Page 40 of Her Brother's Billionaire Best Friend

“Hey Kyle,” said David, and then he looked at Lucien. “What’s going on?” he turned his head, looking back and forth between me and Lucien.

“Hi David,” Lucien stood up. He stepped back a little, wary of David. Not wanting to encroach on his space.

“Laura?” David whispered in my ear. “What’s he doing here?”

“We were just talking,” I said. “Lucien was explaining to Kyle what he does for a living.”

“Mr. Barnes is an investor,” said Kyle.

“Oh yeah?” said David.

“Yeah,” said Lucien. “Anyway, I gotta go.”

“Okay,” said David. “You sure you don’t wanna stay for dinner or something? I’m making eggplant parmigian…”

“David’s a great cook,” I said to Lucien. “It’s nice.”

“Thanks,” said Lucien uneasily. “I’m on a fast day, though. Can’t really eat. I’ll, uh, see you, Laura.”

He stepped out of the kitchen. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Lucien, to me, and then he left the house, jogging noiselessly down the steps. I listened for the sound of his shoes walking across the gravel driveway and onto the tarmac, as he began to walk back up the hill to Lakeview.

“You okay, Kyle?” said David.

Kyle stood up and looked at us. And for the first time since we’d moved here, I saw a smile on his lips.

“Yeah,” he said. “I am.”

David looked at me. He seemed relieved, but his eyes were full of concern.

Chapter 14

Conor (Lucien)

A month later, I was checking the post when I found something a little out of the ordinary. A fancy, pink envelope covered in curly handwriting. It seemed strangely familiar as I jogged upstairs, carrying the rest of my stuff with me.

When I got to my office, I turned the envelope over and saw the return address. It was for the Caluga Falls library.

“Laura!” I called from my office. “Would you come in here, please?”

In a flash, Laura rushed into the office. “What is it now?” she said a little cheekily. “I’ve still got another twenty of these reports to file and I’ve not even started on the bank thing yet.”

I grinned. Over the last month, things between us had been good. Not perfect—we still bickered a lot. But ever since the day I went to see Laura, I’d felt like we’d finally reached a ceasefire. And besides, she couldn’t help finding me tolerable now that her son Kyle finally had someone to talk to. More than a few times, I’d dropped Laura off at her house on the way to the airport and found Kyle waiting in the garden, enthusiastically waving hello to me. I liked him. But I also knew I had to keep some distance between us.

After all, Laura and I hadn’t kissed since that day. It didn’t seem fair when neither of us knew what we wanted. In my heart, I still felt bitter about her having left me when I was a young man.

And I knew that Laura felt bitter too—about having to come work for me here, swallowing her pride after she’d resigned.

“I just wondered if you could explain what this is,” I said, raising the envelope.

“Oh, that,” she said a little bashfully, and lowered her eyes.

“Any reason you sent me a letter instead of just telling?”

“It’s…I mean, well, it’s from everyone on the library committee. Not just me.”

“What does it say?”

Laura folded her hands behind her back and adopted a nonchalant expression. “Why don’t you open it?”