Page 85 of The Broker

Patrick nodded. “Yes.”

“Well, I wasn’t just watching Noah.” She tossed a lock of her blonde hair over her shoulder and picked up her martini. “I was looking at both of you, because how could I not? You’re hot.”

Shannon let out a pleased, surprised laugh. “Why, thank you.”

The women held each other’s gaze as the chemistry sparked between them. It distracted everyone at the table, so none of us noticed the man approaching until he was abruptly tableside.

“Charlotte?”

All the color drained from her face as she peered up at him, but the man didn’t notice her discomfort. He was older—perhaps the same age as her father—and his curiousgaze bounced from person to person around the table, before returning to her.

“Mr. Carson?” she asked with dread.

“I thought that was you. Small world, huh?”

She clearly had no idea what to say. “Yup.”

“I just finished having dinner with Angela and had to come back because, like an idiot, I left my credit card.” He smiled and put a hand on his hip, like he was settling in for a chat. “How’s your dad? It’s been a while since I’ve seen him.”

She looked like the cat who’d swallowed the canary. “He’s good.”

Oh.

Earlier, she’d clocked him and had darted to the restroom so he wouldn’t spot her. What if he told her father he saw her out on what looked like a double date... and she’d been much younger than everyone else?

There was no avoiding him now, and once more, he glanced at the table, perhaps waiting for her to introduce him.

But she didn’t.

“Right,” he said, trying to disguise his awkwardness, and raised his hands in faux surrender. “Anyway, I didn’t mean to interrupt y’all. It was nice seeing you, Charlotte. Say hi to your folks for me.”

“Sure,” she lied.

As he shuffled off toward the exit, she turned to me, and although she didn’t say anything with words, the look she gave spoke volumes.Well, that wasn’t great.

No, it wasn’t, but there was nothing we could do about it now.

“He used to work with my dad,” she offered to the group.

Shannon and Patrick nodded politely but didn’t ask any questions. Most people who lived this lifestyle liked their anonymity and assumed the same of everyone else. You didn’task personal questions and understood people shared only what they were comfortable with.

Most of the time, this was a protective measure. Even if you were careful, there was still risk involved, and no one wanted a disgruntled partner, looking for revenge, to ‘out’ them and blow up their lives.

I cleared my throat and strove to change the topic. “Do you want to talk about boundaries? You already know ours.”

Because I’d already told them Charlotte and I weren’t having sex, so that was off the table for her. They’d probably found it odd but had no comments about it. Maybe they’d assumed it was a safety thing, and I wasn’t allowed to be with her while active with other sexual partners.

“Sure,” Patrick’s focus slid from me to Charlotte. “We don’t have many. As long as it’s approved, we can be with other people, and it’s fine to do that behind closed doors.” He got a wicked glimmer in his eye. “Sometimes that’s hotter.”

Shannon chuckled softly. “Really the only rule we have is no kissing other people on the mouth. Typically, that’s just for us. But—”

“We’ve talked about it, and we’d be willing to waive that rule for you, Charlotte, if you wanted to kiss Shannon.” He leaned forward, setting his elbows on the table. “She’s never played with another woman before.”

My brain buzzed, but it wasn’t steam at the idea of Charlotte being with another woman that caused my disorientation. It was a loud disapproval echoing in my head. “No.”

Everyone turned to look at me in surprise.

Well, I was just as surprised myself. “No to Charlotte kissing other people,” I clarified, “not the other thing.” Fuck, I was all out of sorts. “That’s my boundary, for uh, the same reason y’all have it.”

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