Page 79 of Filthy Hot Billionaire
The truthful answer to that was no, I didn’t see him as my stepbrother. Never really had. However, saying it was a defense mechanism. It allowed me to mentally maintain my distance from the man who had broken my heart so easily. I still wasn’t over how I felt about him, how easily I’d fallen for Knox in a single day, so I used every tool in my arsenal, determined to pretend otherwise.
Rather than relay that complex answer, I opted to change the subject. “Do your parents live in Ireland?”
“My father left us when I was a boy. Traipsed through our lives at a couple of points but never stuck,” he said as though an absentee father was normal. “My mother came to the States a couple of years ago for a women’s conference. During that trip, she met an American businessman who makes her ridiculously happy. Married, settled down. They live in Connecticut.”
“Do you have any other siblings?”
“Just Steph. She’s happily married, settling down.”
Married to Hannah, I knew. A fact I was curious about. How did they meet Hannah? Had Knox helped her the way he’d helped Stewart and Guillermo?
I didn’t voice those questions because I didn’t want to come across as curious about Knox.
We went on like that for about two hours, walking and talking. We paused at scenic views, dodged people playing, others exercising. We stopped at a fountain, watched some horses taking a break from carting tourists. Through it all, I felt a sense of freedom I hadn’t quite known up to this point. I’d been out of my father’s house, out from under Kitty’s overbearing rule for quite some time now, but I still wasn’t at the point that I took it for granted. Making my own decisions, choosing what I did with my life, even as simple as what I would eat, what I would wear … those were things I was still adjusting to, and the more I engaged, the better I felt.
Kieran walked me back to the building, accompanied me up the elevator. I kept waiting for him to take his leave, but he never did. As we were exiting into the apartment, his cell phone rang.
Instinct had me feeling in my pockets for my phone, only to realize I didn’t have pockets, nor did I have my phone. I headed for the great room to see if I’d left it there, found it on the end table, the screen flashing with a missed call. I grabbed it up, swiped the screen, and noticed there were five missed calls. Two from Priya, three from Siobhan.
I frowned as I tapped the screen to bring up the text messages, noticed our group message had fifteen notifications. The theme throughout was an adamant demand that I call them.
“If you’ll excuse me a minute,” I told Kieran, wanting to ensure everything was all right.
Kieran nodded, but he didn’t get comfortable, just stood watching me with his hands tucked in his pockets.
“Hey,” I greeted when Siobhan answered on the first ring. I walked to the windows, looked out over the park. “What’s going on?”
“What’s goingon?” Siobhan blasted. “What’s goingon? That’s the question we have foryou. What the fuck, girl? Couldn’t even give me a heads-up?”
“I’m sorry?” I stated defensively. “What are you talking about?”
“Two men came earlier and cleaned out your stuff.”
“My stuff?”
“Yourstuff,” she reiterated hotly. “Everything. It’s all gone. You didn’t tell me you were leaving.”
“I’m not,” I countered.
“But youdid.”
I turned around, saw that Stewart was in the room, both he and Kieran watching me intently.
“They waltzed right in like they owned the place,” Siobhan continued. “Packed it all up, carted it off. You could’ve told me.”
I watched Stewart and Kieran, both men giving off an uncomfortable vibe. And that could mean only one thing.
“Let me call you back,” I told my roommate.
“What the fuck?” she snapped.
“When I have answers, I’ll call you back. Promise.”
“You better.”
I disconnected the call, glanced from Stewart to Kieran, and planted my hands on my hips. “Do either of you know why I would suddenly move out of my dorm?”
Stewart’s gaze instantly dropped to the floor. Definitely guilty.
