Page 156 of Temporary Vows

"We mostly stayed in London when my brothers and I came to live with our grandparents," he says, pulling my thoughts back to the moment. "But every summer they’d would bring us here. Me and my brothers. We’d stay for the whole summer. From start to finish."

I smile, picturing it. In my mind I see a young Dorian running wild through these woods. Climbing trees and getting muddy at the lake's edge. I imagine him free in a way I know he no longer is.

"It was always great," he continues. Then his jaw tightens and a sour look wrinkles his face. "Until the last week."

"What happened during the last week?"

"Parker."

He doesn't need to say anymore. I understand straightaway and although I don’t know too much about Parker, I’m now aware that the tension between them is as ancient as Rome.

“Why don’t you like him?” I press, searching his eyes.

"We've always been rivals," he says. "We’ve been that way for as long as I can remember. It's just worse now that we're adults. And the whole thing with him recently is because he's after my job.”

My eyes snap wide. “Really?”

“Oh yes. For years." He pauses, pulling at a blade of grass. "It just wasn’t possible until recently. My father holds the line of inheritance in the company. So ownership and leadership passes to his sons unless he decides to change something.”

I lean forward, realizing I was getting the bigger picture. “Is that what he did?”

Dorian nods. “If I didn't meet his terms, he threatened to hand the COO position to Parker when he moves to England next year."

I bite the inside of my lip. "Would your father really do that to you?"

"Sadly, yes. He thought I was giving the company a bad image." A bitter smile crosses his face. "He was right. Parker knew it and took that opportunity to screw with me every chance he got." His eyes darken. "He was even trying to take you."

I shake my head. "I wouldn't have let him get that close. I was just being nice to him because he's your cousin."

A fierce flicker of possessive settles in his eyes. "That's good to know." His voice drops lower. "But I wasn't going to let him take you."

"Yes,I know." I chuckle. "I think he knows that too. He definitely got the message after you scared him."

Dorian was brutal with those steak knives. By the time he was done with Parker, he looked like he was going to shit himself right there in the restaurant.

A familiar ringtone cuts through the stillness. It's Jack. He's checking up on me. It’s been a few days since he called. And he always calls at the wrong time. Quickly, I pull the phone from my pocket and send the call to my voicemail.

"That was just Jack," I say, slipping my phone back into my pocket.

Dorian watches me. "You could have answered it."

"It's okay. I'll talk to him later."

The truth is I don't want to make this awkward. Jack and Dorian are… God, I know that's a wound that will never heal.

They’re not just ex best friends, they’re rivals and I'm the bridge between two sides that don't connect. At least Doriandoesn’t talk about Jack at all. Jack on the other hand always has something to say. It’s unnerving.

I don’t want to spoil this moment by bringing Jack's voice into it. It would feel as wrong as dragging something heavy into a place that's supposed to be light.

Dorian holds my gaze for a beat longer, then his expression softens. "You know you can talk to your brother around me. Please don’t let me stop you.”

"I know you wouldn’t. It's just... a little uncomfortable," I admit. "Given the past."

He nods slowly. “I get it. It would be.”

Honest, it wasn’t just about them. I still have my own hang-ups. Things I'd rather not think about, but now that Dorian and I have…evolved, I sometimes find myself thinking about it.

“You’ve gone pale, again, Lamb.” Dorian observes with an uneasy smile.