Page 66 of Broken Boss

Hurrying to the car, I slide inside and shut the door. “Hi, thank you for waiting.”

The drive to the station isn’t long, but it’s long enough for me to worry about this new development. Not Kieran showing up and confronting me so openly—somehow, that bothers me less than the fact that Chris was so willing to step in front of me.

To risk his own safety for mine.

He’s not the man you thought he was, the voice in my head whispers.

I press my eyes closed, hearing Chris’s voice, now, instead. If I was yours…

My heart thunders in my chest.

If he was mine.

Old feelings shatter through me, of inadequacy, fear, and trepidation.

I don’t deserve someone like Chris. I don’t deserve all that attention, the luxury, the safety net of someone else caring for me so deeply.

And the look in his eyes that night…

It made me realize just how much I want him to be mine.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Stephen’s gaze is worried as I pop another ginger candy between my lips and suck on it to try and get rid of the nausea.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just ate something bad.”

Actually, I’ve barely been eating at all because of this upset stomach. But I don’t want to tell him that and worry him, especially because the only thing I can think of that would cause this is Kieran showing back up.

I don’t need Stephen to know about that.

“How’s the lawyer treating you?” Stephen asks casually, toying with a piece of paper he’s folded into a flower on the tabletop.

Despite his nonchalant demeanor, I can see the hard edge to his curious eyes.

“Fine.” Rolling my stiff shoulders, I try to match his ease. “Six more months to prove that I deserve partner at the firm, and I think I’ve got a pretty good shot at it.” In a fit of brilliance, I start telling him about Marty—how she’s my competition, treats the interns like shit, and is practically climbing Chris Sharpe like a tree.

As my rant goes on, a slow smile stretches across Stephen’s face. It’s been so long since I’ve seen such a carefree smile that I falter.

“What?”

“You just seem happy. And maybe a little jealous.”

My cheeks go pink. He’s right, but I’m not going to admit it, so I scoff instead. “Jealous? Never. I would never—the man put you in prison, Stephen, I couldn’t?—”

The rambling explanation is more for myself than my brother, and of course, Stephen sees right through it. His smile melts into something sad.

“Autumn, you know I want you to be happy, right? And Sharpe doesn’t seem like a bad guy.”

I sit back, stunned.

“How can you say that?”

He shrugs. “He doesn’t. I was angry the first few years, you know, and I kept up with him. With what his firm was doing. It seems like he’s turned things around. Defense and all, right? And I trust you. You wouldn’t work there unless he was a good person.”

I don’t know what to say.

My heart is breaking, because Stephen is right. Over the past few weeks, I’ve started to believe that Chris isn’t the coldhearted man I thought he was.

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