Page 13 of Broken

“I guess you have it all worked out.”

He leans forward and splays his huge hands on the boardroom table. “I don’t believe in leaving anything to chance, Melanie.” He stands straight again and nods. “I’ll pick you up at eight. We’re going to Leonardi’s, so wear something appropriate.”

I bite back the retort on the tip of my tongue.Appropriate.I’m well aware that it’s the most exclusive restaurant in Manhattan. Does he think I’m going to rock up in jeans and a T-shirt or a minidress that will show off my ass cheeks? I’ll show him appropriate. “Of course,” I say softly, offering him a demure smile.

Chapter

Eight

NATHAN

“Would you like me to go up for her, sir?” my driver, Teddy, asks as he rolls the car to a stop outside Melanie’s apartment building.

“No. I’ll go get her myself if she’s not here on time.” I look at the bustling sidewalk, at the people hurrying to the places they’re going, separated from me by the thick pane of glass, then glance at my watch. I left strict instructions that she be ready by eight, and she promised she would be. I contemplated sending her a dress to wear but figured I’d learn a little more about her by seeing how she chooses to dress for dinner at an exclusive restaurant.

A few seconds later, she walks out of the apartment building, and fuck me, she does not disappoint. Her long dark hair is pulled to one side, falling in gentle waves over her shoulder. Her elegant jade-green dress ends mid-calf, with a split exposing the length of her left thigh, showing off a small expanse of hertanned skin. The fabric clings to every inch of her curves like it was sprayed on her body, showing nothing and everything at the same time.

“This her, sir?” Teddy asks.

I clear my throat. “Yeah.”

He jumps out of the car, and I watch her walk toward us, her hips swaying in a seductive rhythm with each sure-footed step she takes in her heels. I bite my lip and grunt, sounding like a fucking animal.

Their muffled voices reach me before the car door opens. She peers inside, flashing me a sweet smile like she knows I watched her approach and enjoyed every second of it. Then she turns back to my driver. “Thank you, Tedward,” she says with a musical laugh.

He almost suppresses his smirk before he closes the door on us, and she takes a seat beside me, revealing that her dress leaves her back completely bare. An image of me sliding my hand inside the fabric to see if she’s wearing panties flashes through my mind and makes my dick twitch in my pants.

“Tedward is lovely,” she says, cutting through my inappropriate thoughts.

I lift one eyebrow. “His name is Teddy, short for Theodore.”

“Yes, he introduced himself as Teddy, but he seemed to like Tedward just fine.” She flashes me a wicked grin. “Anyway, is thisappropriateenough for dinner?” She gestures at her dress, and I narrow my eyes at her. We haven’t even pulled away from the curb and she’s fucking with me already. This woman is a spitfire. Nothing at all like the meek woman who walked into my office with her brother today.

I make a show of glancing over her outfit, like I haven’t already committed every detail to memory. “It will do fine.”

She blows out a breath. “Wow, Mr. James, so smooth.” Chuckling, she leans back against the seat.

“Have you been drinking, Melanie?”

She wrinkles her nose. “Not yet. Why?”

“Taken anything else to help get you through the evening?”

Her eyes go wide and her neck flushes a pretty shade of pink, and now I feel like an asshole. Nothing in the information I found about her from the past nine years would suggest she has an ongoing drug problem. That was a low blow.

She rolls back her shoulders and fixes me with a hard stare. “I guess if we’re going to be married, you have a right to know about my past, Mr. James.”

“Don’t care about your past, just the now.”

“Yes, well, let’s just say my stint inrehabwas greatly exaggerated. Yes, I have a glass of wine or three occasionally, and when my cousin, Tyler, manages to persuade me to go clubbing, I’ve been known to down a tequila shot or four. But I don’t do drugs.”

“Good to know. But you are acting differently.”

She tilts her head. “Different good or different bad?”

I press my lips together, mulling over the question. “Good.”

A smile lights up her face. “I crack jokes when I’m nervous.” She shrugs. “And also, today in your office was kind of…” She blows out a breath. “Weird. I get quiet when I’m nervous too.”

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