Craving The Wrong Brother (Sloane and Knox) novel Chapter 167

Chapter 167

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I just… I couldn’t stand it anymore.”

“Stand what?” Julie snaps. Her arms are crossed so tightly, I’m surprised her blouse doesn’t tear at the seams. She’s glaring at me like she wants to strangle me.

I take a deep breath, my eyes locking on hers. “Seeing you like that. You were barely holding it together back there, Julie. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Her face falls, just for a second. I know I’ve hit a nerve. “And what do you think you’re going to do about it?” she shoots back. “Drag me into a supply closet and fix my life?”

“Wouldn’t be the worst idea.” I lean against the door. “I mean, this is a multi-purpose room, right? Might as well use it to solve a couple of personal crises.”

“Wow, Luke,” she scoffs, rolling her eyes so hard I’m pretty sure they’re going to pop out of her head and roll away. “Very original. If this is your grand plan, you’ve lost it.”

“You’re right. I’ve lost it,” I reply, stepping closer, lowering my voice. “I’ve lost the patience to watch you suffer like this. You deserve better than Ryan, better than all of this mess.”

“Oh really? And you think you’re the answer to my problems? You? The guy who jokes about everything?”

I shrug. “Humor always works. It worked for you last night, didn’t it? When you called about a bad dream.”

She glares at me, but I catch the twitch of her lips like she’s fighting a smile. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And yet you’re still here, trapped in a supply closet with me,” I say, taking another step closer. “What does that say about you?”

“That I’ve officially hit rock bottom,” she mutters, crossing her arms tighter. “I don’t need you to fix anything, Luke. I just want this to be over.”

“And what is ‘this,’ exactly? Your marriage? Your life? Because the way I see it, you’re still fighting for something.” I reach out, my fingers brushing against her arm. She doesn’t flinch this time. Doesn’t pull away either.

“Stop,” she whispers, her eyes closing for a moment. But there’s no conviction in it. Just exhaustion.

“I can’t stop,” I say, stepping in even closer, my voice dropping. “I can’t stop because you deserve better than this, Julie. And I’ll keep telling you that until you believe it.”

Her eyes snap open, blazing with a mix of anger and something else. “Better than what? Better than Ryan? He’s my husband, Luke.”