Page 15 of The Grump I Loathe (The Lockhart Brothers #3)

“Because I can’t even hear myself think. How is this supposed to be a good time?”

Max smirked. “If you wanted to go somewhere to think, I’d take you to the library.” He squeezed my shoulder. “The whole point is to stop thinking about the company and Ali and what Grace needs. For a few hours, it’s all about what you need.”

“I need a drink,” I muttered.

“Now you’re talking.” He flagged down the bartender as I glanced around. Places like this were all the same: overcrowded, sweaty, with overpriced drinks that had stupid names.

I tugged at my collar. “Let’s go. It’s too hot here.”

Max waved me off. “You’re the one who insists on dressing like you’re going to the office.

Just give it a few minutes. You always act like this, but by the time we leave, you’re one iota more relaxed, which makes it all worth it.

Trust me. This is what best friends are for.

” He shoved a drink in my hand. “To make sure you don’t sulk in the gloom of post-divorce. ”

“I haven’t been sulking,” I said, taking a gulp of my drink to take the edge off. I winced. He’d gotten a double. “I’m too busy to sulk.”

“Exactly. Too busy being CEO and a full-time father. You need a night off to enjoy life.”

Lights flashed overhead, and Max’s voice melded with the music.

This was not the place to enjoy anything.

Max jostled my shoulder as a woman squeezed in at the bar next to us.

I sipped my drink and frowned at her. Why did she look so familiar?

When she turned her head, a flash of recognition hit me.

This was the woman who sometimes showed up to grab Eddie after work. But if she was here, did that mean?—

I twisted around as she danced off with a fruity cocktail, my eyes landing on Eddie, standing at the edge of the dance floor.

A hot wave coursed through me as I took in every inch of her shimmery black dress.

It had a plunging neckline and slits cut out at the waist, and it was so damn short I wanted to shove my way across the floor until I was close enough to breathe her in, to feel the warmth of her skin pulsing against mine, to bask in the intensity of her stare.

“What do you know?” Max said, following the direction of my gaze.

“Did you do this on purpose?” I growled.

He grinned. “No, but I wish I had.”

“I’m leaving.” I threw back the rest of my drink. No way could I stand here with Eddie looking like that and not stare at her.

“Nuh-uh,” Max said, tossing his arm around my shoulders and dragging me into the crowd. “This is my chance to prove my theory.”

“What theory? ”

“That all your petty sniping is really just a buildup of sexual tension.” He jostled me excitedly. “C’mon. You need a release.”

“I need to be released from this idiocy,” I said. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

Max’s grip tightened until he was practically dragging me across the club. I was stronger than him. I could have pulled away if I’d really set my mind to it, but the truth was, part of me wanted a closer look. Just one look, then I’d go away. Definitely.

“Isn’t this a happy reunion,” Max announced when we were close enough. “Hey, Eddie.”

“Max!” she said, grinning. “You should have told me you’d be out. We could have made it a whole office thing.” Her eyes landed on me. Her smile curled a little more. “I must be hallucinating. Because there’s no way you got Connor Lockhart into a club.”

Max laughed. “Kicking and screaming, but it happened.” He turned to Eddie’s friend. “Hey, there. I’m Max. But my friends call me Smooth on the dance floor. Wanna see?”

Eddie’s friend grinned, looking him up and down. “My friends call me Sassy Cassie after a couple drinks, so I’m game as long as you can handle that.”

Max held his hand out and Cassie took it, winking at Eddie over her shoulder. I knew exactly what Max was doing leaving me alone with Eddie, and I glared after him.

“I don’t know how I feel about Max trying to pick up my best friend,” Eddie teased.

“How do you think I feel? Cassie’s gonna break his heart, and I’m gonna have to listen to him whine about it.” I turned to her, and my breath caught in my throat. Did I really think one look would be enough ?

I kept remembering that book I used to read to Grace when she was little: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie . If you get one thing you want, it’s not going to satisfy you. It’s only going to make you want more .

For a beat, it felt like we were the only people on the floor. Her dark hair was swept back with a clip, revealing a delicious expanse of neck that I was desperate to taste right after the sliver of her collarbone and the dip at the base of her throat. I wanted to flick my tongue over?—

“You’re staring,” Eddie said.

What? “I’m not.”

“I don’t have to adhere to your business attire rules out here, Lord LockMill.”

There was nothing office appropriate about the length of that dress, but now that she’d mentioned the office, I was envisioning Eddie perched on her desk, long legs crossed as the fabric inched up her thighs to reveal?—

Jesus! My mouth went dry at the thought. I needed to get out of here before I did something I’d regret. Where was Max?

She tugged at my jacket. “Is this what you call club chic?”

“We can’t all pull off a gorgeous mini dress.”

Her eyes narrowed playfully. “Have you even tried? You might surprise yourself.”

I rolled my eyes, her teasing dissolving some of the tension. I still couldn’t pull my eyes off her, but at least I could breathe again. “Do you want a drink?”

She shook her head. “Not drinking tonight. I just wanted to dance. Does Lord LockMill dance?”

“No,” I said immediately .

“Does Connor?”

That got a smile out of me. I had whiskey in my veins and a gorgeous woman staring up at me, and yeah, I could admit that Connor, the guy who wasn’t a dad or an ex-husband or a CEO, actually liked to dance.

He liked the freedom of moving and not having to think.

I held my hand out for her. “Let’s find out. ”

Eddie released an excited giggle as I twirled her onto the dance floor.

We stood close enough that I could smell the vanilla in her body lotion.

My hands automatically fell to her waist. She wove her arms around my neck, and I gave into the heady rush, letting my hands drift over her hips to the small of her back.

My thumbs caught in the cutouts of her dress, brushing against soft skin.

I was surprised at how well we fit, and from the look on her face, the feeling was mutual. “You look surprised,” I said. She bit her lip, and I braced myself for whatever was about to tumble out of her mouth.

“Well, your lordship, I am.”

I frowned at that. “I thought you wanted to dance with Connor? If you were expecting to dance with Lord LockMill, then I’d need to speak with the DJ about a waltz.

” That had the result I was after, and Eddie gifted me with a giggle.

I spun her around, and under the strobing lights she looked flushed.

Then she twisted in my arms, nestling her back to my front, grinding against me as the music drew us together. “How about now, bossman?” she teased. “Still wanting that waltz?”

I most definitely did not. With Eddie pressed tight against me, alcohol singing in my veins, and the bass thumping in my head, it was easy to forget all the reasons this was a bad idea. And very easy to feel all the reasons this could be a great idea .

Then she turned around to look at me again, eyes flashing with something like desire, and I snapped out of my delusion.

Alarm bells sounded in my head. She was a goddamn employee!

There were a million reasons not to do this, some of whom were presently in the bar and could see us on the dance floor. I reared back.

“What’s wrong?” Eddie asked.

“Nothing,” I said, voice thick. “Gonna grab another drink.”

I whirled away from her, loosening my tie as I stalked across the floor, trying to ignore the way my entire body was throbbing for her.

Relationships between LockMill employees are forbidden , I shouted in my mind. This couldn’t go anywhere. It wouldn’t go anywhere. Because nothing was happening.

I spotted Max near the bar. He shot me a giddy smile and a thumbs-up. I was going to kill him.