Page 29

What the fuck am I doing?

I wrench out of his grip, untangling myself from the heat of his body as mine screams in protest. His eyes are heavy lidded, dazed in his lust-drunk state, which no doubt matches mine, and I breathe deep through my nostrils to try to steady myself.

“I’m notyours,” I say through gritted teeth. “I’m not your anything.”

He blinks once, then twice, his hands still reaching slightly as if the fact that he isn’t touching me anymore hasn’t quite caught up to his brain. I watch him lower them slowly, running his palms over the tops of his thighs as his throat works in a swallow, his head turning to the floor for a moment as if he’s thinking. When he looks back up at me, there’s a small smile on his mouth, but it’s not the one I’m used to. It’s almost…sad.

“You’re right,” he laughs softly. “You’re not. I got carried away.”

I feel…flustered. Not just because I was practically humping his leg seconds ago, but also because I’ve never seen Ezra look anything less than assured. Which is not how he looks right now. He looks like he might be trying to figure out why he even said what he did in the first place.

I watch him adjust himself, and then that brief moment of uncertainty is gone, in its place the same collected, confident Ezra I know. “Just thought you might want a little stress relief after that doozy of a bomb your client dropped.”

I’m still trying to catch up to whatever the fuck just happened, but I manage a snort. “I have a bottle of wine at home that will give me less of a headache than what you’re offering.”

“Right,” he chuckles. “You really do make a habit of comparing me to activities involving your mouth.”

“Get out of my office, Ezra,” I growl, brushing past him to my desk, as if I wasn’t four seconds away from letting him doexactlywhat he said I would. “Some of us have work to do.”

He shoves his hands in his pockets, striding to the door as I drop down into my chair. He turns as he pulls it open, lingering in the doorway. “You have my number if you change your mind.”

“I won’t,” I say a little too quickly.

He’s still smiling, but I notice it doesn’t quite meet his eyes. “Sure.”

I tell myself I don’t care why he was different just now, because I don’t. Ezra Hart’s issues are of no concern to me. That’s not what we are, and it’s not what we’ll ever be. Still, I stare at the cracked door he left behind for far longer than I’d like to admit. I don’t know how many seconds pass before I start tapping the end of a pen against my notepad. Even hours later, I can’t escape the nagging idea that I might not have Ezra as figured out as I thought.

Seven

Ezra

There’s a creepingsense of unease along my skin as I step off the elevator and onto the landing for the offices back at my firm. The welcome desk is empty, Maggie having long gone home by the time I make my way back to hopefully get some work done without running into my father or brother. Based on the three missed calls from the former in the last few hours, I have to assume it’s in my best interest to dodge his company entirely while he cools off. I’m sure Alexander is pissed that I didn’t come right back after Bianca Casiraghi’s revelation in mediation, but honestly, I needed a while to get my head on straight.

I’m not surprised in the slightest that the elder Harts are keeping things from me about the case, which I have to assume they are, given my brother’s complete lack of reaction to hearing about Lorenzo’s supposed secret account. It’s laughable how within the realm of reason it would be. Regardless, I wasn’t lying when I told Dani I didn’t know anything about it.

Dani.

I pause my steps halfway down the hallway that leads to my office, frowning at my shoes. My encounter with Dani in her office is definitely another large part of my needing to think. What the hell was that anyway?

And take what’s mine.

I hadn’t been thinking when I said it. That’s the most logical explanation I can come up with. Still. It’s well outside the bounds of…whatever Dani and I are doing. I can only assume that I was just caught up in the moment. The lingering irritation with my father for announcing that Eli would be sitting in on the mediation today is still heavy in my chest—just another example of Alexander undermining me at every turn. Maybe that’s why I wandered into Dani’s office after leaving the conference room. Even with her sharp tongue, there’s something…comforting about this thing between us. It’s as if I can take solace in her complete lack of expectations of me, which is a foreign concept to me. All I’ve ever known are expectations. Mostly of the “you’ll never live up to” variety.

“Are you just going to linger in the hall all night?”

My eyes snap up to find my brother standing only a few feet away; I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even hear him approaching. I let the frown on my face dissipate, not wanting him to gain any sort of read on me. “I didn’t know anyone was still here.”

“I suspect that’s why you’re sneaking in so late,” Eli muses flatly.

I move to walk past him. “Right. Well. I’d better get to work then, shall I?”

“Ezra.”

Eli’s hand reaches to wrap around my bicep, and I tense. Eli doesn’t have my height, but there’s a bulk to him that I don’t quitehave. He’s built more like Alexander, which I guess makes sense. He has the same dark hair, the same bright blue eyes, the same high cheekbones—he’s a fucking carbon copy of the man. Which really is just perfect, considering. I want to shake out of his grip, but I know it will only cause a fight I don’t want to deal with.

I look down at his hand briefly before flicking my eyes up to meet his. “Yes?”

“Dad wants you to call him back.”