Page 78 of Nothing to Win

“It wouldn’t be good for business.”

“That’s not why either.”

No.Fortifying himself for the truth, he took another mouthful from the bottle.

“It would rip her family apart and put her under immense pressure,” he said.“Her father is playing nice because of Gault.As soon as this deal is done, her father will yank his approval, I guarantee it.He’ll make her life hell.If he doesn’t, Bram sure will and his censure will be endorsed by Daddy… I can’t take her whole family away from her, Julius.I can’t be the reason they ostracize her; she’ll end up resenting me and it will tear us apart.”

Julius sank against the back of the couch mirroring his position, and offered his glass, Brogan touched his bottle to it.

“Yeah.”Julius sighed.“That sounds more like the reason.”

The two men sat drinking in silence for a few minutes.All he could think about was Gia; Julius had to be thinking about the impact she’d had on their lives too.

“Her skin’s like warm spun silk,” Brogan said.“And sometimes if she says something before her mind tells her it’s inappropriate, she does this little gasp to try to pull it back, have you heard it?”

“I’ve heard it.”

“She never keeps her shoes on.As soon as we step through the door downstairs, she takes them off in the elevator and carries them up here… When she’s had a crappy day and I hand her a glass of wine she says thank you.No, she doesn’t say it, she mouths it, and even though it’s quiet, I sense her gratitude, you know?”

“I know.”

Reliving his time with Gia was bittersweet.“When we go to dinner and I want to make her feel good, I order Irish coffee.”

Julius shifted a fraction.“Is that where the Irish thing comes from?”

“Sort of,” he said and drank from the bottle.“She gets this look of glee before her first sip.After, she points her tongue to lick her top lip… drives me nuts.”

“She’s a prize,” Julius said.“The best kind of woman.”

After his next drink, Brogan breathed out, fixated on the label.“I have to end it, don’t I?”

“If you’re not going to marry her then yes, before either of you get any more involved,” he said and offered his glass again.“For a minute there, you had something real special, boy.That’s not something every man gets.”

No, it wasn’t.

His relationship with Gia was over before it began.He’d give her up and another man would take his place.That man would get to keep her.Tipping the Scotch to his lips, he gulped until his throat burned.He hated the guy already.

TWENTY-SIX

SOMETHING WAS WRONG.The niggling anxiety wasn’t exactly fear, it felt more like she’d left her phone at home or forgotten to pay a bill.Not that she paid her own bills and, technically, she was at home.The car journey back to the Sear house wasn’t fun as the hollow pit in her stomach just wouldn’t shift.

Come on, forget, stop thinking about him.

Shanna had a lead on Jarrod.Roxie and Zairn were in sync.

Love.Love.Love.

Nothing to do with her.Certainly nothing to do with her and Brogan.Damn, there it was, Brogan again.She thought a lot about Brogan.Often.More than she should.

If he was her real boyfriend, daydreaming about him and what might happen between them would be normal.They were not real.A clock ticked in her ear.This wasn’t forever.They were almost over.Two weeks five days remained on their contract.Oh, she shouldn’t know that.That wasn’t healthy or smart.

Before showing up at Brogan’s office with Shanna, they’d never met.Once their deal was done, there was no reason to believe they wouldn’t go back to being that: strangers.

Getting out of the car, she dragged her feet.Her father and Bram wouldn’t be home.It was Sunday, maybe they would be.Twyla was there to open the door though she hadn’t knocked.

“Miss Sear,” Twyla said.

She hazarded a smile though didn’t stop walking.“Hello.Thank you.”