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His relieved smile reassured her that she’d made the right decision. Somewhere along the line she’d learned to care for this complex man.
She couldn’t just walk away. Even though staying would break her heart.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Brynn Dalton maintained a very a strict list of Do Nots.
Perms. Trans fats. Cubic Zirconia. Tequila. Glitter nail polish. Airplane bathrooms. Casual sex. William Thatcher.
The last two items of her list were completely unrelated, of course. At least, they were supposed to be.
But then that kiss in the car had happened, and Brynn couldn’t seem to separate “Will” from “sex.” And after an uncharacteristic three glasses of Pinot Grigio, it was getting a lot harder to remember why exactly “William Thatcher” and “casual sex” were on her Do Not list at all.
Combining the two wouldn’t be so horrible, would it?
Yes. Yes, it would be very horrible, said her brain.
But fun. Really hot, sexy fun, said her loins.
Clearly it was her loins that had done the majority of absorbing the three glasses of wine she’d just consumed at her monthly sorority reunion.
She wasn’t drunk. Just tipsy. And tipsy was not something Brynn did often because it left her feeling reckless.
Brynn Dalton did not do reckless. Come to think of it, she should probably add it to her Do Not list. Nothing good ever came from being impetuous. That was where STDs, unwanted pregnancies, and broken hearts came from.
And yet here she was, standing outside Will Thatcher’s home and debating the unthinkable.
It bothered her that he lived in a homey town house. Hotshot bachelors like William Thatcher were supposed to live in monolithic high-rises. Brynn had been here before, of course. He’d hosted an anniversary for her parents two years earlier, and she’d also been by a couple of times to pick up an inebriated Sophie.
But she’d never really picked up the details before. Like a friendly blue welcome mat. Why would a man who could barely be civil have a welcome mat?
The dark green of his front door was also all wrong. Hunter-green accents were for her future home. They did not belong at the enemy’s abode. And the dented brass knocker looked like it had been well used. Probably by a constant stream of female visitors.
The flower pots bothered her more than anything. They were empty now thanks to Seattle’s chillier-than-usual winter, but she couldn’t help but wonder what he planted in the summer months. Flowers? Herbs? Or maybe something more stark and manly, like palms. Not that she could see him out here watering the damn things. Or maybe she just didn’t want to picture it.
Brynn squeezed her eyes shut and told herself to walk away. Contemplating a one-night stand with public enemy number one was dangerous enough. Humanizing the bastard would be a disaster.
Damn Carrie for pushing that last glass of wine. Although it wasn’t really fair to blame her friend. It’s not like Brynn didn’t know her own limits. The monthly sorority reunions were notoriously boozy. Granted the sugary Jell-O shots of college had given way
to overpriced wine bars, but her group of girlfriends still knew their way around their drinks. Brynn usually limited herself to one or two glasses, but she had the day off tomorrow, and she’d really hoped that third glass would help rid her of the itchy feeling.
Instead it had led her here. Enemy territory.
“This is insane,” she muttered. “I’m not that drunk.”
There were plenty of less dangerous men with whom she could scratch her itch. That accountant she’d gone on a date with last week would probably be willing. Or an ex? She thought briefly of Gray but quickly discarded the thought. They hadn’t slept together when they were dating, why would they sleep together after they’d broken up?
Besides, something clearly was happening between him and her sister. Not that Brynn could actually see something developing there. They wouldn’t make it past the first date when Sophie insisted on rowdy karaoke and Gray wanted to go to the opera. Something she’d told him straight-out when he’d driven her home after the emergency room the other night. Sophie would kill Brynn if she knew she’d interfered, but Brynn hadn’t been able to resist the opportunity to talk with Gray.
The soft looks that Sophie had been shooting Gray were not harmless employee-to-employer glances. Brynn hadn’t seen her sister look at anyone that way in years. Sophie choosing to care about something was a rare gift, one that Brynn had made damn sure Gray knew to either accept or return with care.
Gray had assured her that he had no intention of hurting Sophie, and Brynn believed him. But that was sort of the thing with men, wasn’t it? Sometimes they hurt you whether or not they intended to.
The reminder that men and pain went together was enough to jar Brynn back into sanity.
Time to get away from there.
She was pulling out her cell phone to call a cab when it started vibrating. Her stomach dropped when she saw the incoming number.
