AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She’d been very short-sighted. Did she owe him an apology?
Drat. She wasn’t sure. And this didn’t seem like the sort of thing she could ask someone else. Maybe she should apologize just to be on the safe side.
Reaching for the hair tie on her wrist, she flicked it. The slight pain cleared her head.
“Cate, I know you’re in there,” her brother said through the door.
“Come in,” she called out.
Turning in her chair, she studied her brother. He was a good-looking man. Charismatic, smart, and a great actor.
But he also looked kind of miserable.
She didn’t know why, but she wished she could fix it for him.
She’d do anything for Rhodes. He was her protector, her confidante, her best friend.
Cate knew she didn’t deserve him.
Samantha enjoyed pointing out all the ways she was a burden to him without coming right out and saying it.
But she wasn’t very subtle, because even Cate could get the subtext. There weren’t many men his age who would want their sister to live with them.
“You’re leaving soon?” she asked.
“Yeah. Samantha needs to get to her place early to let the caterers in and supervise the set-up.”
“Sounds like a big party.”
“Yep.” He frowned slightly.
“You don’t want to go?” she asked.
“Not really.”
“Then why go?” she asked. “Why not stay here?”
“Because Samantha wants me there, and sometimes, you have to do things you don’t like because it matters to the person you care about.”
While she didn’t understand how her kind and caring brother could have feelings for Samantha, she did understand what he was saying.
“Samantha wants me to stay at her place tonight, but I’m not happy about leaving you alone.”
A burst of worry unfurled. She’d pushed the memory of that night from her mind, but it came rushing back.
Cate had been utterly terrified. Out of her mind. She’d panicked, something she was ashamed of. In most situations, she kept her calm. She didn’t let emotion rule her.
But not that night. Ever since then, Rhodes had spent every night here. However, he couldn’t continue to babysit her. She had to get over this.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll turn the security system on. Brody has improved it a lot. And the person who attempted to get into the house hasn’t been back. There’s no reason to suspect they’d try to get into the house again tonight.”
She hoped.
She slid her hands under her thighs to hide their trembling.
Although whether she was hiding them from Rhodes or herself, she was unsure.
“That’s true,” he admitted, still looking reluctant. “But if you need me to be here, I’ll come back.”
