Page 57 of The Breaking Point

“I mean, you’re both adults. You’re both single, as far as I know,” said Elodie. “So why can’t you guys be together? Are you promised to some long-lost betrothed?”

Mac shook his head. “More like Grace is being locked in a tower by her dad.”

Elodie pointed a large serving fork at me. “Well, whatever is happening, you need to figure your shit out. If you have feelings for Grace, don’t be a big baby and keep them to yourself. I know you guys think having no feelings is manly, but it’s dumb.”

I held up my hands. “Geez, Elodie, you’re scary.”

Elodie made shooing motions to get us out of her kitchen. Mac gave her a big smacking kiss and a nice tap on the ass before we returned to the living room.

“She’s right, you know,” said Mac as we sat back down.

I groaned. “God, not you, too.”

“You’ve been hung up on Grace for ages. I know you’re convinced nothing can happen, but what if you could be honest with Grace? Tell her how you feel?”

I glowered at Mac. “Now you’re turning this into some Lifetime movie.”

“So you’re going to kidnap Grace and lock her in your cabin?” Mac laughed. “Sorry, Elodie loves Lifetime movies. At any rate, maybe all you can do is hope that Grace stays home and doesn’t go to the club a second time.”

A man could dream. But knowing Grace, she’d go a second time just to show me that she could do what she wanted, consequences be damned. I should never have tried to order her around.

Maybe I should’ve acted like seeing her there was no big deal. But I’d nearly lost my mind when I’d first spotted her through that glass. And then all those guys, looking at her, trying to get her attention, coming over to possibly touch her ...

“Grace isn’t the type to be into a sex club,” I said.

“Elodie would’ve said the same thing, but she came around to the idea quickly. We’ve had a lot of fun since. Although, to be fair, we haven’t been to the club in a while. We keep ourselves busy at home.” Mac shot me a grin.

“You two are insufferable.”

Mac didn’t disagree. He just smiled, his thoughts far away now.

Even if my friends were right, I couldn’t give in to temptation. There was too much at stake. Because I could live with keeping Grace at arm’s length.

I could live with just being her friend. I couldn’t live with the thought of her despising me, though.

Maybe she’ll come back again. And I’ll be ready for her this time.

BRADY

EIGHT YEARS AGO

I looked at my watch. I had fifteen minutes before it was officially the afternoon.

Fifteen minutes until I needed to tutor Grace in math. But when I’d agreed to tutor her, I hadn’t specified a time.

So maybe I had an hour. Maybe even three. What did “afternoon” mean, anyway? When did afternoon end and evening begin?

Or I could suck it up, tutor her for a half hour, and go back to my room. Nobody had said I needed to tutor her for very long.

I could do this. I could tutor her. It wasn’t a big deal. I’d done it before, right?

But that had beenbefore.Before I’d started seeing Grace as a girl instead of as a sister.

When I’d first been welcomed into the Dallases’ home, Grace had been an annoying little sister who liked to follow me and Ben around.

That type of thing I was used to. I’d been in enough foster homes with other kids, a lot of them younger than me. In my last home, their daughter had been a toddler. My foster parents would often have me babysit—for free, of course.

But Grace had started looking more like a woman lately. The first time I’d noticed, it’d taken every bit of ingenuity to get upstairs without anyone noticing my boner. It’d been humiliating.

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