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“Seriously?” she whispered. Then repeated it more loudly. “Seriously? You’re telling me about settling down, Mr. Successful Marriages?”
“Hey, I’m willing to try instead of just living some party lifestyle.”
“My party lifestyle doesn’t hurt anyone! You, on the other hand, have treated three women like shit.”
Another shrug. “I’m an asshole when they marry me and the same asshole when they leave. How is that my problem?”
“Oh, my God. You are so...just...”
“Get off your high horse. You slept with the boss and got a promotion. I don’t have a problem with that. I’d do it if I could. But then the guy used you the way you used him. It happens.”
Her vision went blurry for a moment as her blood pressure spiked. “I didn’t get that job because I slept with him!”
“A twenty-eight-year-old woman in charge of security at a Tahoe resort? That just happens?”
“Are you kidding me? Could you be more of an asshole? How can you just talk about my problems like I’m some story you heard about at a dinner party? I’m your sister. Why can’t you give me the benefit of the doubt? Why would you assume I didn’t deserve what I worked for?”
“Charlie, it’s no big deal. You screwed up and someone got caught while your pants were down. It happens. You asked why Dawn would be leery of you, and I gave you an answer. I’m sorry it wasn’t the one you wanted.”
She stared at him, still in utter shock. “Brad... Just... God, I just wanted to know if she was a psycho or not, because she’s sure acting like one. And if I’m so damn awful, why did they hire me? Just to make my life hell?”
“Dawn Taggert is a woman. So yeah, I’m sure she’s a little psycho. Aren’t all of you?”
“Wow. You have really turned into a steaming pile of shit, you know that?”
For the first time, he looked irritated, but he still managed to pop another fry into his mouth.
“What? Aren’t you going to ask if I’m PMSing now?”
He snorted in a way that let her know that was exactly what he was thinking.
Charlie glanced down at the Cobb salad she’d ordered. She’d been starving earlier, but now her stomach turned. What a tragedy. The salad looked so good. At that moment, she cared a lot more about the salad than her brother.
A waiter walked over when she met his gaze. “I’m so sorry, but can you box this up? I have to go.”
“Come on,” Brad said as the waiter whisked the bowl away. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“You didn’t hurt my— Actually, yes, you did. You hurt my feelings, and I’ve had enough of that shit from strangers lately. There’s no reason I need to sit here and hear it from my brother, too. I’m the only sister you’ve got. Someday all you’re going to have is me and half a dozen ex-wives and none of us will want to talk to you or take you to the doctor for outpatient surgery. You should think about being nicer to me.”
She stood up, started to reach into her purse for some cash, then changed her mind. Screw him. He probably didn’t want her dirty money anyway.
“By the way, you know how you can be sure you’re being an idiot, Brad? Because you’re advising me to take relationship advice from our mother. Think about that, you asswipe.” She took the box from the returning waiter and walked away. She’d go home and eat her salad in better company. By herself.
* * *
WALKER STARTLED WHEN he heard Charlie’s keys in the hall at 8:00 p.m. He’d been nervous on the drive home, realizing he might run into her and sure that he had no idea what to say. Her windows had been dark when he’d pulled up, so he’d bought a little more time, but his brain hadn’t offered any ideas in the past hour. No big surprise.
He turned down the volume on the television and waited. He didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until her door closed and he exhaled. That momentary possibility of seeing her had shaken him. Charlie had shaken him.
Last night, he’d been in a mood. A bad one. Pissed and frustrated by the latest turns of his life, he’d reacted by trying to distract himself and by jumping to conclusions about Charlie. She’d struck him, suddenly, as the same as every beautiful, successful woman who’d ever hit on him, so he’d run with it. Why not? The outcome would be sex, after all. A damn good distraction if he needed one. So if she’d wanted sex, he’d planned on giving it to her. His mood had made it that simple.
Thank God she’d put the brakes on. It seemed Charlie wasn’t quite as fast as she pretended to be.
The smile that tugged at his mouth was impossible to stop. It was damn sweet that she’d only wanted to make out.
It had also been insanely hot that her version of making out had included sitting topless on his lap to jerk him off.
The twinge of lust that jolted him at the memory was nearly painful, but his moan sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Wild or sweet, that had been hotter than any dirty movie he’d ever seen.
