Page 37 of Pulling Heartstrings

“Hello?” I hear someone call out, and it breaks me from the spell I was under. I jerk back from Marcus as I shove my dress down to cover the lower half of my body. “Marcus?” I hear a female voice call out again.

Before I know what's happening, Marcus is standing up and taking me with him. He puts me on my feet and grabs the chair that had fallen over. A half second later, a woman knocks on the open office door.

Holy cheese ball. Did I do all that with Marcus while anyone could have walked in here and seen us? This is why I ran from him in the first place. He does things to my head and then I’m acting crazy. Well, crazy for me.

“Well, this place is certainly a change from your last office,” the woman inside the doorway says.

“Nina,” Marcus says in greeting.

“Am I interrupting? I was close, so I thought..." She trails off.

I'm not sure who she is, but based on her fancy suit, I’m going to assume she's a lawyer from the city. They must have a familiarity with each other because most lawyers refer to Marcus by his last name.

“Actually—”

“Actually, I was just about to leave and run some errands,” I say, cutting Marcus off. I glance over at him, and if I wasn’t freaking out, I might smile because for once he has a few wrinkles in his suit. I love that I put them there and mussed up his usually perfect façade.

“Nina, this is Bronte, my?—”

“Paralegal,” I cut him off again because my heart couldn’t take the possibility of how he would have finished that sentence. After what happened moments ago, I think I might be more frightened about how I want him to finish that sentence. I grab my bag, and it takes everything in me not to look at him as I give Nina a polite smile. “I’ll give you both some space.”

“Teapot.” I hear the warning in Marcus's tone, but I'm already on the move. As I leave the office and make my escape, I’m thankful Nina has given me coverage.

But maybe I shouldn’t be.

Chapter Six

MARCUS

“Oh my god, was that Bronte?” Nina asks as she looks over her shoulder.

“Yeah.” I let out a frustrated sigh and run a hand down my face. “Good timing as always, sis.”

“Why didn’t you stop her from leaving?”

I think about the intensity of what we shared and then how quick she was to separate from me. How she cut me off to declare she was only my paralegal and not the actual love of my life. She was eager to get as far away from me as possible, and if I’m honest, it stung. No, I’m not going to let her get away for long, but right now, I’m going to deal with my nosy sister before I chase after Bronte and make her acknowledge what I’m already certain of.

She loves me just as much as I love her. The two of us are inevitable, and that’s the end of it. The sooner she faces the facts, the better.

“What do you want?” I can hear the impatience in my voice, but I’m too far gone to care.

“Always the warmest of welcomes,” Nina huffs. “I came by to say hello to my big brother and check in on things. The last time we talked, you sounded like a puppy that had been left out in the cold. Clearly things between you and Bronte have improved.”

“Until you interrupted,” I clarify.

“I’m sorry, but I did knock.” She raises an eyebrow. “For several minutes.”

I clear my throat and try to think of an excuse. When I can’t come up with one, I just shrug. “I guess I need to install a doorbell.”

“Right,” she says slowly and then peers around my office. “I see she’s made herself at home.”

“As I told her to.”

Nina sighs. “That wasn’t a challenge, Marcus. Believe it or not, I like what she’s done with the place. It seems she was able to take that stick out of your ass, and for that, I’d love to shake her hand.”

“Then next time don’t run her out of here.” I know I’m being an asshole but I also know that Nina will forgive me much faster than Bronte. The longer I argue with my sister, the farther Bronte gets from me.

“Fine.” Nina throws her hands up. “I’ll leave.”

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