Page 35 of Nothing to Win

“About marrying her,” Julius said.“You said her father accepted your relationship.”

He breathed out.“Yeah, he and Bram blustered a little, but they’re not as dumb as we’d hoped.”

“You’re causing quite a stir out there,” Julius said, making eye contact.“I can’t turn a corner without bumping into someone who wants to know the story of you two.”

“You’ve told me this,” he said, standing to top off his glass.“Let people talk, I expect them to talk.”

“Is she equipped to handle it?”Julius asked.“You’re used to ignoring people or telling them to go to hell.Is she happy to lie?”

“To lie?”

“You said one of the requirements of this deal was that she not tell anyone about it.Anytime anyone asks if you’re serious or if you’ve slept together, she has to lie.”How did his righteous Gianna feel about fibbing?“It would be a lie… wouldn’t it?”

“What?”

“Have you slept with her?”

Ah, there it was: judgment.No mistaking it.Julius could play the disapproving parent as much as he wanted.

“We’ve been seeing each other less than a week.”

“That wouldn’t have been your answer when this started,” Julius said.“Do you want to sleep with her?”

“Yes,” he said.Julius should know better than to expect anything less than direct honesty.His brows rose when Julius straightened to blink at him.“I’m as surprised as you.She’s attractive, I always knew that, but I didn’t expect her to… enchant me.”

Twisting the stool away from the room, he gazed out over the lights of the city beyond the terrace.

“I told you to be careful with this one,” Julius said.“This is exactly why.She’s not like other women you’ve dated.She’s real.She doesn’t play the usual games.”

“She teases me,” he murmured.“When we’re together, it’s a cat with a mouse.”

“Who’s the cat?”

Smiling, he glanced at his friend.“Haven’t figured that out yet.”

Julius breathed in and sighed hard, shaking his head slowly.“Marrying her was supposed to be a professional decision.”

Tossing the rest of his drink into his throat, he slammed the glass down and got up.“I’m not planning on ring shopping just because my cock wakes up when she smiles.”

He crossed the room.

“Where are you going?”Julius asked.

“Bed.”

He wanted some alone time with thoughts of how her body responded to his touch.And he had to cut himself off.If he drank anymore of that Scotch, he wouldn’t resist the urge to go to the alluring woman sleeping under his roof.

Bringing her there seemed like a good idea before he had to live with the reality of it.Was she a temptation too powerful to resist?

TWELVE

EVERY MORNING, Gia woke up thinking about coffee.That was just the way it was.If she was at home, one of the household staff would bring her some.She’d never asked them to, but each morning she’d get out of the shower and there would be a steaming mug of java on her closet vanity.

There wouldn’t be any coffee waiting for her in Brogan’s apartment.So, she got up and grabbed the robe from the closet and left the bedroom.The kitchen was downstairs, if she could figure out the coffee machine, she could have her shower while it brewed.

The silk robe felt nice against her skin.Although short, she liked the way it tickled the top of her thighs.Jenna had taste and, if she remembered, she’d thank Brogan’s assistant for her good apparel choices.

Gia was halfway down the stairs when Julius came in from the terrace.Oops, she’d forgotten about him.She slowed.