Conner made a face and Rory felt a little sorry for him. He didn’t have any sisters, but he was pretty sure he would beat the living crap out of a man saying that about his sister. Conner had more restraint than Rory would have. Of course, he wasn’t going to test it, because there was a good chance Conner was ready to lose it.
“That doesn’t matter. She is not sophisticated enough--”
“Stop right there,” Zee warned. “She is an adult, one who was given the choice. We didn’t pressure her. Your sister might not have had a lot of relationships when she was younger, but she is hardly some wide-eyed virgin. We suggested it and we gave her the choice.”
“And if I say I want to buy you out and send you on your way?”
“Then I guess that’s the end of the business relationship.”
A beat of silence filled the room. Conner looked stunned but he recovered fast enough. “Shit. You’re going to make me accept his, aren’t you?”
“Gentleman,” Jillian said. They all looked toward the doorway where Jillian stood. Rory wondered how long she had been standing there.
“I think you might want another opinion on the situation.”
“How is my sister?”
Her expression softened a bit. “She’s fine. She’s sleeping right now. And thankfully she missed all this crap.”
“Crap?” Conner asked.
“Yes, crap. Lord, you’re having a discussion about her as if you have something to say about it.”
“I’m looking out for her interests here.”
“By dissolving a partnership with your best friend because he loves her.”
Zee looked surprised which in turn surprised Rory. Did Zee realize the way he looked at the woman?
“Yes, I’ve known since the first time I talked to you that first time you were in love with her. It probably makes it easier that Rory is too.”
All their gazes swung his way and Rory felt his throat tighten. He had never said he loved the woman, and he wasn’t in love with her. Not really. Okay, maybe a little, but he would be damned if he talked about it in front of her brother and his wife. Or anyone for that matter.
“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked. The knowing look Jillian sent him made him want to growl, but he couldn’t blame her. Even he heard his defensive tone.
“None of this matters.” Conner crossed his arms over his chest and stared both Zee and Rory down. It didn’t scare him much, even at all. In a fight, they were about even, but he had Zee on his side.
“Love doesn’t matter. Conner Dillon, you want to sleep outside tonight?”
He glanced at her and saw what few probably would ever see. A Dom going soft. Of course, he understood. When a Dom was in love, he would do anything to please his partner. And that is exactly how he felt about Maura.
He waited for panic. Rory had always tried his best to side step love, but Zee had made him think that maybe he was actually capable of love. Adding Maura to the mix had been a way of controlling the situation. But in the process, he had fallen in love. Shit. This was not supposed to happen. He should have seen it coming. He had been attracted to her since they met but there was something else. Something that tugged at his heart just as much as it tugged at his—
“Wake up, Rory,” Jillian said. He pulled himself out of his haze to focus on her. Her lips curved in smug smile. “Off in dreamland?”
“This is all well and good, but I think that you need to decide if you want me as your partner still,” Zee said.
Rory looked at the man he had loved most of his life. Sure, Zee sounded pissed, but he knew he was hurting. He and Conner went back a long way. Not a lot of people in their business would accept him for who he was. Conner always had.
Jillian threw her hands up. “Lord, grant me patience. Y’all are acting worse than my family. Listen, you’re pissed right now Conner—for no good reason. Did you tell your sister all the things you did? Or we do? I mean, that whole honeymoon surprise was probably not something you would personally want her to know about.”
“Now, Jillian—”
She ignored him and turned her attention to both he and Zee. “I’m not sure y’all know where this is headed. But, you need to establish something soon because you’re going back to Miami, and I have a feeling Maura found a lot of things she now likes.”
Rory couldn’t help but smile. Jillian shook her head.
“Don’t be going all Alpha on me. Unless you want her joining a club back there and exploring it more with someone else, I would suggest you start figuring it out. She might wait around for you to pull your heads out of your asses but she won’t wait long.”