“It’s not your house anymore—it’s hers.”
I didn’t just fall back from his statement. I stumbled.
I must have been quite a sight since Kinley coaxed, “Christian…”
Our gazes locked for a few seconds, and I could physically see and feel her internal struggle about what he’d just stated. She opened her mouth to say something, and I held in a breath.
Tell him he’s wrong, sweetness.
She didn’t.
Silence.
Scoffing out in anger, I slowly nodded and backed away. There was nothing left for me here, not even her.
All I could do was remind her, “We haven’t signed the papers yet. This is still my house. But I can see I’m no longer welcome here, so I’ll make it easy for you, Kinley. I’ll leave. I’d hate for you to make the wrong decision of choosing him over me.”
She winced, only fueling my fire for what I was going to maliciously add…
“We all know what happened the last time you didn’t choose me.”
Chapter 10
Christian
Then
A year came and went in the blink of an eye, taking all our new firsts with it. I spent as much time as I could with Kinley. She was at my house all the time, and my family loved her. I’d never forget the expression on my little sister’s face when I introduced her as my girlfriend a few weeks after the carnival.
“Wow,” Autumn expressed with wide eyes. “Christian has never come home with a girlfriend before. You must be super special.”
Kinley laughed. “And you must be Autumn.”
“I’m the little sister.” Autumn nodded. “My birthday was just last week. I’m ten now.”
“I know.” Kinley smiled. “I went with Christian to pick out your present.”
Autumn beamed. “You did? How did you know I loved Littlest Pet Shops?”
“Doesn’t everybody? They’re my favorite too.”
“Really? Maybe we could play with mine.”
“I’d love to.”
“Christian,” Mom chimed in, bringing our attention over to her. She was standing beside my dad, looking as captivated as I was by my girl. “She’s absolutely beautiful.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Troy.”
“Oh please, call me Emma.”
“Yes, and you can call me Steven,” Dad extended his hand.
For the rest of the evening, we hung out as a family, and I could tell Kinley appreciated being around them. I thought it was the first time she had been around a dynamic like ours.
Later that night, she proved my theory.
I was sitting on the couch with her head in my lap, playing with her hair while we watched a movie.
She turned her face to look up at me. “I had a great time tonight. Thanks for introducing me to them.”
I smiled. “Sweetness, you don’t have to thank me for introducing you to my family. They’ve been dying to meet you.”
“Really?”
“Of course. They all wanted to meet the girl who now owns my balls.”
She slapped me on the chest. “Christian!”
“What?” I grinned, teasing, “You know I’m fucking with you. Only I own my balls, baby. But you…” I winked at her. “You can definitely own my cock.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What about your heart?”
“Well, that too.”
“Christian,” Autumn announced, bringing me back to the present. “I think you should get her the turquoise birthday cake since that’s her favorite color.”
I nodded. “I think you’re right.”
“Jesus fuck,” Julian exclaimed. “Where did your balls go, man? Did you just hand them over to her?”
Autumn giggled. “My brother loves Kinley. She’s his soulmate. Do you think you have a soulmate, Julian?”
“Nah, I’m not made like that, kid.”
“Maybe you already know her”—she shrugged—“and you just don’t know it yet.”
“I don’t know many girls.”
“Bullshit.” I chuckled. “You know every girl with tits and an ass from here to Dallas.”
“I’ve banged every girl from here to Dallas. Doesn’t mean I know them.”
Autumn scratched her head. “What does bang mean?”
I hit him in the chest, only looking at her. “Nothing you’ll ever do.”
“I don’t think I’d like to bang,” she remarked. “It doesn’t sound very nice.”
Julian laughed from deep within his chest, and I resisted the urge to hit him again. I swear he’d forget my little sister was only eleven, she was still a kid, and I wanted to keep her that way for as long as I could.
Autumn was beautiful, even as a baby. I knew there would come a time when little shits would be knocking on our door to take her out on a date, and I’d have to threaten their lives if they didn’t keep their dick in their pants.
“Christian, do you bang? Does Kinley?”
I glared at Julian, who was suppressing another laugh.
“Why don’t we let your brother pay for his turquoise birthday cake.”
“It’s not mine, you dick. It’s for Kinley’s seventeenth birthday.”
“So you’ve said.” He nodded to Autumn before getting down on one knee for her to jump on his back. “We’ll meet you outside.”
“Don’t let her out of your sight.”
“He’s giving me a piggyback ride! I think that counts, right?”
“It counts, kid.”