Their Second-Time Valentine by Helen Lacey

Author:Helen Lacey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-11-06T20:14:28+00:00

Chapter Eight

“Can you take Larkin to day care in the morning?”

Kane had just arrived at Adam’s on Wednesday evening when his brother passed him a beer and asked the question. “Sure.”

“Sorry to ask on such short notice, but I’m meeting a new organic food supplier at eight and Laurel has something on early at the gallery.”

Brady, who’d arrived at least an hour before him with the boys, quickly cut in. “If not, I could probably—”

“I said it’s okay,” Kane said, cutting him off. “Just drop him off at my place on your way into work in the morning.”

Adam stared at him, clearly picking up the sharpness in his voice. “Ah...is everything all right?”

“Fine.”

His brother, who had also always been his closest friend and knew him better than anyone, didn’t look convinced. “Girl trouble?”

Kane scowled. “No,” he said quickly, then exhaled. “Yes. I dunno.”

Adam’s mouth twisted and he offered a knowing nod. “You like her?”

“Yeah,” he admitted.

“I guess the question is, how much?”

He shrugged. “We’re friends.”

“That’s all?” Brady queried.

Kane drank some beer. “That’s all.”

Adam stretched back in his seat and grinned. “You’ve never been friend-zoned before, right?”

The easy thing would have been to nod and shrug off the question. But he couldn’t. Because as much as he and Layla were friends now, there was definitely something else brewing between them. But she was fighting it. And if he was prepared to admit it, in a way, so was he. It was quickly feeling like the fight of his life.

“Not like this. It’s complicated,” he replied, and shrugged.

“Because she’s a single mom?” Brady asked.

“Because neither of us is in the market for anything serious.” Both his brothers laughed loudly and Kane glared at them. “What?”

“You’re so full of crap,” Adam replied. “I saw you together last weekend.” He looked at Brady. “They were like this little ready-made family. It was cute.”

Kane’s frown quickly turned into a scowl. “I’m not having this conversation.”

“Therein lies the problem,” Brady said, and sipped his beer. “You know how Dad hides how he really feels about the Fortune family by being angry and suspicious and thinking they’re all not to be trusted. When we all know that he really wants to be accepted as equal to his half brothers—as being as much of a Fortune as they are. He acts that way because he doesn’t want to look weak or vulnerable.”

Irritation rose in his blood. “Your point?”

Brady shrugged. “Well, you never admit to anything, either.”

“Like what?” Kane shot back.

It was Adam who replied. Adam who knew him best. “Like the fact that you really care about this woman and it’s scaring you to death.”

Kane looked at his brothers in turn, heat clawing at his chest and neck. He’d never been good at admitting his feelings—they were right. Which meant he wasn’t about to start. All he really wanted to do was bail and not think about it. They were also right about Layla. He did care. He liked her. A lot. And it was more than simple “like.

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