Page 71 of Smith

Still, the more I thought about it, the more I ran through the last few days. The way he held my hand in my sleep. The way he looked at me. The way he made me feel sexy and confident. How when he listened to me talk about my business he looked at me with pride. He didn’t think my dreams were silly—he understood my vision, he knew why I was pushing so hard. The way he’d been taking care of me, not losing patience, letting me vent and not thinking I was irrational or silly. How he was on the right side of protective, ditto on the bossy. And finally, I thought aboutlast night and him telling me about his mom—the sadness in his eyes that made my stomach ache.

I didn’t have time for a man. Not right now, not when I was still hustling to make it. But now that I had him, I couldn’t imagine my life without Smith.

But there was one problem.

“He said he wasn’t looking for permanent. He made me promise him I knew what we were starting.”

“He lied.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means he fed you that shit because that’s what broken men do. We tell lies to protect ourselves under the pretense we’re being honest. We keep women, especially ones who have the power to bring us to our knees, at arm’s length. I’d bet my business he took one look at you and his shields went up. I’d bet it took less than ten minutes talking with you and he reinforced those bitches and that’s when he started lying to himself. Digging up past hurts as a way to keep himself clear of you.”

My chest felt heavy—the pressure Zane’s words built made it hard to suck in oxygen. I didn’t want to hope but I was. I was hoping so hard Zane was right and there was a chance I could break through, I feared I’d pass out on the floor of the conference room.

“How do you know?”

“Because, Aria, I used to be that man. I saw my wife sitting at a bar and before I said word one to her I knew she had the power to wreck me. I knew she’d be the one who tore down my walls and have me on my knees begging her to fix me. My shields went up but they were useless. That’s what happens when a man finds the woman of his dreams.”

I heard a swift inhale. Zane heard it, too. We shifted and looked to the door.

Ivy was standing there holding a sleeping baby girl, with a look that could only be described as serene. As a matter of fact, I’d never in my life seen anyone look more peaceful in my life.

“And that right there is why I put up with all his gruff,” Ivy teased, then smiled at me.

“Lies. It’s because of what I can do with?—”

“Don’t ruin the moment,” Ivy shot back.

Zane smiled at his wife. It was knowing, it was sexy as all get-out, and it was made so by the heat in his gaze and…dimples. Holy shit, the man had dimples.

“Quick, look away,” Kira warned. “Don’t let those dimples dazzle you. They’re how he tricks you.”

Zane looked at Kira and inquired, “Remind me why I like you?”

“Because I’m you in female form.”

“Yeah, that’s why,” he grumbled and looked back at me. “You good?”

No I was not good. I was confused.

“Sure,” I lied.

Zane not being stupid knew I was lying. But he didn’t call me on it.

“Think about what I said.”

Like I’d think about anything else.

With that he turned, made it to Ivy, gave his wife a kiss before he gently pulled his sleeping daughter out of her arms and left the room.

“He is the most infuriating man on the planet,” she huffed.

She might’ve been right, but he also loved her and his kids something fierce. I wouldn’t know for a fact since I’d never had a man love me the way Zane did Ivy, and I didn’t have kids or a husband to love them, but I figured there wasn’t a woman alive who wouldn’t put up with Zane-level annoyance for that kind of devotion.

“Where’d the guys go?”

“Break-in at Aria’s flip,” Kira answered.

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