Page 72 of Broken Brothers

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “I can commiserate. The woman I had fallen for screwed me over hard.”

“I bet she did.”

I had to admit, as kind of poorly timed as that line was, it made me laugh so hard coming from Claire McLendon I didn’t even mind. Claire just sheepishly grinned in triumph, as if proudof what she had said. And damn well she should be, it was fucking funny, no matter what I had actually meant.

“In any case, she really did, though. I told her something personal and she used it to manipulate me into telling her something more. And… well…”

I realized I had never mentioned that it was a business deal on which she’d fucked me over. I was keeping that information from Claire on purpose. I didn’t want her to know for fear of scaring her away.

Maybe I should just reach in and…

“I’m sorry, Chance, it sucks,” I said.

“Truth to that,” I said with a laugh.

We both found ourselves looking downward and then looking into each other’s eyes. For only half a second, I hesitated as butterflies wrecked my gut. Doing this…

Too late. I moved in.

I kissed her.

Immediately, our lips locked as Claire pulled my head in close. She was a surprisingly good kisser for such a reserved and sometimes aloof person. Maybe it was the context. Maybe it was the buildup. Maybe she was just naturally this way.

Whatever it was, it fucking worked, because I got up out of my seat and got closer to her so I could get some more. I was getting hard and things were getting more passionate between us. It was getting harder—in more ways than one—to pull away.

Just like Layla.

With that single thought, it all came rushing back. Not just Layla—the fact that I was a rebound for Claire. The fact that we were supposed to be business partners, not partners with benefits. I stepped back, almost stumbling into my seat.

“What’s wrong?” she said, hurt by what I had done.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” I said, cursing myself out for being so damn stupid. “You’re a client and I’m aninvestor, that was completely terrible. I don’t want to drag you into something serious, I—”

Again, though, Claire just laughed.

“Serious?”

As soon as I realized I had said that, I did feel slightly ridiculous.

“Chance, I just broke up with my boyfriend two weeks ago, we dated for three years,” she said. I noticed her eyes verging on tears, though her voice didn’t waver. “Do you really think I’m looking for something serious? I’m not looking for anything official, not even close. I just don’t want to be alone right now. I don’t expect you to love me or even like me.”

“I do,” I said. “I mean, not seriously.”

Although, with every passing day, that was becoming dangerously closer to the reality.

“I just… well, this is a bad idea still. Do you really want us to be together? Even if it’s just us sleeping with each other twice a week. Morgan would kill me and tell you it’s a bad idea.”

“Oh, he’d kill me too,” she said with a laugh. “To be honest, he warned me.”

“He what?” I said, feeling a little frustration.

“Oh, nothing about you,” she said. “He didn’t say you would make a move on me. Actually, he was adamant that you would not.”

He knows of Layla. He knows I wasn’t going to try anything.

Until, well, I did.

“He just said that most girls fell for you in the end and that you were a dangerous magnet to be near.”