I feel a hot spring of anxiety bubbling up inside of me, threatening to boil and burn.
“I understand,” Forrest says, his voice utterly calm. “You have every reason to be concerned.”
“Okay,” Kelly says, her voice wavering a little.
Forrest couldn’t have chosen a better way to deal with my twin sister than this shield of calmness. Kelly likes arguments, thrives on them, so to be met with a smirk and a veil of serenity knocks her off balance.
“All I can tell you is that I have the best intentions for your sister, Kelly,” Forrest says, reaching across and taking my hand.
I squeeze it softly, glancing at the laptop to see if our hands are visible in the frame. Guilt stabs at me as relief washes over me—our hands aren’t in the frame. They can’t see that we’re clasping onto each other.
“I fell for her the second I saw her,” he goes on, a rumble entering his voice. “I’m not a conventional man. I’ve spent my whole life on my own. I’ve never had a girlfriend. I’ve never had a long-term partner. I thought my childhood had made that impossible for me—to feel, to care. And then I saw Fiona sitting in the café window and something changed in me, something confusing and impossible but … no less real. I’m sorry. I know this sounds like bad poetry. But it’s also the truth.”
“No, no,” Mom rushes to say. “It’s wonderful. It’s like something out of those romance novels Fiona loves so much.”
“But why couldn’t you just go and talk to her?” Kelly says, her voice softening a little.
Forrest sighs and runs a hand through his steel hair.
“It’s okay,” I murmur. “You don’t have to answer.”
“No, I want to, I need to,” Forrest says, gazing at me for a moment before returning his deep azures to the laptop. “You deserve to know, both of you. The truth is, I was terrified of what I was feeling. I thought, perhaps, that when we met in person, I might be able to fight off all these emotions. Hell, emotions. Even that’s new for me. So I played my hand. I thought to myself, Well, if it doesn’t work out, at least she can enjoy Paris. At least I’m not going to poison her hometown for her. Maybe that seems like fucked-up logic, but it’s what I felt. It’s what I feel.”
I blink when I feel tears rising in my eyes.
“I know it’s not the done thing,” I murmur, fighting off rising sobs. “I understand that. But surely you can see he did it for the right reasons. And I feel the same, Kelly, Mom. I feel exactly the same as Forest. I don’t like that he lied—he knows that. But I’m also really happy he brought me here. I’m allowed to feel both, aren’t I?”
“Of course you are, dear,” Mom says.
“Yeah, no one’s saying that,” Kelly sighs. “It’s just—Forrest, I want the best for my sister. I don’t want her to get swept up into this crazy romance and then have it all come crashing down.”
“The only way this will end,” Forrest says, “is if Fiona wants it to end. I’m not going to do anything to risk what we have.”
“Okay?” I say, letting out a laugh that borders on a sob, all shaky.
Emotion blooms in my chest, making my words hazy.
“Are we done with the interrogation now, Kelly?”
“It’s fine,” Forrest says, with an enthralling smirk, the sort that draws me in and makes me want to study every inch of his face for hours. “Like I said before, I’m glad you have such a protective sister.”
“What about this Zack shit?” Kelly asks. “Should we go to the police?”
Forrest sighs darkly, shaking his head. “He hasn’t committed a crime against you, so there’s nothing you can go to them with. The best they could do is offer a restraining order. But you’re safe with my security. They’re the best in the world.”
“I don’t exactly like being under house arrest,” Kelly grumbles.
“Freaking hell,” I say. “Talk about looking for a reason to complain, sis.”
“No, she’s right,” Forrest says. “It’s an unfortunate circumstance. I didn’t even know this motherfucker existed until a few hours ago. I’ve got people looking into him and his business.”
“He’s a dangerous man,” Mom murmurs. “Mafia.”
“I’m a billionaire with an army of trained killers behind me,” Forrest growls. “Nothing, nothing is going to happen to any of you. You have my word. In the meantime, don’t feel like you have to stay indoors. As long as my men are with you wherever you go, you’ll be safe.”
“Okay,” Kelly says, nodding. “Alright. And I’m sorry, Forrest if I came on a little strong. I just had to be sure.”
“There’s no apology needed,” he says.
“Let’s leave the two lovebirds to it,” Mom says, nudging Kelly good-naturedly. “I’m sure they’d rather be enjoying Paris than worrying about all this nastiness.”