. It’s just getting worse.
Callum doesn’t move. “This conversation isn’t over.”
“Yes, it is.”
I head for the door before either of them can stop me.
I don’t go back to my room. I take the stairs to the roof deck instead.
The cold air hits me like a wall. Good. I need it.
I grip the railing and stare out at the city.
Evan is wrong. He has to be wrong. I’m not putting duty first because I’m scared. I’m putting it first because someone has to. Because if all three of us lose our heads over this woman, we lose everything. The company. The legacy. Ben.
Except Evan didn’t look like a man losing his head. He looked steady. And Callum is calmer than I’ve seen him in months, since before Dad died.
That’s because of her.
I know that. I’ve known it for weeks.
