"You trust him too much, Rowan." His eyes drop to my legs. "You put too much faith in Asher."
"I'm not going to apologize for being his friend." I struggle to not point out that he doesn't put enough faith in his younger brother. "I believe in him."
"You shouldn't." He brushes past me to rest his tablet on the long, rectangular table. "You can't depend on people like him."
I push out a heavy breath at the underlying inference in his words. "What does that mean?"
His gaze is soft as he studies my face. "God, you're beautiful. You're so beautiful and trusting. I don't want you to get hurt. It kills me when you get hurt."
I stare at his lips as he closes them slowly. "Asher isn't going to hurt me. You don't understand our friendship. You don't know what he means to me."
"Tell me then." His hand jumps to my waist. "Tell me exactly what my younger brother means to you."
Chapter 12
I work to level my breathing as look into Caleb's eyes. His fingers are sliding softly over the fabric of my dress. I want to explain in pointed detail why he needs to get over what happened yesterday so he can see the potential that Asher has but I can't find those words. "We're friends."
"Yes, Rowan." His breath floats over my cheek as he leans down. "We've established that you and Asher are friends. You and I are friends too but it's different with you and him."
"Different?" I ask before I lick my bottom lip. I feel as though I haven't had anything to drink in days.
"Different," he repeats. "As in not the same."
I nod. "It is different."
I see something flash across his expression but it's too fleeting to place. "How is it different?"
"He's trying," I begin before I smooth my hand over my hair. It's falling from the bun I pushed it into this morning. I didn't take a minute to look at myself in the mirror before I left Corteck. I'd made Asher promise me that he'd let me know before he jetted off to see his mother. Once I said goodbye to him, I'd grabbed my purse and had walked the three blocks to Caleb's office to confront him.
His assistant had pointed me towards the boardroom when I arrived and before I had time to form a plan of action in my head, I was standing behind him, tapping him on the shoulder.
"What's he trying to do?" His lips hover close to mine. "Tell me what he's trying to do."
I close my eyes briefly hoping it will offer me enough of an escape that I can find my composure again. It doesn't work. My heart is racing just as fast once I open them to see Caleb's face. "He's trying to be a good person."
"A good person?" he parrots back. "Asher doesn't know the first thing about being a good person."
I narrow my gaze. "He does. You don't."
He can't control the smile that tugs at the corner of his lips. "You don't think I'm a good person?"
It's a loaded question. I don't doubt that Caleb has the capacity to be kind and giving. I know that he does. Those parts of him have just become buried beneath his drive to prove that he's the best at what he does, both in his professional and personal lives. "You've changed."
"You're wrong. I haven't changed. The people around me have changed."
I don't fall into the radius of the people he's referring to. I know that I don't. I've heard him tell me too often that I'm still the same girl he remembers from when he was a kid. He's talking about his brothers. "You mean Asher and Gabriel?"
"Money changes people." He glances towards the conference table. "Once you give people a taste of it, they can't control their need to have it."
If I didn't know better I'd swear he's talking about himself more than either of his brothers. "I don't have a lot so I don't know."
"You're fortunate." He leans back far enough that I finally feel as though I can breathe. "You can trust your brother. I don't have that luxury anymore."
There's a pain woven into the words that can't be ignored. "They're still your brothers, Caleb. They'll always be your brothers."
"They are my brothers." He nods as his eyes dart to the door I just walked through. "They're also ruthless, Row. You need to watch yourself around them. They'll use you to get to me."
It's a callous remark meant to intimidate me. "Not everything is about you. My friendship with Asher has nothing to do with you."