“No, it’s experience. I know what it really feels like to be in love, and what I felt for Yasmin is nothing compared to what I feel now. This is a million times worse.”
“You’re in love with Tori.” His sister’s eyes went wide. “Oh, what a mess.”
Oliver felt his jaw tighten. “I won’t act on it. She’s marrying someone else. You must know that I, of all people, would never come between a man and his woman.”
He knew what it felt like to be the cuckold in that scenario. All too often, he looked into the faces of his former friends and wondered which of them had been his wife’s lovers.
Claire bit her bottom lip. “I know you won’t…but perhaps you should. She can’t be terribly mad for the man—or he for her. She hasn’t seen him in six months. Six months, Oliver, and neither has visited the other once. Her sister is both the queen of an entire country and mother to two boys—enormous responsibilities—and yet Piper has already visited Tori twice. I’ve been thinking about this fiancé of hers. We should look into him.”
His sister sometimes enjoyed sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. “Absolutely not. You’ll leave the situation alone. Tori’s contract ends in a few months, and she’s already said that she intends to return home. And that will be the end of it.”
“It won’t be. Can’t you see that? You’ve suffered this malaise for the past two years, Oliver. You can’t stay this way. How many other fights have you been involved in? Can’t you see you have a death wish, and she might be the only one who can save you? Do you think I haven’t noticed the way you look at her? I followed you because I was praying I would find out you’re sleeping with her, even with all the trouble that would cause between you, Rory, and Callum.”
“It’s not going to happen. I’m not good for anyone. I never will be again.” And he didn’t apologize for it. “As for the death wish, well…we all have to wish for something.” His brain finally caught on to the rest of her speech. “What did you mean, trouble between me and our brothers? What do they have to do with my ill-timed fascination with Ms. Glen?”
“You really don’t pay attention to anything, do you? Who do you think Callum was talking about bringing to the fundraiser? And why do you think Rory looked ready to take his head off? They both fancy her. Callum believes himself in love with the girl and he intends to make his move. If you tell them that you want her for yourself, I think they’ll back off. They love you.”
Oliver gripped the side of the desk, seething, his knuckles turning white. “He will not touch her. I’ll make sure of it.”
Rory would have to get in line to take Callum’s head off because if their middle brother laid one finger on Tori, Oliver would be more than happy to do the honors.
Without a backward glance at his sister, he strode out of the office, itching for a fight.
CHAPTER TWO
Rory managed to close the door to Oliver’s office with a quiet snick. He had to force himself not to slam the thing because he was so bloody angry. What did Callum think he was about? Had the bastard listened to a word he’d said last night? Or had he simply nodded his pretty-boy head and decided to do whatever he wanted, no matter the cost?
“Which direction did my brother go?” Rory asked Oliver’s fifty-something assistant.
Silently, he pleaded for the proper reply. The only good answer was to the west wing where Callum’s office was located.
“Mr. Thurston-Hughes went toward the east wing. He seemed in good spirits,” the woman said. “That’s nice to see after all the nasty business of late.”
Anger flashed through Rory’s system. Good spirits? Callum wouldn’t be after a thorough throttling. The prick was headed for Tori’s office. Callum might be six foot six inches and almost sixteen stone of pure-muscled imbecile, but Rory could hold his own in a fight.
“He won’t be for long,” he mumbled under his breath as he jogged down the hall to intercept Callum before he reached Tori. He couldn’t let his brother botch everything.
According to Claire, Oliver was following their lovely publicist around. That likely meant their eldest brother finally intended to do something about his obvious infatuation with her. If not, that meant Oliver was stalking her. While Rory wondered if his big brother had turned predator, he also had to believe the warm, giving sibling who had practically raised him still lurked inside, waiting for the right woman to free him.
Damn Yasmin. If she weren’t already dead, Rory would cheerfully murder the bitch himself.
And damn Tori for being so fucking lovable that she was going to break at least two Thurston-Hughes’s hearts. If he couldn’t have her himself, Rory intended to make damn sure she didn’t hurt Oliver. He’d been through enough.
He turned the corner and found Callum in front of the lifts, impatiently pressing the button that would take him down a level to Tori’s office. Thankfully, he was alone.
“You bastard.”
Callum turned, his jawline taut and stubborn. “I’m not talking about this any longer. Oliver won’t have her, so I intend to. That’s all that needs to be said.”
They’d been through this before. What would it take to get through his brother’s thick skull? “He can’t admit it yet, but I finally think he’s close. Damn it, Callum. I want her, too, but I want Ollie to live more. We have to step back and let him have his chance. We owe him that.”
“I know we do, but I’m not convinced he’ll pick himself up by the balls enough to take her. If that’s the case, I don’t owe him my happiness. Or hers. If he has his way, she’ll be alone forever.”
“You forget her fiancé.”
Callum flushed slightly. “What sort of man leaves her all alone in a foreign country? As far as I’m concerned, after six months he’s given up his rights to her. And Tori doesn’t seem to miss him. She might still wear that pitiful nothing of a ring, but I keep her company. I make sure she’s not alone at night.”
A red mist descended over Rory, shocking him with a fury that made his whole body shake. He’d heard some people talk about losing control when their anger took hold, but he’d never been that man. Callum’s words pushed him to the breaking point, and he fought to repress the crimson haze. “Exactly how are you keeping her company at night, brother?”
Callum raised his hands as if in surrender. “Not sexually. I haven’t touched her beyond a friendly hug.”
One of the things Rory loved about Torrance was her genuine, frequent affection. He’d loved his parents, but their open shows of fondness had been few and far between. Now he craved the way she hugged him when she thought he needed it. At first, he’d been put off by it. Now he wouldn’t let a day go by without her embrace. “Explain it to me then.”
“I call her. I sometimes convince her to let me buy her dinner so we can talk about the fundraiser, but we spend hours talking about all sorts of things. We click, she and I. I’ve never met anyone like her and I’m not willing to give her up because Oliver won’t pull his head from his sphincter.”
“He’s gun-shy. Can’t you see that? Don’t you think I feel the same way about her you do?”
“Then may the best man win.” He turned back to the lift doors and reached out to press the button to call the car again.
They weren’t done yet. He slapped his brother’s hand away and lunged in front of the doors. “No. We’re not playing it that way. We had an agreement.”
“That was months ago, and Oliver has shown no signs of coming out of his shell. I’m not certain he’ll ever be ready.” Callum’s eyes softened. “Rory, I know you feel terribly guilty that you introduced him to Yasmin. You think she got to him through you, but this mess isn’t your fault any more than it’s his. Yasmin is to blame and she’s dead. I’ll be honest, I don’t understand this desperate need he seems to have to punish himself for something that wasn’t his fault.”
“I think he blames himself most for the two children she aborted. He didn’t even know she was pregnant.”
“How could he
have known if she didn’t tell him? And given what we know about her now, how can he be certain the babies were even his? I feel for Ollie. He can mourn his lost children, but he doesn’t honor them by dying as well. I feel the loss of my career every day but do you know why I didn’t go immediately into coaching or broadcasting?”
“No. I have wondered. I know you’ve had offers.”
“Because that part of my life is over. I don’t want to be some pathetic, middle-aged, washed-up former pro. I don’t want to be a former anything. I was an athlete. I can’t do that anymore so I’m going to take all of my energy and put it into something new, something worthwhile. I’ve got one life and I won’t live it in the past. I won’t wallow in misery. And I’m through helping Oliver do it. I love Tori. I’ve never felt this way about a woman before. I won’t let her go because Oliver might someday wake up and want her. If he truly cares for her, then he’d better be ready to fight. She deserves that.”
Callum had a point, but he hadn’t been the one to introduce his brother to the devil. He didn’t know how deeply that gouged. It was one thing to lose his career and carry on. It was quite another to aid the ruin of a beloved brother’s life and try to move forward without profound regret.
“I told you what Claire said. He’s been following her after work. I think he’s trying to make sure she gets home all right. That has to mean something.”
“Rory, I have a woman who follows me home from work all the time, and we call her a stalker. Don’t make this something it’s not. Unless he steps up and declares his feelings, I’m not backing down. I’m going to Tori’s office and I’m going to make a few things plain to her.”
“What is going on here?” Oliver asked the pair of them as he turned the corner, his eyes narrowing as he took in the sight of them awaiting the lifts. “Where do you think you’re going, Cal?”
Callum flushed a nice shade of pink. It was good to know someone could still bring the bugger to heel. “Downstairs. I have business that needs tending.”
“He’s going to see Tori,” Rory explained between clenched teeth. “For personal reasons.”
“You’re such a suck-up,” Callum said, turning on him like they were still ten and seven and Oliver had been the authority figure in their lives at the ripe age of thirteen. “My intent is none of your business. Neither one of yours.”
“Everything is my business. What is going on between you and our publicist, Cal?” Oliver’s tone dripped with chill. His face could have been carved from arctic ice.
Rory was actually quite pleased not to find himself on the receiving end of that stare.
Callum glared back stubbornly. “Nothing.”
“Good,” Oliver replied.
“Yet,” Callum clarified.
Hell. Rory got between his two older brothers. “I’m handling it, Oliver. He’s got it in his head that he can date her. You know what he’s like when he’s at loose ends. It’s not serious. She’s a pretty girl, and this is what Cal does.”
“It is serious and I won’t pretend otherwise. I’m not a child with a new toy,” Callum replied.
“Then stop behaving like one,” Oliver growled back.
Callum didn’t seem to understand the threat their eldest brother posed because he stepped into Oliver’s personal space. “I’m in love with her and I intend to give her what she needs and deserves. I want to be a better man for her, provide for her, and build a life with her.”
“I forbid it,” Oliver pronounced, then turned to go.
That annoyed Rory a bit, too. Did Oliver truly think he was some sort of king who could dictate his siblings’ lives? It rankled, but he told himself Oliver needed more time to heal. He needed to feel in control until that day came.
“I think what Oliver is saying is that, according to company policy, we really shouldn’t date anyone from the office,” Rory ad-libbed.
“There’s no rule.” Callum didn’t know when to stop. “I looked. And he can’t stop me.”
“I bloody well can,” Oliver turned back, shouting. “I control the purse strings, Callum.”
“Maybe Rory’s but not mine. You might think I don’t have a brain in my head, but I was careful with my money. I was paid millions and I didn’t spend it like it was water. I put it all away and it’s waiting there for me and the woman I love. It was always for her. I simply didn’t know who she was until now.”
“She is engaged,” Oliver said, his voice tight. “Promised to another man. She wears his ring, yet you would go after her? You would take what doesn’t belong to you?”
“Does she truly belong to him? He can’t put a ring on her finger, then leave her for months at a time.” Callum softened marginally. “It isn’t right. And it’s not what happened with you and Yasmin. I’m not intending to seduce Tori into cheating. I intend to show her I’m the right man for her.”
Oliver flushed a furious red. “You don’t think all the times my friends took my wife to bed they weren’t trying to show her they were right for her?”
“I think we should calm down.” Rory realized he’d have to be the voice of reason.
Oliver utterly ignored him. “You think they gave a damn about her wedding ring when they fucked her behind my back?”
Callum stood his ground like the idiot he was. “They didn’t love her, Oliver. They used her. And she used you. This situation is different because I love Tori.”
“You told Oliver you wouldn’t bring a date to the fundraiser.” The argument was stupid, but Rory couldn’t think of anything else to say just then. He needed time to talk Callum out of this foolishness.
Instead, Callum rolled the famous blue eyes that had gotten him laid repeatedly since puberty. “I’m not. Tori is not a mere date. If I do this right, she’ll be my fiancée. That should solve many of our problems. My wild reputation will certainly die down, especially after we’ve married and I’ve gotten her pregnant a couple of times.”
That did it. The notion of his athletic god of a brother impregnating the woman Rory loved finally unhinged his red rage. A vision of Tori, belly curved with a baby, floated through his head. In Rory’s estimation, those children should be his. He’d been willing to give up his happiness for Oliver, who’d been devastated by his late wife. But he refused to relinquish Tori to his selfish, good-for-nothing-but-scoring-a-damn-goal sibling.
Before Rory could think, his fist connected with that pretty-boy face that had always gotten Callum every woman he’d ever wanted. By god, it wouldn’t land him Tori.
“What the hell?” Callum cupped his jaw. “Why on earth did you do that?”
Rory didn’t bother to answer. He punched his older brother again, forcing him back to the wall.
Then Callum struck back, the force of his blow smashing Rory against the lift doors. Years of physical training had given Callum the edge, but Rory looked up and realized Callum’s strength was nothing compared to Oliver’s rage.
Oliver lashed out, nailing Callum in the jaw. “You’re fired, you little shit. I won’t let you use her like that.”
Rory straightened away from the lift doors as the display above indicated the car stopped on their floor. Through the big doors, he heard a familiar feminine voice.
“Thurston-Hughes Incorporated is one of the last great British family companies, and I think you’ll see that the siblings work together to run the company in a harmonious fashion.” Tori spoke with soft confidence.
Hell. They were supposed to meet with a reporter this afternoon. Rory feared their sweet Tori was escorting a representative from one of the big financial news sites through the building as a prelude to the fundraiser and Thurston-Hughes’s renewal.
The elevator doors opened then.
“Yes, I can see that,” a male voice chuckled. “That will make a good headline.”
Rory looked into Tori’s horrified face and prayed she didn’t quit on the spot.
* * * *
Callum placed the ice pack over his jaw and wondered where Ollie had
learned to throw a punch like that. It had been like a battering ram. He’d nearly seen stars, and that hadn’t happened since Spain’s defender elbowed him in the final round of the World Cup two years before. He wasn’t entirely sure he didn’t have a concussion but then he tended to get those like most people got headaches.
“What is wrong with you three?” Tori raged at them back in Oliver’s office.
Callum tried to focus on her words, not the way her golden brown hair whipped around her like a lusciously soft windstorm or her blouse tightened over her breasts as she railed. “Sorry.”
“You knew the reporters were coming. I know you knew that