AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She holds up her phone showing his profile picture. I have to admit, the guy is attractive.
“All right, he’s cute,” I say. “But you can’t be serious. You’re trying to set me up with one of your clients?”
“Sure,” she says. “I already know he’s single.”
“How do you know that?” I ask.
“Well, he kind of hit on me a little bit,” Kylie says.
I glance at Braxton and raise an eyebrow.
Braxton scowls and puts an arm around her. “I’m getting her a backup ring.”
Kylie laughs. “A prong on my ring broke and it was at the jewelers getting fixed, so he didn’t know I was married. Hit on me is the wrong phrase. He asked if I was seeing anyone, and if not, maybe I’d like to have coffee. He was super nice about it. When I told him I couldn’t, he apologized and said he’s just trying to put himself out there more. I think he’s been burned a few times too.”
Ordinarily, I might consider taking Kylie up on this. Goodness knows I set her up all the time before she got together with my brother—though, of course, that never worked out very well. But now that I’m no longer with Aidan, my no-dating pact with Ronan is in full effect. I take another sip of water to give myself a second to think. I don’t want to admit I agreed to not date anyone else. They’re going to think I’m crazy.
“That’s okay, Ky,” I say. “He seems nice, but I’ll pass.”
“Oh, come on,” Kylie says. “At least give him a chance. Let me set up a coffee date. Super casual, no big deal. If you don’t like him, you don’t have to see him again. No pressure.”
“Really, I’d rather not,” I say.
“What are you hiding?” Braxton says, narrowing his eyes at me.
Fuck. I can’t keep anything from Brax. He can read me too well. “I’m not hiding anything.”
“Liar,” Braxton says.
“I’m not lying,” I say. “I just don’t want to go out with the guy. What’s the big deal?”
Braxton raises an eyebrow. “It’s not a big deal. But I know you’re hiding something.”
I sigh. “Fine. I might have agreed to not date anyone for a while.”
“What?” Kylie asks. “Agreed with who?”
“Ronan.”
“What are you talking about?” Kylie asks.
“It’s one of our rules,” I say. “I said we need rules for working together. He agreed to all of mine, as long as I agree to not date anyone else.”
Kylie stares at me with her mouth open. Braxton looks pissed.
“I know that sounds crazy, but he can’t date anyone, either,” I say. “And I was with Aidan at the time, and we agreed I could keep dating him, so it seemed like I was getting the better deal. But now that I’m not with Aidan, neither of us are dating other people.”
“Why the fuck would you agree to that?” Kylie asks.
“Because that’s how I got him to agree to my rules,” I say. “And because I know he’ll be the one to give in first. He can’t date either, and that includes no sex. I figured I could forego dating for a while just to see him squirm. Plus it keeps him on good behavior at work.”
“So what are these other rules?” Kylie asks.
“No sleeping together,” I say, ticking them off on my fingers. “He can’t hit on me in front of my coworkers, and he can’t have me alone in his office with the door closed unless he has a work-related reason. Also, no dating. We can share meals as colleagues, but no dates.”
“How often does that happen?” Kylie asks. “The sharing meals thing.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “We have lunch together pretty regularly, I guess, but that’s always for work. And sometimes he orders in dinner for us in his office.”
