Page 81 of Square Deal

All this started as innocent fun. I needed to fuck her out of my system, and she needed to loosen up and let go. Now, neither of those things were happening.

I made a colossal mistake taking her to the club tonight. She shut down on me, and I couldn’t blame her. I was the one with my head up my ass, saying shit about falling for her when I gave her my word it wouldn’t happen.

And me? I wasn’t any closer to getting her out of my system than the night I broke into her office and stole her champagne.

To be fair, I gave her better champagne.

“Yo, Lawson. You there?” Luca repeated. “Dude, you’re not hanging out with my Nonna again, are you? That’s just fucking weird when I’m not around.”

“Hey, I can’t help it that Nonna loves me more than you.” I laughed and downed the rest of the brandy. In the background, it sounded like the Country Bear Jamboree was out in full force.

Where the fuck was he?

Luca scoffed. “Week before Christmas. What are you doing?”

I swirled the last remaining drop left in my brandy snifter and debated spilling the beans about Hannah Jane and me. Luca would understand—I hoped.He thought highly of Hannah Jane, and knew first-hand the kind of irresistible web these southern belles could snare a man in.

Hell, he’d put a damn ring on one of them.

At the last minute, I decided that wasn’t a line I would cross without her consent. “Nothing out of the ordinary. Why?”

“It’s the big day for the new restaurant in Texas. You wanna fly down and be a pretty face for the grand opening?”

“Free food?”

“Man, you’re so cheap,” he joked. “Yeah, free food. You can stay on the ranch with Mad and me if you want. It’s real nice.”

“Maddie’s going to be there?”

“Yeah, I’m calling in the cavalry to make sure this opening goesoff without a hitch. It’s gonna be a big deal. Mad’s gonna be observing in the kitchen for the first few days of service and help out if she needs to. She wrote the dessert menu.”

It was a no-brainer. “Yeah, count me in.”

“Cool. I’ll get up with Spenser with the details.” There was a ruckus and muffled curses on his end of the call. “Gotta go, man. Maddie and Bridget are dancing on the bar again. Ay, yo, Chase! You get Bee, I’ll get Mad.”

The phone call ended unceremoniously as Luca left to wrangle his woman.

The bedroom door opened and Hannah Jane appeared, a vision in a soft pink négligée. Behind her, I saw the garment bag with her black dress zipped up.

The air was charged. If we touched, there wouldn’t just be sparks. There was going to be an explosion.

I set my glass down and stretched my arm across the back of the couch. “Care for a nightcap?”

Hannah shook her head. “No, thank you.” She tiptoed to the kitchen on dainty feet and grabbed a bottle of water. Before she could retreat to my bedroom, I reached out and took her hand. “Hannah?—”

She recoiled at the sound of her name on my lips.

“Sit with me.”

Hannah’s teeth sunk into her lower lip. She hesitated, but curled up beside me, tucking her feet underneath her body. I set my phone beside my empty glass and draped my arm across the back of the couch.

She still had her makeup on. Still had her hair done up. I could still smell her perfume. Her lips closed around the water bottle, and I imagined that it was my dick in her mouth. I watched her throat flex as she swallowed. Hannah drinking water was better than porn.She capped the bottle and eyed me curiously.

“Did you have a good time tonight?” I asked gently, reaching over and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

I was in uncharted territory. I never brought women home. Never brought themhere.

If I wanted to get laid, there were hotels for that. Out of my many homes, my New York apartment was my inner sanctum. My refuge. I didn’t entertain here, and I sure as hell didn’t bring my one-night stands here.

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