9. Kairo

9Kairo

I wasn’tsure what to expect, but I’d actually slept really well the last two nights with my—Justin and his brood at my house. Truthfully if not for the odd sound the kids made, it would be hard to tell I was sharing my condo with anyone.

Justin even left before I woke up both yesterday and today. So far, I’d seen more of his best friend Chris and the babysitter Ashley today than I had of him. Chris, I now knew, was the one that sent the application in. And I found myself wanting to do something for him too.

Because you’re grateful, he led you to him?

No, because when you were that good a friend, it deserved to be rewarded.

Bullshit.

I wasn’t sure whose fault it was that we hadn’t spent any time together since I’d helped him with Theo. Your fault, maybe? That pesky asshole voice supplied.

Although I wasn’t so sure it was just me because I was beginning to think my mate was avoiding me as much as I was avoiding him. Maybe avoiding was a strong word, but every time I thought about even getting close to him, my brain seemed to stall. There were consequences to fate dictating your life, and I refused to have Justin or those precious kids as one of the consequences of me.

As we did the walk-through of his home, I couldn’t help pulling up the image of his face that was superimposed on my psyche now as I recalled his wishes even though he hadn’t said them out loud. One thing we could see if we wanted was people’s heart desires. And I knew exactly what Justin wanted this home to look like. I could do that for him.

I tried not to think about how good it felt having even that connection with him.

You could have more. I ignored that voice because this wasn’t about me. It couldn’t be.

I drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. Making Justin’s dream come true was something I could do for him. It was enough. It had to be.

So why was it that in every room I’d walked through, I could see myself in it with him? Why was I weaving our lives together, like the strands of fate that had shown me what Justin was to me?

Don’t go there. Don’t think about it. Focus on the work.

Today there were no camera crews. I wasn’t in the mood to invite them into this project. Thankfully, my brothers respected my wishes even though they didn’t seem to do the same when I said I didn’t want to talk about Justin.

Our crew that would work on the house was already here. Since Justin had gone through and selected everything he absolutely wanted to keep, the first step was getting those into storage while we cleared the house.

I knew Hassan was beside me without even glancing in his direction since they’d shown up today for this. Even though they usually didn’t, I knew that there would be an interrogation in my future.

I’d done my best to avoid both of them so far, but I’d known it wouldn’t last for long.

I finished up with Sam, our foreman for this project. He was also a GC which meant he was good at coordinating our teams. And even though he worked for the family construction company, he also worked on renovation projects for the show. He was one of our best, and for Justin, I wanted the best.

When the older man walked away, I didn’t even look Hassan’s way when I said. “Just ask.”

We were standing in the home’s garden that would have a mini playground for the kids, a little bit of a vegetable patch for Justin because apparently, the man didn’t think he already had too much work on his hands. A BBQ area and a nice cozy gazebo so he could sit there and watch the kids while they played.

I’d meant it when I said the house had great potential. You simply had to look at what the other homes on the block had become to know what this one could be. And whether his sister knew it or not, she’d left a great investment for Justin and the kids, especially once we were done with the renovations. Although I had a feeling my mate—it was getting way too easy thinking of him that way—would never sell.

“Nothing to ask,” Hassan said.

I snorted, “Really? You don’t have questions. Papa and Dad didn’t send you with a list? Because they’ve been blowing up my phone all day.”

“I’m sure they do,” Hassan replied, “Hell, I’m sure they can’t wait to meet their new grandkids….”

I winced at the description, but I also knew that was exactly the way my parents would see Theo and Sara.

“But as usual Dad, and Papa will respect your space until you’re ready to share.”

That time I laughed.

“Really? So Papa isn’t waiting for a time I’m not home to go over there and introduce himself to Justin?”

Hassan chuckled, “Probably, but since you know that, I’m sure you know how to make sure that meeting happens when you’re ready.”

“That you assuming I’ll ever be ready?” I muttered. “Fate and I… well, you know how I feel about what we do.”

Hassan was quiet for a beat, “I know that you need to forgive yourself. You were a kid, and….”

I put a hand up, “Don’t. Just don’t. I do what I have to do because it’s part of who we are, but I do it my way. No magic.”

“So you’re going to cut off your nose to spite your face?” Hassan managed to pure a wealth of disappointment into his words, “You have a mate Kairo. A mate. Not everyone finds theirs.” I looked away when I saw the longing in my brother’s eyes, “for once, don’t take a long way around.”

“He’s not me—” For some reason, I couldn’t seem to complete that statement. “I’m not what he needs,” I said instead. “If fate had any sense, she would know that.”