Page 29 of Ever With Me

Had women tried to manipulate him into sex before?

She coughed back a startled laugh. “No. I’m not asking forthat.” A fresh wave of embarrassment trickled through her. “Our town is having a fair in a little less than a month. And someone like you would be normally impossible for us to book for the main stage. We can’t pay what you’re normally used to, I’m sure but?—”

“You’re seriously asking for aconcertin exchange for your silence?” He flipped the check ledger onto the bed. He tilted his head, staring at her as though dumbfounded.

“You owe me, Brooks. And I need this because—” She paused. She wasn’t about to spill her guts out to Brooks about Josh and Gina and the whole stupid mess with River House. He didn’t care, and it wouldn’t likely influence him. “This would be great for our town. The fair is a huge deal, and we get people from the whole tristate, not to mention tourists. It would be well-attended.”

He continued to stare at her in disbelief. “You’re blackmailing me for a concert,” he repeated. “I don’t care how fuckingattendedit is.”

She sensed she should hurry before this got ugly. Reaching into her purse, she grabbed an envelope. “This is a contract I drew up. It assures I’ll be quiet, that you’ll pay for the damages, and that you’ll do the concert. My dad is a lawyer, so I know a thing or two about contracts and?—”

“Leave it on the bed, then get the fuck out of this house.”

Her breath caught. She hadn’t really planned on staying for dinner, but the way he was dismissing her was rude. Not that she didn’t probably deserve it. What did this mean, though? He wouldn’t make a deal with her? The image of him ripping up the contract as soon as she left floated through her imagination.

She avoided his gaze as she edged closer to the bed, then set the envelope down.

Brooks didn’t move, every muscle under his shirt taut as he stared at her with feral, intense scrutiny.

She turned and started back toward the door.

“Wait.”

Looking over her shoulder, she met that burning gaze of his.

“Come back tomorrow. Noon. Sharp. I’ll give you an answer then.”

10

BROOKS

“It’s toobad your friend didn’t stay last night,” Kayla said to Cormac as she leaned over her morning coffee at the long farmhouse-style table in the kitchen. “She seemed really nice.”

“Yeah, well, you sure seemed to get along with her brother.” Cormac winked. He snuck a glance at Brooks, who was frying an egg at the island stove nearby them. “Just don’t let Brooks see you flirting.”

Brooks held Cormac’s gaze with a mock scowl. “Am I supposed to jump in like a Neanderthal and threaten to beat him with a club if she sleeps with him?”

“Hush. Audrey might hear you,” Kayla scolded, looking over her shoulder at her daughter, who was lying on the couch, snuggled against a pillow, watching cartoons.

“If I know my niece, nothing can take her attention away fromBluey,”Brooks grunted.

Kayla smiled, then shrugged. “You have me there.”

“In all seriousness, Logan’s a good guy. You could do worse,” Cormac said, then picked a piece of bacon off a plate.

“I have done worse,” Kayla said with a chuckle, then gave Cormac a knowing look. “And so have you.”

Brooks transferred the egg to his plate, then grabbed his toast from the toaster, content to settle into the background of Cormac and Kayla’s conversation. Cormac had always gotten along well with Kayla and treated her with respect and friendship. In a way, it was easier for him to have both here—it meant Brooks could talk a whole lot less. They could just talk to each other.

“So why did Logan’s sister haul out so quickly?” Kayla gave Cormac a curious look. “I figured she was here to hook up with you.”

“Don’t know. But I don’t think she’s on the market for a hookup. Logan was telling me she just went through a nasty breakup with some guy in town. Guy was a real asshole to her, apparently. Really screwed her over with some typical small-town drama.”

Kayla laughed, then sipped her coffee. “What’s small-town drama? Mrs. O’Leary’s cow being accused of starting shit again?”

Brooks sat beside her, ignoring what Cormac had said about Maddie. He didn’t want to waste an extra second thinking about that bitch. “Nah, it’s mostly gossip and backstabbing. You’re lucky we left Fountain Springs before you started high school. That’s when it all gets a thousand times worse.”

That was one of the few things he’d been proud of. Because Kayla was seven years younger than him, he’d been able to assume guardianship of her when Mom had died. As soon as he’d signed his first contract with a label, he’d moved them away from Fountain Springs and gone to Raleigh so he could still attend classes at Duke.

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