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I raise an eyebrow at her. “Really? My buddy’s little sister, who I recently saw get harassed by her asshole ex? You think I’m going to invite you here and expect you to sleep with me? Come on, Nina, you know me better than that.”
“Well . . .” Nina reddens charmingly and looks down at her feet. “I kept trying to tell myself that I was wrong, that you weren’t like that . . .”
“And . . .?”
“No! I’m not going to get embarrassed.” She pulls her shoulders up and then stares me right in the eye. “You should have just told me what you were doing—not all of this silly cloak-and-dagger bullshit. What do you expect a girl to think when you invite her to a hotel room and then turn up and say the stuff you did?”
“It’s interesting that that’s the first place your thoughts go, though.” I grin. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that’s a sign of a dirty mind. Wouldn’t you?”
She blushes again, but there’s the tiniest sign of a smile tugging the corners of her lips up. At least the tension is defused now.
“Look, Nina, I don’t want to toot my own horn too much, but on any given night, I can go to a bar in the city and get any girl I want. I don’t need to resort to dirty tricks. Believe me.”
For a second, I see an expression cross her face, and it almost looks like jealousy . . . then it’s gone.
Interesting.
But keep things professional, Brock. Always remember that. Your dick has gotten you in trouble before, and it definitely will here if you let it.
“Put this on.” I pick up the shopping bag from where Nina’s dropped it on the floor and hand it back to her.
She makes a face.
“In the bathroom,” I quickly add. “I promise I won’t peek at you.”
“That’s not it,” Nina says, unable to hide her smile anymore. “I, uh . . . Can’t you just tell me what’s going on?”
“Once you’re dressed and ready, we’ll head down, and I’ll fill you in on what’s going on,” I promise.
“Can’t you just tell me now? I’m bored of Brock’s Magical Mystery Tour already.”
“No time.” I shake my head. “Quick, get dressed. Or we’re going to be late.”
Nina hesitates, looking like she’s going to insist, but eventually, she turns and goes into the bathroom with a sigh of resignation.
I wait impatiently on the couch while she puts the dress on. I haven’t been looking forward to this evening, and I just want to get it over and done with.
I’ll admit having Nina by my side makes things better, though. I laugh softly to myself as I recall her expression mere minutes ago.
The door to the en-suite cracks open a few minutes later, and Nina emerges.
My breath catches in my throat.
Damn . . .
She looks like a million dollars. Utterly amazing.
I picked out the dress myself because I needed her to make a statement . . . but wow. She fills it out very nicely indeed.
It’s a red dress, low-cut, and cinched in at the waist to highlight her hourglass figure. The color accentuates her blond hair perfectly.
“Brock, I’m not sure about this.” Nina shuffles out of the bathroom. She turns her back on me to face the full-length mirror.
Fuck. Her rounded ass looks amazing in that dress too.
“I don’t normally go for dresses that show quite so much cleavage,” Nina says, looking self-consciously at herself.
I drag my eyes from that perfect ass with much effort and give her an encouraging smile, forcing myself not to stare at the reflection of her creamy, gravity-defying tits in the mirror. “What? You look great. Really, really great. And I mean that 100 percent.”
“Well, if you say so,” she says with a sigh, even as her face lights up at the compliment. “Okay. So what are we doing?”
I hold out my arm, and she links hers with mine as we leave the hotel room and take the elevator down.
Crossing the main lobby, I notice heads turning, eyes staring at Nina. It’s almost a crime that she never dresses up like this. She looks fit for the red carpet.
“It’s an . . . wedding,” I say. “I didn’t want to come, but my parents are forcing me. I needed a date, or at least I needed to pretend I had a date.”
“Why, though?” she asks, tilting her head slightly.
I take a deep breath. May as well come out and tell her the whole truth. It’s probably too late for her to back out now.
“Well . . . the person getting engaged is my cousin, Philip. And he’s going to get married to my ex, Rosa.”
Nina’s eyes widen. “Oh . . . that might be awkward.”
“Might?” I laugh. “It’s definitely going to be awkward. Like I said, I’d rather be at home right now, but my parents have guilt-tripped me into coming. ‘That’s all in the past,’ and ‘You should be happy for your cousin, Brock.’”
