Page 117 of The Girlfriend Clause
For a second, I thought we might—no. I’d read it wrong. She hadn’t been about to kiss me. Fuck.
Then again, that was for the best. This needed to stay professional. If I let things get out of hand, Bonnie would be the least of my problems.
A soft chime from the entry panel. Oh good, Ben was on his way up. I walked back through the hallway to greet him as the lift doors opened.
“Liam.” He clapped me on the back. “About time you had me over to meet your girlfriend properly.”
My girlfriend. Yes.
“Come in, let’s get you a drink,” I said.
Ben’s eyes moved past me into the living room, taking in the slogan cushions, the bags, the quiet evidence of Andrea’s presence threaded through the space. His expression didn’t change much, but I knew that look. He was putting the pieces together.
“Pink scatter cushions in Liam Roth’s bat cave? Things are getting serious then?”
Ha. If only he knew.
Andrea appeared in the doorway, Eliza just behind. She stopped when she saw Ben, a flicker of recognition crossing her face, followed quickly by composure.
“Good to see you again, Andrea.” His tone was friendly but more careful than it had been at the gallery. Did he already suspect something? Of course, it would make sense if he did. Keeping a woman a secret from my brother for nine months was hard to believe. The “privacy until we knew it was serious” argument felt a little thin.
Andrea’s face split into a smile, and she reached out for a hug. “Ben. Nice to see you again, too. How’ve you been?”
Great. She could wrap her arms around my brother like she meant it, but she could barely tolerate giving me herhand?
I felt my neck tighten, heat sharp in my chest.
It wasn’t anger, but it might have been something worse. Something I couldn’t control.
Jealousy?
Possessiveness?
Fuck. I hadn’t felt possessive over a woman since—well, ever.
All those girls I’d dated when the money had started rolling in? I couldn’t even remember half their names, and I’d never felt possessive over anyone before.
Someone I wasn’t even involvedwith?
It didn’t feel good.
“Not bad at all, Andrea.” Ben smiled, then turned to me. “Love what you’ve done with the place, bro.” His eyes settled on a purple plushie leaning against a bronze sculpture in the hallway. He wandered over and picked it up, reading the text printed on the front. “I love you more? Not your usual style, but I think it works.”
“Thank you, Ben, that was my little touch,” said Andrea. “It does, right? Really brightens up the place.”
Ben laughed. “I have a feeling you and I have the same sense of humor. Did Liam tell you about the Snuggie I gave him? It was the only thing that wasn’t monochrome here until you showed up.”
“Of course, I’ve seen him in it, great gift.” Andrea covered her mouth and laughed. “He does like to keep things tastefully deprived of color, doesn’t he? Even Christian Grey had more than two shades.”
“Gray is a lifestyle choice for my brother,” Ben said solemnly.
And now they were bonding by mocking me. Brilliant.
“Actually, I wanted to thank you, Ben. Liam tells me you helped sort out the little mix-up at the art auction. You’re a lifesaver.”
“My pleasure. I’m just relieved they didn’t drag you and my brother off in chains. When that guard said he was calling for backup, I thought you were definitely—”
“Right, Ben,” I said. “Come and have a look at the wine wall with me.”
