Page 67 of Forever King

“Is he okay? Something happen to him at work? I know he’s under a lot of pressure there, but the last you told me, things were going great for him in his career. Oh, let me guess. He’s still struggling with the fact that you make more than he does. I don’t know why he cares. He’s a goddamned billionaire. The guydoesn’t even have to work. His money makes more money than most people do every day.”

While Kellen and I did have to overcome his discomfort with my making more money than he does, she’s right. He has more than enough of it to last for this life and probably three more lifetimes, so after he and I talked things out, he came to accept and even respect that I make good money with my job.

“No, it’s not the money thing. We took care of that. It’s something else. Something that I think has to do with his family.”

Quickly, she decides she knows what the problem is. “Ahhh, I get it. I bet they want to see him around more, and he’s not really feeling that whole nieces and nephews thing. Is that the problem?”

She’s never going to guess, so I might as well tell her. The fact that it hasn’t occurred to her tells me I’m not wrong in thinking he and I had settled this issue a long time ago.

“No, he loves those kids. That’s sort of what’s going on. He said he wants to get married. Out of the blue right after dinner, he just blurted it out. I was blindsided. I thought I made myself perfectly clear how I feel about marriage, but there he was talking about how he always assumed we would someday. Ever, he looked really hurt when I said I don’t want to get married.”

Now it’s her turn to sigh heavily. “Well, I know you, so that means you’ve made it clear you weren’t into getting married. That I’m sure of. On the other hand, I have to think it hurts someone’s feelings having to hear the person they love doesn’t want to take what most people in this world consider to be the next logical step in the relationship.”

Guilt begins to wash over me as I think back to how I’ve always sort of sidestepped any talk of marriage with him. “I thought I was clear, but maybe saying someday and then changing the subject wasn’t as clear as I thought. It’s not thatI don’t love him. I told him I do. You know I’m crazy about Kellen. I guess I just figured I was with someone who believed the same things about marriage that I do. Now he’s hurt, and I’m confused. What do I do?”

“You have to clear this up before you two go any further into this relationship. It’s not fair for one person to want marriage when the other person doesn’t.”

Her words stun me. “Any further in this relationship? I’m not going to break up with Kellen just because he wants to talk about getting married, Ever.”

“I wasn’t talking about you. He may be at the point in his life that he wants to settle down. If that’s the case, it’s unfair of you to keep him wondering, although it’s not as bad as if a woman wanted to and a man didn’t. He can get married and have a family when he’s in his sixties or seventies.”

What she’s saying is making me nuts. I walk over to the window in my office and look out at the street below. I see families with children and can’t help but think they seem to be able to do it, so maybe I could?

No. That’s not who I am.

“Ever, you’re not helping.”

“Fine. How about this? In my opinion, and this is only my opinion, when a man starts thinking about marriage, he’s already decided he wants to get married. You need to let him know exactly how you feel about this.”

The thought of losing Kellen settles into me, making my chest hurt. I don’t want to lose him, but I don’t want to get married. I thought we both agreed on that point.

“I thought I fell in love with someone like me,” I mumble.

“You better find out, or someone’s going to end up getting hurt.”

I hear Kellen moving around in the kitchen, so I tell my sister I’ll call her tomorrow morning. I think I need to clear things up tonight.

Walking down the hallway, I try to calm myself. It never occurred to me that this marriage issue might break us up. I don’t want that. I love him.

I stop just as I get to the doorway to the kitchen and watch him clean up the mess from his dinner. He really is everything I’ve ever dreamed of in a man. Handsome. Intelligent. Funny. Interesting. Sexy. Kellen King is the man of my fantasies and has been since the moment I met him.

Well, a few moments after I met him, but there’s no denying he charmed me from that very first night. Back then, he was a player, and I enjoyed the challenge.

God, why did that have to change?

He notices me leaning against the doorframe and smiles at me after washing his hands. “See anything you like?” he asks with a sexy chuckle.

“I was just thinking about when we met. Remember that place in the islands?”

Kellen walks over to me and slides his arms around my waist. “Remember it? I couldn’t forget meeting someone like you. I was crazy about you from that first night.”

Gazing up into his dark eyes, I can’t deny how much I love him. “Same with me. You were quite the charmer.”

He dips his head to kiss me full on the lips, making my stomach flutter. “I like to think I still am.”

Oh, he is all right. I swear Kellen King should have been a salesman. I wouldn’t be surprised if he could charm the birds out of the trees.

“Maybe a little,” I tease before twisting out of his hold to make my way down the hallway.