Page 9 of Pretend it’s Forever

“You’re not a failure,” Flynn bit out, before he closed his eyes, and let out a deep breath. “I should have texted before I came over, but apparently you’re dodging texts.”

He raised a brow, and I shook my head. “Flynn.”

“No, I’m not going to say anything. The others will do that enough. But we are going for lunch, and we can just go to the cafe down the street. I do love a good sandwich.”

“And for some reason I’m craving soup,” I said, even though it was way too hot outside.

“Soup on a hot day sounds ridiculous, but now I’m craving it too. You good for taking lunch though?”

I looked through my calendar again and nodded. “Yes. I do have time. I scheduled the day like this for a reason and wasn’t paying attention. Let me put on some jeans and then text the nanny to check on the girls.”

“Tell them that their favorite uncle says hello,” he said with a soft smile.

There was something in his eyes that told me he was once again hiding something, but that was the Cages, living up to their name being cagey at best.

He looked down at his phone and cursed, before gesturing towards me. “I need to answer this,” he said, his voice slightly cooler. “You could dress, call the girls, and we’ll head to lunch. It won’t take that long. Promise.”

“Flynn?” I asked, and he shook his head before answering in hushed tones.

Flynn was the vice president of Cage Enterprises, and while I knew it was a very important job, and he had become best friends with our younger sister Emily, I didn’t know that much about Flynn’s day-to-day life. His twin was happy and in a relationship, and many of our siblings were married, having kids, and finding their ways, but Flynn always kept things close to the vest.

I shook my head, knowing he wouldn’t want me focusing on him while I was trying to do the same for others. After all, I hated when people worried about me.

I quickly pulled on jeans and added a touch of makeup. I didn’t need to look like the complete ghost I felt like.

I called the girls, and they were happily playing in water-based paints with their nanny, and I was grateful that I wouldn’t have to clean up after them this time.

It hurt my heart to think about my baby girls. I loved them so freaking much. Violet and Hazel were my everything, my reason for being.

There was nothing more that I needed.

I met Flynn in the front of the studio, then locked up behind me. “I’m all alone today, so I don’t need to leave it open.”

Something ticked in Flynn’s jaw. “Your security camera’s going well then?”

I nodded, knowing why he was asking. The tension in my shoulders crept in again, but I was used to it by now. “Yes. I’m not usually alone.”

“Maybe we need to put someone on the door.” He frowned.

“For a small studio? No. We don’t need to.”

“But you have a lot of minors in there, and you’re on your own without a full team to help. You’re amazing, but outnumbered.”

“And their parents are there too.” I sighed. “I don’t think a person at the door will be very soothing to the kids, but we can look through the security system again. I know Ford worked really hard on it.”

My other half-brother owned a security company and installed systems. If anybody could keep my students safe, it would be him. He installed the one at my new place as well and checked on it frequently.

“Okay. We’ll talk with Ford. He’ll know what to do.”

I smiled at that, because Ford was one of the youngest of us, and yet, seemed the steadiest.

We turned the corner, and I ran smack into a large body. I nearly said I was sorry, fear creeping up my spine, as I looked up into oddly familiar, piercing green eyes, and then everything went blank. I barely heard the scream or felt the touch on the base of my spine as I fell into darkness.

Chapter Two

CARSON

I reached out instinctively and gripped Sophia in my arms, careful with her so she wouldn’t hit the ground. She was too damn light. Yes, she’d been a professional dancer, but she’d lost muscle in the past year—understandably. Someone needed to take care of her and make sure she was fed. She had far too many siblings for her to be this damn light.