Page 9 of Off-Limits Mate

Nolan laughs, shaking his head. “Dude. This is my sister. She’s not some girl that’s just going to fall into your lap because she likes how you play guitar.”

Why does the image of Amara watching me with those golden hazel eyes from the edge of the stage make my blood feel like it’s heating? I shake it off. “I know. I’m not trying to sleep with her, man. I just want to help.”

He snorts. “You better not be trying to sleep with my sister. I mean, no offense, but are you still into breaking hearts and taking names?”

“Come on. I never took their names,” I tease. Fuck. That makes me feel bad, too. I’m not trying to be an asshole to every woman on the face of the earth. But I don’t do commitment. Don’t do relationships. And it seems like that’s all they want.

Nolan rolls his eyes. “Well, that would definitely be bad then. Amara had a really tough time with that last breakup, and she doesn’t need someone romantic right now.”

The thing he’s not saying is that he knows how much of a piece of shit I’ve been to women over the years. And he would never subject his sister to that.

It stings, but again. Nolan knows who I am. He knows the truth. And I mean it. I wouldn’t sleep with his sister, because friends don’t do that. Especially not when they would risk their friendship if they did.

“I just want to help. Amara’s a great girl. She needs her house back? I’ll get her fucking house back,” I growl instead.

Nolan seems to consider it, then he sticks out his hand. “If you can help, I’d love it.”

I lean forward and shake, grinning. “I’ve got you, bro.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Cool. I’m going to see exactly how mad she is, then we’ll do dinner. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Nolan stands, moving in the direction where I’ve been hearing the keystrokes, heading down the hall to check on her. I lean back, feeling a little like I’ve got a purpose.

The feeling lasts all of ten seconds before I realize that I might have fucked up again.

In my head, I’m helping kid Amara. I pictured myself painting her room pink or some shit. But she’s not a kid anymore. Oh, definitely fucking not.

And I just signed myself up for several weeks of being in close proximity to the most attractive woman I’ve ever seen. Who I can’t have. Can’t even think about having. Because I just promised her brother, literally, that I wouldn’t.

I’d never break that promise. Nolan is my rock. He’s the most important person in the world to me. Losing him as my friend would devastate me.

I lean back on the couch, shutting my eyes.

This is fucking bad. But it’s not like it could get worse, right?

Chapter 5

Amara

This is going to be such a big freaking problem.

Jasper being so close to me is… well, it’s bad. All of last night, I felt like I was on edge. Having dinner with him, seeing him and Nolan laugh about the past, I honestly tried to participate. I really did. But all I could do was think about how hot and bothered Jasper made me. If Nolan knew that I was having such intense sexual feelings about his best friend…

The thought makes me squirm.

Sitting at the breakfast table next to both of them is making me even more uncomfortable, and Nolan keeps sending me weird glances, like he knows something is up. Something is definitely up. But I would absolutely never, in a million years, tell Nolan what I’m thinking.

Nolan isn’t a parent. He’s my brother. And I’ve watched him and Jasper date plenty of women over the course of their lives. Literally, women seemed to just appear, throwing themselves at Jasper any chance that they had. I know exactly how he treats women. And I am not dumb enough to think I’d be the exception to that rule.

Jasper would take my heart and run it through a meat grinder. Then, moments like this would be even more awkward…

I cough, choking on my orange juice.

Nolan looks at me. “You good?”

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