Page 30 of Get Undressed With Me

Brittany already knew there was nothing to do. The message came from a blocked number, and she had been through this multiple times with the police.

It was late by the time they wrapped up the dinner. They left the restaurant, with Hayden stopping to say goodnight to Theo and threatening him not to piss off the new chef. Min and Hayden were more than willing to grab a rideshare together, and soon they were all tucked into a warm SUV. Min yawned.

“Are you sure you’re okay in that room with all those people?”

Brittany laughed. “It’s the life, Min. I’ll be fine. It’s only for the weekend.”

The SUV pulled up to Brittany’s hotel, and so with many hugs, Brittany left them to walk into the lobby. Once inside, she turned around to watch their car drive off, noting that Hayden moved to sit next to Min and pull her close.

Something twinged in Brittany’s chest at that. She wanted a partner to pull close, who would go with her to follow her friend to make sure she was safe. Someone who was crazy about her.

After a moment, she shook off her melancholy and headed to her room. She wasn’t one to sit around and wish for a man, she was a woman who made her own dreams come true. And she apparently had some designs to work on tonight.

CHAPTER 7

GUS

Gus had still been at the coffee shop when he got the text from Brittany. He had immediately sent the screenshot to Val, who said she would do her best to track the number, but blocked numbers were often impossible to trace. When Brittany had insisted he not meet her to walk her home, Gus had to breathe deeply to control the sudden protectiveness that overcame him when he got Brittany’s text. Brittany was a small woman, but Gus knew she hit hard, and was no stranger to yelling at the top of her lungs when the situation called for it. Hell, sometimes when it didn’t call for it. Brittany liked yelling.

It was… endearing.

Attempting to put aside thoughts of his brother’s ex-girlfriend, Gus was deep in thought when he let himself into his condo, which is why he stopped short at the sight of Robbie, standing near the front door, looking mad as hell.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Robbie asked in that pissy voice he always used when he didn’t get his way.

Gus hung his keys on the hook by the door, counting in his head to control his temper. Robbie must have used his key to let himself in. And while this is usually not a big deal, for some reason today, it bothered Gus. A lot.

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Gus told him in a dry voice. “There are a lot of reasons I could be out of my mind. Currently I’m wondering why I gave you a key.”

“You’re hanging out with Brittany? Walking around with her, showing up at her meet-and-greet? Are you purposefully trying to piss me off, or is there actually something going on there?”

Gus leaned against his kitchen counter, his arms crossed. Usually, Robbie was best dealt with by keeping your voice even and not letting him get a rise out of you. Still, this reaction was over the top, and Gus wasn’t having it.

“I wasn’t aware that hanging out with a friend was about you.”

“She’s my ex, of course it’s about me.”

Gus blinked at that. Sometimes Robbie’s narcissism was truly astounding.

“So when you went to Disneyland with Annabelle after we broke up, that was about me?”

It had been about a month after the amicable break up, when Annabelle had confessed she no longer felt a spark with Gus and wanted to move on. At the time, he hadn’t even been mad. He and Annabelle had dated for about six months, and at most when he thought of the relationship, he considered it ‘fine.’ When she had gone out with Robbie a month later, it had stung, but Gus had spent his life being the less interesting brother and didn’t hold it against either of them. Robbie couldn’t help being charming, and Gus couldn’t help being the boring one.

But still, if he was going to pull this shit with Gus now, Gus was going to say something.

Robbie pointed a large finger at him, his color heightening.

“This is different, and you know it.”

It wasn’t, not even remotely. But Robbie apparently still viewed Brittany as his and was determined to throw a tantrum about it.

“She’s a client. I’m her security for the weekend.”

Robbie laughed in disbelief.

“Is that what you’re calling it?”

“That’s what Val was calling it when she begged me to take the case.”

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