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I raise my brow when Brandon Merrick locks eyes on me, looking like a deer in headlights. The guests remain stifled by an awkward silence after Madison Merrick disappears into the house, and for the first time, I’m glad not to be involved in their family politics.
I had no idea that Brandon’s new fiancée was close to Madison when he came into work giddy about his new girl a few months ago. Now, I’m thinking he didn’t mention that part on purpose because he knew it would end like this. If he thought bombarding a firecracker like his sister was the right way to deliver his good news, my years of dating advice have clearly been a waste of time.
I can’t help but notice that nobody goes rushing to comfort Madison, and this fact leaves a faint ache in my sternum that I try to rub away quickly.
“Well… it’s great news, son!” Brandon’s father, Daniel Merrick, pipes up, tipping his glass of whiskey toward the happy couple. The ice in his drink clinks, and then a dozen more do the same as they all cheers to them. Chloe doesn’t look too happy, though, clinging onto Brandon’s tight fists and glaring up at him.
I grimace. The Merrick men aren’t known for their tact. How Brandon’s parents have been married so long, I don’t know. Then again, Daniel could be worse. He could be like my Dad, cold and cutting to the core, interested only in wealth and status.
My gaze drifts back to the house without permission. Something’s wrong with Madison. I noticed it almost immediately when she snapped at me not to call her “sweetheart” — something that slipped out of me too easily when I thought we were merely teasing one another the way we used to. I’ve always known she doesn’t like me, and I’m twisted enough to find pleasure in that irritation. She’s never been my favorite person, either. She looks down on me, and I don’t know why.
But she’s come back from Italy with shadows in her eyes, that youthfulness of her early twenties dissipated. I shouldn’t care. I don’t know why I do. She’s nothing more than a pain in my ass, a fiery blonde who enjoys poking fun out of me — probably because she knows not many other people would dare to.
Rubbing my stubbly jaw, I slowly sift out of the crowd. It isn’t intentional. It’s more like something is pulling me to her, like a cord tied around my stomach.
“Roman!” Brandon calls me back, jogging to catch up to me.
I slap his shoulder and shoot him a stiff grin. “Congrats, man. Proud of you.”
“Thanks. And thanks for helping me out.” He grins from ear to ear like a man possessed. I guess that’s what love looks like, though I wouldn’t know. I tried to put my own cynicism aside for Brandon. Though, even as he ran about a hundred terrible proposal ideas by me — like a “ring in the middle of a chocolate cake.” Terrible. We settled on the right gesture together, and he got down on his knee in a botanical garden at sunset. I hired the place out to make sure it would only be the two of them, and clearly, it was worth it.
“Of course.”
His features turn wary. Guilty, even. He scratches the back of his neck. “Do you think Madison will come around?”
“I don’t know. The girl knows how to hold a grudge. What exactly is she upset about?” Though I’ve already guessed, I hope that hearing him say it will help him to see his own mistake. God forbid I have to show empathy for Madison by pointing it out to him.
“Well, she was close with Chloe before she left. They’ve been best friends since preschool, and we didn’t know how to tell her that we started dating over the phone, so…”
“So you decided to ambush her as soon as she got back,” I finish for him.
He winces. “I thought it’d be a nice surprise.”
“Oh, come on.” I roll my eyes. “It’d be like…” I search for an adequate example. “It’d be like you coming home from a trip to find me and Madison shacking up.” As soon as the words are out, I regret them — not just because of the way Brandon tenses but also because the thought sends an uncomfortable slice of heat through me.
Don’t even fucking think about it, Roman.
But it’s too late. The woman’s been torturing me for years, and part of the reason I act like such an ass around her is so that she never senses the tension simmering beneath my surface whenever I catch the scent of her perfume or lose myself in her gorgeous curves.
She might be way too young for me — eighteen years too young — but she’s stunning in a way not even I’m immune to, try as I might. Still, she’s annoying enough that I can brush that beauty aside.
Most of the time.
Brandon’s glower blazes like he’s trying to set me on fire with his eyes alone.
I take an apologetic step back. “I’m just saying… it’s the same.”
“No, it’s not the same, Roman — for a lot of reasons. The first one being Chloe and I are practically the same age, and I’d never play around with her. This is real. It’s not some hideous hypothetical that should never, ever happen.”
I wish I could feel stung by the implication that I mess around, but it’s true. Or, at least, it was before my four-year-old son Leo came along. I don’t exactly have time for games now. I’m a single dad, on top of being CEO of my own company. On the rare occasion, I’m in a situation where a woman offers herself up, I’m not stupid enough to say no. I still have needs. It isn’t my fault if she gets attached; I make it pretty clear that my hook-ups are exactly that. No strings attached.
Still, I feign offense, placing my hand on my chest. “I’m hurt.”
“It isn’t funny.” He nudges my shoulder firmly, and I rock on my heels. “Madison’s just going to have to find a way to be happy for us.”
“And I’m sure she will.” I shrug, sipping my whiskey. “But it’s Madison. She’ll bring her wrath down first. You did betray her.”
“I did not betray her!” he hisses.
