Brenda Novak - When We Touch

“No wonder you lost your cool.”

His response surprised her. “Excuse me?”

“You haven’t dealt with the blow.”

“I refuse to feel bad about a man who could do what Kyle did. That’s all.”

He reappeared with some painkillers and a glass of water. “Here, take these.”

She swallowed the pills, then eyed him dubiously when he said, “To be honest, I don’t understand why you’re here.”

“You invited me,” she pointed out, purposely misunderstanding.

“You know what I mean.”

With a wince, she adjusted the ice pack. “Everyone’s wondering whether I’ll show up. I felt it was best to come back with my head held high. Not coming would only have confirmed to Kyle and Noelle that I’m still hurt.”

“I admire your courage, but…”

He thought she’d bitten off more than she could chew. That episode in the car proved it. “I won’t break down again.”

“There’s no shame in loving someone, Olivia.”

As if he knew anything about it. She almost said that, but stopped herself. Why be unkind? He wasn’t the person who’d wronged her. She knew better than to give him the chance. “There is if that someone is marrying your sister,” she grumbled. “Everyone’s watching me, waiting for the tears to flow.” And he’d actually witnessed them…

His expression softened. “Kyle screwed up.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, even if you are sort of obligated to say that to someone who’s going through what I am.”

He didn’t try to convince her he’d meant it more honestly. “Just because you’re in town doesn’t mean you have to stay,” he said. “I’m the only one who’s seen you.”

“You’re suggesting I leave? Miss the wedding? She’s my sister.”

“That goes both ways. Most people would say she had no business hooking up with your boyfriend.”

The fact that Kyle had been her boyfriend made him that much more desirable for Noelle. It was a strange but undeniable dynamic. Noelle had always coveted what she had. “What good would it do to nurse my resentment? To tear my family apart?” she asked. “Besides, I have to attend the wedding. I’m planning it.”

His thick eyebrows jerked together. Because he’d removed his sunglasses the moment they walked into the house, she could see his eyes. She wasn’t sure that was a good thing. They were so beautiful they could render a woman helpless with a single, smoldering glance—especially a woman who needed to feel desired again.

“You’re planning it?” he said. “Why the hell would you do that?”

The anger in his voice made her stiffen. “That’s what I do for a living. That’s what I’ve been doing since college.”

“Doesn’t mean you had to do this wedding. Why didn’t you say no?”

“To my parents?”

“They had no right asking you.”

“They couldn’t afford anyone else. I have all the contacts. I could do it much more easily than they could themselves. Besides, they want me to forgive her. They want to maintain peace and harmony in the family.”

“That’s bullshit. They should’ve protected you, told her to elope.”

Olivia had never dreamed she’d be commiserating with Brandon Lucero. Apparently their mutual dislike of Kyle had pulled them onto the same team. “Why haven’t you ever gotten along with your stepbrother?” she asked.

“Kyle’s not bad,” he replied. “Not anymore.” He returned to the kitchen a third time and came back with two glasses of wine, one of which he handed to her.

“That didn’t really answer my question.”

“I was fifteen when he came into my life.”

“And?”

He seemed reluctant to continue, acting as if it was in the past and didn’t matter anymore. But she could tell it did.

“Oh, come on,” she said. “He was sleeping with my sister within a week of our break. We weren’t even supposed to be seeing other people. I’m not going to stick up for him.”

“There’s no need for anyone to stick up for him. Everyone knows I’m the black sheep.”

“You’re saying he’s had it easier than you?”

He took a sip of his wine. “By the time he came into my life, it’d been ten years since my dad died.”

“I heard he was in a plane crash. Is that true?”

“It was his own plane. He loved to fly; but there was a malfunction....”

“I’m sorry.”

“I was only five when it happened.” He sat across from her. “But by the time my mother remarried, I was comfortable, no longer craving a father or a brother. My mother and I were doing just fine.”

“Then she met Bob Houseman and…everything changed.”

He nodded. “Suddenly I lost the company of my friends and found myself in a new town, a new school. Not only that but I had this father figure who was bossing me around and laying down strict rules. I had a brother, too, who meant the absolute world to him, which meant I could never compete. That made having a dad more of an illusion than a reality.” He studied the wine in his glass. “The worst part was how it affected my mother. She was so eager to please them both that I was quickly relegated to the backseat, expected to understand and adapt.” He fell silent before finishing with, “There were just a lot of changes.”

So he felt that Kyle and Kyle’s father had stolen his previous life and his mother from him. When she looked at it from his point of view, she could see why. It sounded as if Kyle had been in a better position to enjoy the new family dynamic. It would be hard to start over in high school, hard to have your position usurped.

Was that why he’d used his good looks and charisma like a weapon?

“How do you feel about Kyle now?” she asked.

“None of what bothered me then seems to matter anymore. I’ve come to terms with it.”

She got the feeling that wasn’t completely true. Maybe the animosity had died down, but.... “Do you think you’ll ever be close?”

“Probably not. Imagine taking two boys with strong personalities, competitive personalities, both oldest sons and trying to force one to become ‘the little brother’ after years and years of living a different life. Although I was younger, I refused to let Kyle best me at anything, and he resented the constant challenge.”

“I’m sure it didn’t help that you went your own ways so soon after your parents were married.”

“I don’t follow you....”

“You never really got a chance to adjust.” Kyle had headed off to college just two years after the wedding, right after she and Brandon went to Brandon’s junior prom, which was something that had always bugged Kyle—even though he and Olivia weren’t dating back then. By the time he returned, Brandon was gone. Then they started their careers and, with Brandon out of town so much, it’d been easy for Kyle to forget he even had a stepbrother. Most of the time, he hadn’t wanted to talk about Brandon.

“Actually I think we were both relieved about the separation,” he said with a wry grin.

“If he finds out I’m here, you could be looking at another challenge to your relationship.”

He winked at her. “I’m willing to take that risk.”

She glanced around the room. “You’re willing to take any risk.”

His eyes never left her face. She could feel his close regard, even though she avoided eye contact. “Only if I want something badly enough.”

Olivia’s phone rang, saving her from a response. She was glad. Whether or not he’d meant what he’d said as a pickup line, she’d felt a tingle down to her toes. She prayed her reaction was because her self-esteem had hit an all-time low. She needed to heal before she involved herself in another relationship, especially with someone so likely to use her without a second thought.