Taming the Lone Wolff(76)
He handed her a tiny black ribbon she had dropped. “You do realize that my brother has never brought a woman here before.”
Winnie shot him a glance. “So I’ve heard.”
“You must have made an impression on him. This is his private space.”
“Your brother is a kind, generous man. I needed a place to hide out, and he offered to bring me here.”
“He went through a bimbo phase in college and shortly after.”
Winnie grinned. “I’ve heard that, too. Trust me. I won’t do anything to harm your baby brother.”
Every ounce of humor disappeared from his face. “It’s you I’m worried about, Winnie. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Everyone keeps telling me that, including Larkin. It’s okay. I get it. We’re just having fun.” She added that last part because surely the Wolffs were smart enough to realize something was going on. His family seemed to know him better than he realized.
Devlyn glanced across the chaos that was the large white tent where Sam’s party would take place. “He takes too much upon himself. Tries to fix things that aren’t his to fix.”
“He told me a little about your childhood. Before the mountain. It hurt me to hear it, but I suppose you realize it’s still fresh on his mind.”
“It is for me and Annalise, too,” he said, his gaze focused on something far away that she couldn’t see. “I don’t think you ever really forget something like that. We’ve grown up. And figured out that few families resemble a Norman Rockwell painting. Annalise and I have been lucky enough to find partners who love us and accept who we are, scars and all.”
“But…”
He shrugged. “But Larkin suffered in different ways than I did. Emotional trauma can be as bad or worse than the physical.”
She was well aware of that. “He’s made a good life for himself.”
“Alone.”
“Yes.”
“So you’re aware of the danger.”
“I could fall in love with him, and he could walk away.”
“Exactly.”
Winnie finished the last of the vases and began filling them with water. “I appreciate your concern, Devlyn—I really do. But I’m not the naive person I may appear to be. I understand Larkin better than you think. So thanks for the warning, but I’m okay.”
He set the chair aside and stood up. “I wish I could be more encouraging. You fit in here on the mountain.”
She arched her back, stretching out the kinks, hands on her hips. “I always knew my relationship with Larkin was a fleeting thing. He envies you all, I think. But not enough to take on the burden of marriage.”
“Marriage isn’t a burden.”
“Maybe not for you.”
“Take care of yourself, and take care of him.”
“What if those two things are mutually exclusive?”