“I’m not trying to push her, Low. I’m really not; I just want her to be happy.”
“Are you sure that you don’t just want her because you can’t have her?”
Lifting an eyebrow, I bent my head and rubbed the nape of my neck.
“Nah, it’s not that.”
“She’s engaged, going into an arranged marriage, still living with her...Lake!”
“What?” I asked, warmth growing throughout my body.
“No! No! No! No! No, Lake! Please tell me you’re not doing this,” Harlow moaned, dropping her face into her hands before looking at me again.
Glancing away from her, I took the remnants of my meal to the trash to dispose of it, turning my back on my sister.
“Laaakke?” she called, dragging out my name in that annoying habit she’d learned during our youth.
“What, Low? What do you want me to say?” I asked, throwing my arms up and crossing them over my chest before I leaned against the counter.
Harlow pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed heavily.
“Are you a fucking glutton for punishment, dude? Didn’t you learn your lesson the last time?”
I sighed.
“Wait, no, don’t answer that question because obviously, you didn’t. But you cannot try to dissuade Xiomara from doing this. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. If the man sent his daughter away for how many years?”
“Ten.”
“Ten years, Lake? Ten fucking years? What do you think he’ll do if he realizes you’re sniffing around again?”
“It wasn’t him that sent her away. I found out he offered it as an option, and she had the choice to go or not go. She went away.”
My sister shook her head, laughing.
“I mean, in a perfect world, her father’s company and our father’s company would be a suitable alignment, and maybe you’d be the one in the arranged marriage with her.”
“No, fucking way. Nobody said anything about marriage,” I defended.
“Then what the hell are you doing, Lake? I mean, really? Leave the girl alone if you’re only offering her a quick screw against the wall!” Harlow shouted at me.
“That’s not what this is, Low.”
“Look, it would be different if she were being forced into this, but we both know she’s not. Xiomara has wanted this company since she was a toddler, dude! She cut her teeth on this company! And she knows what she’s getting into. There’s been no doubt that she would have to marry Russell Darden to take over her father’s role. And she was always okay with it.”
Dropping my head, I circled my toe on the marble floor. I looked back up at my sister and brushed a lock of hair from my forehead.
“She was never okay with it.”
“She never rebelled against it,” Harlow pointed out.
“Only because she had time. And now that time’s run out. Just a few months, and she’ll marry that ass wipe.”
“Hey, no need to call the man out of his name because he has the girl of your wet dreams.”
“No need to be a bitch, Low.”
“I’m not, just pointing out the obvious.”
“The dude doesn’t even care about her or what she wants. You should see him, Low. He doesn’t even appreciate the woman.”
“Still not your business. That’s something she has to deal with for herself.”
“We were always close friends. So, what are you saying? Just give up on her and let her make a decision she’ll regret for the rest of her life?”
“No, I’m saying consider your movements. If you push her in any direction, Lake, then you’re responsible for her. If she makes a decision about her future that she can’t go back from, she may tie those feelings to you and expect things that you cannot deliver. She will become your responsibility, and you have to make sure that you’re ready for that. I’m not so sure that you are. Especially if you’re not speaking words like ‘marriage,’ and that’s what this guy is offering her, along with being the head of her father’s company. No, I know for a fact that you’re not ready.”
“Why would you say that?” I asked frowning.
“Because you’re still screwing other women,” Harlow said matter-of-factly, giving me a blank stare.
“Why would you say that?”
“You were at the club earlier this evening, weren’t you?”
Throwing my hands into the air, I said, “Yeah. I was and?”
“There’s only one purpose for your visits to that club. And it’s not for the restaurants, the bar, or the club scene. You go there for sex. I just wonder if she were to leave her fiancé for you, would she still respect you if she knew the truth?”
“I went there for a meeting today. It’s been over two months since I’ve been.”
“Okay, but are you ready to offer her what she deserves?”
I thought that I’d given Xiomara a lot to think about, but in true Harlow Marie Chambers fashion, she was forcing me to think about my actions. She was always the one member of our family that upheld the values she promoted so highly.
“When you have the answer to that, and you feel good about your answer in your heart, then come back to me and ask me about planning this party.”
I watched as my sister hopped off the counter and headed out of the kitchen, tugging at her short shorts and tossing “You’re welcome” over her shoulder as she flipped her long, blonde hair back.
CHAPTER 15 – XIOMARA
“WE’VE GOT AN APPOINTMENT with a realtor today at noon to search for a house,” Russell said.
“That is so exciting! If you need any advice, come to Gaurav and me. I have the perfect interior designer for you to use,” my mother said, clapping her hands together gleefully.
“Are you looking in the downtown area?” Senait asked.
“I thought we would go closer to the mountains,” Russell said.
“That area is a bit pricy. Are you sure you can afford it?” my father asked.
“Of course, I have been saving for this for a long time. Besides, my parents are going
