Page 11 of Get Undressed With Me

Gus’s gut clenched. “What about him?”

“What are you going to tell him when he wants to hang out? That you can’t because you’re busy hanging out with his ex-girlfriend? The one who went ballistic on his gaming equipment?”

“I’ll tell him I’m busy working. Which I am. He’ll understand that.”

“He won’t, and you know it.”

“Then he’ll get over it. I’m not leaving you unprotected with some stalker out there just because it might hurt Robbie’sfeelings. I’m already annoyed you didn’t tell me about this in the first place. I thought we were friends.”

She gave Gus a funny look, like she was trying to figure him out.

“Yes,” she said slowly. “I would consider us friends. I’m just surprised you feel the same way.”

He looked at her then, surprised. “I never stopped.”

And it was true. Robbie had introduced him to a few girlfriends over the years, but Brittany had been his favorite. They had spent time together, talking, hanging out, always friendly. When Robbie had broken it off with her, Gus had been disappointed at the thought of not seeing her regularly. But he had never stopped thinking of her as a friend.

Until she broke into Robbie’s apartment and destroyed his equipment. And then treated him like the bad guy because he caught her.

She didn’t know what to say to that, and so they fell into silence for the rest of the trip.

Gus finally pulled up to her hotel, parking in the drop-off area out front. And then he turned to her, their eyes locking.

“Come on. I’ll walk you to your door.”

Brittany rolled her eyes. “The hotel has security and cameras everywhere. I think I’m safe.”

“Humor me.”

He stepped out of the car and went to the back, grabbing her bag. She was out of the SUV by the time he stepped around toward her. With a glance around, he led her into the hotel, this time having his hand hover over her back. Brittany wasn’t a fan of people touching her without permission. He wasn’t going to piss her off any more than was necessary.

At the front desk, a man brightened at the sight of her. Gus couldn’t blame him. When Brittany was in the room, it was hard to look away. Gus, however, focused on scanning the lobby,searching for anyone who might seem too interested in them. Fortunately, the place was empty.

“Good evening, miss. How can I help you?”

“I’m staying here. Someone should’ve left me a key.”

She gave her name, and the attendant looked her up, flashing her a wide smile the whole time as if Gus wasn’t standing right next to her. Not that she was his, but this guy didn’t know that. Gus glared at him just to get his point across, and the guy visibly gulped and typed faster.

Once Brittany had her key, she turned to Gus, holding out her hand for her bag.

“To the door, killer.”

With a sigh, she headed to the elevators, Gus on her heels. Her hips swayed with that rhythm only she seemed to hear, and he was once again grateful the place was mostly empty. Brittany could draw a crowd just by being herself.

The elevator was thankfully empty, so they settled on opposite sides.

“Was he pissed?”

He knew exactly what Brittany was asking, and what she was digging for. And, considering the night they had, and the long weekend they were about to have, he decided to give her what she clearly wanted… the truth.

“Robbie was livid. He wasn’t able to retrieve any data or any of his saves. Had to buy new equipment and start fresh.”

If he thought she’d look happy at that, he was wrong. She simply took it in with a nod.

“Good.”

The elevator dinged, and Gus followed her down the quiet hall to her door, where she turned and blinked at him, clearly not expecting him to be so close behind her. She looked up at him, those long dark lashes framing those sky-blue eyes that Gus could easily drown in, and for a second, he could feel himselfstart to sweat. It was one thing to be around Brittany when she was dating his brother. It was another to be around her, standing this close, when she was unattached.

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