Page 58 of Bought and Broken

“Would you be jealous?” she asks, reaching for her glass.

I see where she’s going with this, and I both love and hate it.

“Do you want me to be?”

She gives a shrug of one shoulder, but I see the mischief in her eyes. She wants me to be jealous, but why? She hates it when anyone tries to control her life, but suddenly now she wants me to?

Because she’s playing games with me.

“I wouldn’t hate it.”

I reach for my wine, taking a sip. “There’s nothing to be jealous about since I know you haven’t been on any other dates.” The confidence she was holding onto falls. “But,” I add, and she perks up slightly. “If you were, then yes. I’d be jealous.”

Her lips quirk up into a satisfied smile.

Playing her game isn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Somehow, even with the years of strain between us, we’ve fallen right back into how things were. It’s easy for us to get along, there’s always been this natural connection between us. Which is why it’s so easy to lose myself in her, and why I’m so focused on keeping my guard up. It’s imperative that I do.

I was sure being out of the penthouse and back to our daily lives would be hell. Granted, it’s hardly been a full day and things could change. Her father is due back tomorrow evening, and Dane will be home tonight.

Speaking of…

“How do you want to handle this with Dane and Brent?” I ask her.

“I thought you said you had it handled?”

“I said I had this dinner handled. How we deal with them moving forward needs to be figured out between the both of us.”

The server returns with the appetizer and takes our meal orders. Devon gets a pasta dish and I order a steak.

“I think they’ll freak out,” Devon says as she picks up a tomato bruschetta from the plate and puts it on hers.

“So, we don’t tell them for now, but if this goes further, they’ll have to know.”

“How much further can it go?” she asks before taking a bite of the appetizer.

I huff out a laugh. “A lot further, Devon. An actual relationship. Marriage. Children.”

I hardly finish the last word and she starts choking on her food. Grabbing her water, she takes a sip to wash it down. She pats her mouth with the cloth napkin and clears her throat.

“Sorry,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting to talk about marriage and kids after one weekend, Tate.”

I force a smile. “I didn’t say that was my plan. I’m just saying there are things much more serious than us sneaking around to fuck.”

Her brow furrows. “Is that your real-world way of saying dating? Because to me, it sounds a little different.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Dating behind their backs will be simple enough. They’re busy. But if this turns into something more, they’ll have to know. That’s all I’m trying to say.”

“And if they freak out?” she asks, holding my gaze.

She wants me to tell her that I’ll fight for her. That I’ll talk to them and figure it out. That I’m not going to jump ship and leave her like I did last time. Little does she know I have zero intention of telling her brother or father about us—ever.

“I will handle it,” I assure her, though she doesn’t look so convinced.

“How are you so sure?”

“They were fine with us dating last time,” I say with a sigh.

Giving in to her right away all the time will get annoying quickly—on my part. And it may come across as suspicious to her too.

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