Page 9 of If You Claim Me

I have water, a single can of no-name lemon-lime soda, strawberry cordial, and two ultra-light beers.

I grab the beers. Whatever the reason, Connor being here can’t be good.

I uncap them both and pass him one, then chug half my own and grimace because I dislike the taste of beer immensely. I only have it because Flip left them here for our game nights.

Connor sets his beer on the table. “Please show me the letterthat fell out of your purse when you were at Meems’s the other night.”

This again?“Why?”

“Because I want to read the entire thing.”

“You already know the gist. Why do you need to read the whole thing?”And why are you suddenly so interested in me?

“Because I do.”

“And that’s supposed to be enough of a reason?”

He blinks at me.

I blink back. But I’m too intrigued by his sudden appearance at my apartment to refuse. So I fish it out of my purse and hand it over. I took it to a lawyer today. Apparently, it’s legit. That was an expensive and shitty conversation.

Connor scans it with an unnervingly attractive furrowed brow. He’s brutally handsome. His steel eyes lift. “Who else knows about this?”

“No one.”Yet. I considered telling Lexi because her dad is a fancy New York lawyer, but she’s married to Roman, and he’s tight with Flip. While I won’t hide it from Flip forever, I want to be sure of the scope of the problem first. And ideally also have a solution.

Connor employs his mind-reading skills. “Why haven’t you asked Flip for help?”

I roll the beer bottle between my hands. “I won’t do that.”

Connor’s brow pulls together. “You don’t think he would help you?”

“He would insist on it, and I won’t ask.”

Curiosity shifts his features, changing the harsh landscape to soft questioning. “Why not?”

“Because it would change our relationship, and I don’t want that for either of us.”

“Do you love him?”

God, he’s blunt. “Yes. Like family, but I’m notin lovewith him.”

Connor isn’t the first or last person to ask this. All our friendshave believed it to be true at some point. So I’ll just be clear. “There has never and will never be anything romantic between us. He’s too important to me, and I won’t ask for his help on this, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.”

Flip has been used by enough people in his life. I won’t unbalance our friendship by having him step in and fix this for me. My love for him and the health of our relationship is too essential. And Connor is the last person I would choose to confide in about any of that.

Still, he nods, seeming satisfied, and rubs his chin. “You care about my Meems.”

That’s a hard right. It takes me a moment to catch up. “Uh, yes. She’s been coming to the library for a long time.”

“You have lunch with her every week.”

“I do,” I confirm.

He cants his head, eyes locked on mine. “Do you love her like family, too?”

I bite my lips together. Admitting this feels like a trap.

My expression must tell him what he needs to know, because he hums, nods, and stares down at me with serious, calculating eyes. “I have a proposition for you.”