Page 43 of Get Undressed With Me

“It’s not dumb. You’re intelligent and beautiful and caring and you deserve a man who’s going to worship you. You deserve a man who’s willing to earn you. And if that’s not Robbie, then fuck him.”

He went back to cooking while Brittany tried to remember a time when her heart wasn’t beating like it was about to be a medical emergency. Because the way Gus had just said that…

Looking for a distraction, she glanced down at the floor near the kitchen and frowned.

“Is that my suitcase?”

“I stopped at your hotel room. You’re staying here for the rest of Kickoff.”

Her mouth dropped open, her mind racing with reasons this was a terrible idea.

“Gus, you don’t have a guest room.”

“You’ll stay in my room. It’s not a big deal.”

Not a big deal? To stay in his room, in his bed, that’s going to smell like him and be full of his things? Is he out of his mind?

“I can’t take your bed.”

“It’s already settled. I’ll couch it. Now be quiet, I’m trying to cook.”

He turned his back on her to face the stove, effectively ending the conversation, and she was left floored with what the last hour had brought her, her mind racing as it tried to process her fight with Robbie and the new dynamic she had somehow slipped into with Gus.

Dinner was a quiet affair, both of them ignoring the small dining table and eating on the couch, watching Brittany’s dating show that even she had to admit was dumb. She finished the last bite of the grilled salmon with vegetables he’d made, setting down her plate on the coffee table and then flopping down on the groan, a hand gripping her stomach.

“Too much. I’ve eaten too much. How could you do this to me?”

Gus chuckled softly, a sound that reverberated down Brittany’s spine. He was also lying back on the couch, reclining, her feet once again in his lap to keep the bad ankle elevated. And Brittany realized that, even with the horrible confrontation with Robbie earlier, even with all the questions she had in the aftermath, she was having a really, really good time.

Which meant it was time to leave. She didn’t want to get between brothers, even if Robbie was an idiot and Gus saw her as a job. While angry Brittany would seek revenge for some of the garbage Robbie had spewed out of his mouth today, well-fed and tired Brittany wasn’t willing to do anything to ruin this moment with Gus.

“Look, I appreciate everything,” she said softly, feeling a small zing of electricity as his eyes turned to meet hers. “But I should really go back to my hotel. Me staying here is only going to piss off Robbie more, and while I delight in it, it’s unfair for you to be caught between us and our drama.”

He never took his eyes from her face.

“You can’t even walk to the bedroom by yourself on that ankle. You’re currently a vulnerable target for this guy who’s been after you, and with him ramping up his actions, it doesn’t make sense for you to stay at that hotel. You have five roommates who are constantly throwing parties and making out with strangers in that room. Hell, the person who let me in barely blinked when I showed up to get your stuff. Your stalkercould get in there, easy, and you’d have no defense and nowhere to hide. So no, you’re not leaving. You’re staying right here.”

Damn, those were really good, logical points and Brittany would be an idiot not to listen. And from the half-smile on his face, he knew he had her. Still, she huffed, crossing her arms.

“Fine. You win. No hotel room.”

Instead of gloating, Gus just nodded and turned his attention back to the dating show that he must hate but was still watching because it was what she wanted to watch.

“Who’s Annabelle?”

The question was out before she could stop it. She knew it wasn’t her place to pry, but she was so curious. Robbie had said the name before like she was someone important, but Brittany, for the life of her, couldn’t remember ever meeting an Annabelle. Gus froze in taking a drink of his water, clearly unsure what to say, and Brittany immediately felt horrible. His dating life was none of her business.

“Don’t answer that, I’m being nosey.”

Gus sighed, staying quiet, and Brittany assumed he wasn’t going to answer her. And then he spoke, his eyes still on the TV.

“It was a few years ago. I met Annabelle on vacation. I was up the coast in Big Sur, surfing, and she was at the beach with her friends. She called me over and asked me to take their picture. When I went to hand her phone back, she told me to put my number in it first.”

Brittany couldn’t help but think Annabelle was seeming like a smart, logical woman when faced with what must have been Gus’s shirtless, wet body. She had to shoot her shot, and Brittany respected it.

Gus continued. “I called her that night, and we went out a few times. She was fun. Always taking pictures and posting on her social media, but I’m used to that with Robbie and didn’t thinkanything of it. She never asked to take pictures with me or to post them.”

“Were you guys serious?”

---