“You are unbelievable. Did you convince your brother to take the house off the market? Is this because I didn’t invite you to stay the night?”

I bark out a laugh. “Seriously? You think my ego is that easily bruised?” I lean down so I’m only inches away from her face. Close enough to see the green flecks in her amber eyes. Close enough to watch her pupils dilate and feel the warmth of her breath pass over my lips. “I know why you sent me home, and it has nothing to do with not wanting me in your bed all night long.”

She blinks a few times as if she’s been slapped. Her expression shutters. Oh yes, I’m familiar with this kind of emotional guarding. I do it all the time. But there’s something different about her, about this connection we share. I’m not willing to back down entirely, but I’ll back off for now. I straighten, giving her the space she seems to need.

“To answer your question, no, I didn’t know. I’m as shocked to see you this morning as you are to see me. I thought you were an accountant.”

“I never said I was an accountant, just that I’m good with numbers.” Rian paces the small space. “How is this even happening?”

“Maybe it’s kismet.” I grin at her incredulous expression and lift a shoulder in a slight shrug. “You have to admit, it’s pretty wild.”

“It’s crazypants is what it is.” She stops her pacing and props her hand on her hips. “Okay, so here’s how this is going to go: What happened between us last night isn’t going to have any bearing on the deal we’re making today.” She purses her lips and points a finger in my face. “And just because I came more than once, doesn’t negate the fact that you and your brother are pulling a house off the market hours before an open house.”

“I can get on board with that. Does this mean that once this deal is done, we’re going to celebrate with more orgasms?” I wink.

“You’re incorrigible.” She flips the lock on the door. Before she can open it, I flatten my palm against it and lean in, crowding her. She tenses. “What’re you doing?”

That’s a good question. I’m not actually sure. I’m being an asshole again, maybe because that seems to be the version of me she responds to the best, which begs the question, what the hell happened to make her so jaded and angry? So I antagonize her, just to see how far I can push. “You sure you’re calm enough to be rational out there?”

“I’m perfectly calm,” she says to the door. The tremor in her voice gives away her lie.

“You’re sure about that?”

“Yes.”

“As long as you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

I duck down and whisper in her ear, “Say that when you’re looking at me.”

She spins, hair whipping me in the face. We’re nose to nose. Her expression in no way reflects her rigid stance. She’s the picture of serenity as her eyes meet mine and stay locked there in the gentlest of challenges. They say go ahead and fuck with me; see who wins. They say keep pushing my buttons.

“I’m perfectly calm. Are you?” Her voice is jazz-club smoky.

“Not even a little bit.”

Her brow furrows in confusion.

“I need to tell you something.” I’m too close for her to be comfortable, but I don’t want to leave the bubble of her space. I feel that same pull, the one I felt when I confronted her in the grocery store. The same pull that had me messaging and calling her the week that followed. The very feeling that was missing when I watched her sister scratch my car.

“What’s that?” Her voice is all breathy and soft.

“I really love this dress on you.”

She smooths her hands over her hips. “Oh.”

“I thought you should know.”

We stare at each other for what seems like forever, both of us leaning closer until the tips of our noses touch. We jump at the rapping on the other side of the door. “You two coming out anytime in the next millennium?” It’s her sister.

I push away and Rian shakes her head, but she’s still smiling as she puts her hand on the doorknob and twists. Looking over her shoulder, she says, “Business is still business.”

CHAPTER 13

NEGOTIATIONS: ROUND TWO

RIAN

I clap my hands together and feign calm. I am not calm. I am not okay. This whole thing could blow up in my face and I would really like to keep my face. It’s the only one I’ve got. “Let’s get down to business.”

“I think you did that last night,” Marley quips.

She and Lawson snicker, Pierce coughs from my right. I glare first at her, then at Pierce, who both quickly school their expressions. Lawson’s smile is wide and his teeth are blindingly white against his tanned skin. “Oh come on, you have to admit that was funny. We’re doing business, you got the business from my brother last night.”

“Can it, Law,” Pierce mutters. “And will you please button your shirt?”

“I don’t like being confined by fabric.”

Pierce shakes his head. “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?”

“Sure do. All right.” Lawson slaps a palm on the table. “While you two were having a lover’s quarrel and some super quiet sex in the bathroom—”

“We were not having sex in the bathroom,” I snap.

“Whatever, it’s cool either way. Just as long as there aren’t any messes to clean up, we’re golden.” He gives me the thumbs-up. “So this is how it’s going down. I received some intel that our neighbor two doors down are putting their bungalow on the market tomorrow. I want to get in there and put an offer on it before it goes public.” He points to Marley. “And I need you to work your magic to make that happen.”

“Who told you they were putting it up for sale?” Marley glances at me, a hint of potential accusation in her eyes.

I try to use facial expressions to indicate that I in no way divulged that information to Pierce last night. I was far too busy having orgasms to talk about what houses might be for sale on the beach. Besides, he didn’t even know what I do for a living until now, and I didn’t realize he wasn’t just a landlord.

“I might’ve had a conversation with their granddaughter the other day. So I’m thinking, since you owe my brother some money for damaging his car, you can get us in to see it first and give us a break on the commission. Drop it by a percent or something.”

“No. Absolutely not,” I cut in. “First of all, I’ve already given Pierce a check for the paint and that has nothing to do with the sale of the house. So no discount for anything.”

“How about half a percent?”

“Still no.”

“My brother could’ve called the police, but he didn’t,” Lawson says with an arched brow.

“And you’re breaking a contractual agreement by taking your house off the market, so don’t throw out baseless threats in a bid to cheat us out of money we’ll earn by getting you a good deal on the house.”

“Fuck, you’re hot,” Pierce says.

All three of us look at him. I’m sure my face is red again. And for the love of all things Coco Pebbles, my nipples have perked right up. So stupid. This guy is way too smooth, too good with his words and his hands and his magnificent man hammer. He’s too intense. It’s bad. Intense equals dangerous. This kind of lust dulls all the other senses, whitewashes reason, makes a person do thoughtless, senseless things; like having sex with a relative stranger on a dryer after one dinner date. And it wasn’t even a real date.