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"Yeah."
"Promise me you won't go there in person. At least, not alone."
Maverick sobers, studying my face. Finally he nods. "I'll stick to couriers for now. Besides, I'm curious to see how he tops the smiley face. Should be interesting."
More relaxed about the whole thing thanks to Mav's promise, I smile. "Interesting is one word for it. I wonder how he could top shooting the damned offer."
"I don't know, but I can't wait to find out," he says, slapping his knees as he stands and heads for the door.
"Wait. What's this guy's name?"
He stops, glancing over his shoulder. "Blair. Blair McKenna." Turning to face me, he studies my face like there's some mystery he's trying to solve.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" he asks quietly.
"Busy brain," I tell him simply. I don't tell him that the idea of getting closer to Bree, of becoming someone she can rely on, is keeping me up at night. Actually, that's not right. It's me getting close to her that's freaking me out. I wish I hadn't promised Declan. I'm not cut out for connection. It's different with my brothers. We were all on equal footing, all dependent on each other. Together we worked. But lo- Scratch that. Caring. Caring for a woman is so different. Women occupy a different spot in your heart. A darker, more dangerous spot. A spot that won't heal if it's shattered.
I can't fail another woman. I can't be responsible for her wellbeing, or her safety.
So why the fuck did I agree to that very thing?
"Do you want to talk about it?" Mav asks, sliding his hands into the pockets of his slacks. The man has piles of paperwork on his desk. He doesn't have time to stand here and check on me. But he'll stay here and talk to me as long as he needs.
"Nah. I'm good. Promise. I'll sort it out."
He seems satisfied with my answer, nodding and wandering out of my office, pulling the door shut behind him. Considerate of him. The likelihood of it staying shut is—
"How are things going with Bree?" Declan asks, barging in without knocking. "Hey, it's dark in here." He heads for the windows, opening the blinds so the winter sunlight can enter. I blink against the light, and sigh, dropping back onto the couch.
"Fine," I mutter, throwing an arm over my eyes. So many damn interruptions. Can't a man nap at work in peace?
"Fine," he repeats. I hear the disbelief in his voice. "Can you expand on that? What have you done to spend time with her? What am I missing?"
I drop my arm on a groan and stare up at the ceiling. "What do you want me to say? We've hung out." He shoots me a look, and I sit up. "We have. We spent time together last night."
His eyes widen. "Did you take her to your place? I was at Cara's last night, and she came in pretty late. I mean fuck brother, that's okay, as long as you're not..." he trails off.
I glare at him, and he puts his hands up in defense. "We sat on the floor outside her door and talked for a while." And by a while, I mean an hour. Watching Bree's face when she talks about sports and her teammates has moved right near the top of my favorite things list. The woman lights up, and honestly, I'm trying to figure out how I can slide my way onto one of her teams so I can see it in person.
One dark eyebrow raises. "You sat on the floor and talked. Okay. Maybe not how I would have gone about it, but you do you."
"What? Not your style? Maybe I should sneak into her apartment, fuck with her computer, then wait for her to call me to fix it? That's more like what you're talking about, isn't it?" I give him a shit-eating grin, and he flips me the middle finger. The man fucked with Cara's computer daily, making sure he'd have to come down and fix it. The man has a dozen people on his tech team, but he came down himself every single day. Not suspicious at all.
He comes over and slaps at my feet until I drop them to the floor and make room for him on the couch. "So what's the plan? What are you going to do next? I need you to move faster!"
"Not cool, man," I tell him seriously. "Bree isn't a problem you can rush to solve. She's a person."
He rears back, frowning. "I know that fucker. Better than you. She's my girlfriend's sister."
"Then stop rushing this. I already told you I'll spend time with her. I like her, it's not a hardship. But I'm not going to stalk the damned woman. We're building a friendship and that's going to take some time. If that doesn't work for you, then we can stop things right now." Who am I kidding? No way I would stop hanging with Bree. But spending time with her without the pressure from Dec would be nice.
His lips curl into a snarl, but he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "No. You're right. Cara's not going anywhere. I waited for her for years, I can wait a bit longer." He turns sideways on the couch. "I appreciate it. I do. All the other guys are coupled up, and I didn't want to ask them. And Mav, he's just so busy."
"So basically, you asked me because I'm the only one available."
He shrugs. "Yeah."
"Asshole. I do stuff."
