Page 22 of Forbidden Touch
“Not if you tell him the obvious truth … that you’ve fallen in love with her.”
TheSumatraCafe,nestledwithin the luxurious Blake property, offers a serene view of Lake Las Vegas, its atmosphere providing a haven from the chaos of the outside world. It should feel tranquil, but my stomach churns as I take a seat and wait for Ethan Wolfe.
My anxiety runs high today, its relentless grip tightening around my heart like a vise. Happily, I’ve had no panic attacks since yesterday’s drama. I try to soothe my nerves with a glass of ice water.
Finally, Ethan strolls through the front of the restaurant and speaks with the hostess. He’s not alone. The other guy looks familiar, but it’s hard to tell who he is from a distance. The restaurant employee leads them closer to the table.
Ethan’s face is unreadable, but his shoulders stiffen when he sees me. The person with him—someone I did not expect to be there—is Devin Wolfe, the middle sibling of the family.
Devin is a billionaire builder who owns several luxurious hotels around town. His bank account is every bit as stacked as mine and Ethan’s, but he’s probably worth a couple of billion more than us. My industrial warehouses and Ethan’s talent management company look like play toys compared to his massive resort properties.
He stays out of the limelight, though. In fact, he rarely makes public appearances at all. So, him being here today worries me.
As I rise from the table, I greet the two brothers.
Both of their bright amber eyes settle on me, and there’s a fierceness to them. Ethan shakes my hand.
One side of his mouth lifts to an unexpected smile. “Cousin-in-law.”
For a man who just received a lawsuit in the mail, his mood is more upbeat than I thought it would be.
He gestures to the quiet man beside him. “You remember Devin, my brother?”
Devin and I haven’t met, but an introduction isn’t necessary. Especially not now. “Yes, I do. Good to finally meet you, Devin.”
His towering stature and brawny physique command the attention of the entire room. He nods once before shaking my hand. “Likewise.”
His skin feels rough and calloused, like he could rip a man apart with his bare hands.
Sighing, a dull ache throbs my temples. Now I need to explain my case to two Wolfes. Count in Fiona, and that makes three Wolfes who despise me. This sucks. I grip my water glass to cool my temperature. “Thank you for coming. I wish it were under better circumstances.”
Ethan purses his lips. “Me too, Jonathan.”
The waitress comes, and we each choose a whiskey from the menu. We exchange awkward small talk about the Blake’s establishment until the server comes back with three glasses of Grand Barrel. It’s a lofty choice, but we’re not here to celebrate.
I swallow and begin. “Guys, we all know why we’re here, and there’s no easy way to say this, but I take full responsibility for the lawsuit.”
Ethan halts, arching his eyebrow. “Come on. We all know it was your mom, and I don’t blame her either. She’s cutthroat, like all of us.”
My mouth drops. “How did you know it was Mother?”
He gives a half-shrug and gestures with one hand. “Ava.”
I silently praise Ava for her clever peace-making skills. “Oh, of course. It’s still my fault, though.”
“How?”
Rubbing my temple, I sigh. “I’ve been busy with my companies while my mother was brewing stuff background. It was already bad enough when my father died, but with my uncle’s death, it hasn’t been easy on my mom. I’ve been neglecting her, and now this happened.”
“You can’t put that on yourself, man,” he says. “You just had a company fall in your lap, and it hasn’t been easy, but I think we’ve been doing a good job of managing everything—including family relations.”
It feels good to hear a member of the Wolfe family tell me I’ve done nothing wrong. I relax my shoulders. “My mother can get heavy-handed sometimes. I should have kept an eye on her, and I didn’t do that. I’m sorry.”
Ethan nods, his eyes flicking to Devin before looking at me again. “I understand. I used to know someone like that. Made my life a living hell. Media wins every time.”
Devin clears his throat. “I wish we all would have known about this before it surfaced on the news. They just agitated everything.”
I nod, meeting Devin’s eye. “I agree. Again, Mother stepped way overboard with this.”