Page 39 of Killian (The Doherty Mafia)
Reese met my eyes. She must have known why I reacted the way I did.
“Have some coffee,” she said calmly, pouring me a mug.
I joined them at the table, looking Isabelle over to see if she did actually look better.
“It’s amazing what a night’s sleep can do to your body, right? And I’m sure you know this already but this one’s a keeper,” Isabelle said. She smiled up at Reese who blushed and hid her eyes. The irony was... I was keeping her, indeed.
“It’s like she’s worked some kind of miracle on me.”
Reese shook her head. “It’s nothing. Your injuries aren’t serious.”
“But are you sure you’re not a doctor or a nurse?” Isabelle insisted.
Reese smiled. “I’m sure. I think I would have remembered something like that.”
I slammed a set of keys down on the table as a diversion. The less curious Isabelle was of Reese, the better it would be for everybody.
“What’s that?” my sister asked.
“Keys to my apartment in the city. It’s yours.”
“Mine?” Isabelle’s eyes glowed. She reached for the keys and held them tightly in her hand.
“I don’t want you worrying about where to live. I know you don’t want to go to the family home. You can camp out at the apartment for a while. For as long as you need.”
Isabelle smiled warmly at me, reaching for my hand.
“Thank you for everything, Killian. I know we’re not biological siblings, but you are literally the best brother a girl could have.” She squeezed my hand and I grunted a response.
It was awkward because there were things I wanted to say. I wanted to remind Isabelle she was the only sister I had. Biological or not. And I would always protect her with my life. But those weren’t the kinds of things I was used to saying.
When I looked up, Reese was smiling at me like her heart had just melted.
Twenty
Reese
Killian left me free and alone in his house again, while he took his sister to his apartment in the city.
Once again, he didn’t have a conversation with me about how I was pretty much free to do whatever I wanted.
I could walk out of the cabin at any time. He hadn’t even locked the front door.
For several minutes after they had left, I stood in the living room contemplating my next move. That was when I realized it had been days since the last time I had a genuine urge to escape. I didn’t even think about it anymore.
Escape to what?
Didn’t I have everything I needed right here?
I had a comfortable home. I had a man who took care of me. A man who gave me tingles every time he looked at me. There was nothing else for me out there.
I decided I would cook us a nice meal for when he returned. Who knew what the next day had in store for us.
Maybe all this time while Isabelle was here, Killian was just waiting for her to leave so he could revert to treating me like his prisoner again. Maybe it was all just an act for his sister’s sake, because he didn’t want his family finding out he was harboring me.
But what if it wasn’t? What if he actually felt the way I did?
Like maybe…just maybe, there could be a future for us? Would it be so crazy to imagine that?
I found all the ingredients I needed to make a sausage casserole, and I got to work quickly on it.
I’d never cooked for anyone before. I’d certainly never cooked for Charlie and he…he was the only guy I’d ever gotten serious with.
I had never had the opportunity to pretend to have a domestic life with a man before. We played house and it made me feel good. It made me feel normal.
I heard his car drive up to the cabin. Then doors banged. Opened and shut.
Finally, Killian was in the kitchen with me again.
I turned to face him. His brows were furrowed and it looked like he was sniffing the air.
“What is that?” he asked.
“Sausage casserole. I wanted to make something nice for us tonight, but you don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to.”
My throat was dry. I didn’t know what to expect from him.
Now that Isabelle was gone, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he banished me to the basement again. It didn’t matter. I wanted to do this for him either way.
“No, I want to eat it. It smells delicious,” he said.
Then he walked over to the cabinet and grabbed two big plates, plonking them down on the table.
Looked like I was going to have dinner with him again tonight.
* * *
“I have to admit, it was nice seeing that other side of you,” I said as we ate.
Killian had already taken second helpings, and he wasn’t trying to hide the fact that he enjoyed what I’d cooked.
