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“What?” I ask, completely taken off guard.
My hand stops, but he keeps it moving for both of us.
“Was he your date?”
Oh. Him. That already feels like hours ago. “He was supposed to be. But it was never a real date. He failed to mention I was there to make his ex jealous.”
Something flashes in his eyes before he mumbles, “His loss.”
“What about Chloe? Is she waiting for you in the lobby?”
“Man, between you and Maddie...” There’s a rasp in his voice. It’s frustration mixed with something else. Something sexy. “Do you know—” He stops himself before he finishes his thought. “We just walked in together. Chloe’s a friend. That’s all.”
“Do I know what?” I look up at him and stare into his obsidian eyes. What I really want to ask is if he’s ever fucked her. But I don’t. I can’t. I don’t have that right.
Brandon never moves his hand from mine, and I try to keep my focus on that instead of the ugly green knot of jealousy growing inside me.
“This is what I used to do with Maddie when we were kids and the anxiety would get to be too much for her. We’d talk about something else. Sometimes it was the only way to get her through it.”
I wish to God I wasn’t making a fool of myself in front of him.
How many times do I need to do that in my lifetime?
I mean, I’d rather not be living my worst nightmare at all, but did it really need to be in front ofhim?
“Why is she just a friend?” I push.
The lights flicker on, giving me a tiny glimmer of hope before cloaking us in darkness again just as quickly.
Yeah. We’re gonna die.
Okay. Pretty sure I’m spiraling.
I clamp my mouth shut and try to stop myself from saying anything else I’m going to regret. I don’t really want my last words to be something humiliating.
Brandon shrugs his massive shoulders and unties his tie, then unbuttons the top two buttons of his crisp white dress shirt, revealing just a glimpse of tanned skin. He rolls up his sleeves with precision, like he’s done it hundreds of times in his life. Probably because he has. And my God. This man is so much more gorgeous today than he was the night we met. He was still a boy back then. Cocky and sexy. But this Brandon ... this one is all man. Confidence oozes off him in waves as the muscles in his forearm flex.
Yummy. Arm porn.
I love forearms. There’s something about bulging veins wrapped tightly around corded muscle. Add a big fat watch, and you’ve got the cherry on top of a mouthwatering sundae that’s always done it for me. Maybe it’s the hint of controlled strength peeking out of a starched shirt. Maybe it’s just that I haven’t had sex since my daughter was born. But my goodness, Brandon’s arms have only gotten more beautiful over the years.
“Ashlyn...”
“Hmmm...” I answer as I lift my eyes to his.
His lips tug up on one side, leaving a sexy, crooked, boyish smile I don’t think I’ve ever seen on this man’s face before. And I’ve watched. Trust me. I’ve watched from afar more than I’ll ever admit.
“I don’t date. Chloe and I,we’ve never... I just don’t date. What’s your excuse?”
I slide his jacket off my shoulders and hand it back to him, suddenly very,veryhot. “The last man I dated, died in bed with another woman six months after he married me.” I think about how hard that should have been but wasn’t. “Truth be told, he and I... we never dated. So I guess you could say I don’t have the greatest track record. I wouldn’t even know how to do it if I wanted to.”
“Wait.” He stares at me for a confused beat, and I see the gears turning. “How’s that possible?”
I laugh soundlessly. “Which part? The one where I married a man more than twice my age, and he died cheating on me with a model two years younger than me? Or the one where I haven’t dated since?” I might as well embrace the embarrassment.
“If he cheated on you, he was obviously a fool.”
“John Kingston was a lot of things. A fool wasn’t one of them. I was the fool.” I lean back against the wall, stretch my legs out in front of me, kick off my silver heels, then stretch out my toes and cross my ankles, one over the other. The pale blue chiffon layers of my gown cascade over my legs as they peek out of the thigh-high slit.
