Page 91 of Boss with Benefits

Out of all my sisters, Tina was the most like Rachel, unconventional and proud as hell about it. She'd sworn off the conventions of marriage, but Tina was in love with falling in love. The problem was, once she got her man, she ran the other way.

"So you sleep with her when you're in a desperate place—Valeria told me she saw you in the chapel, I'm not even gonna touch that—and then you toss her aside like yesterday's salami? She probably feels used and confused as hell."

"It's not like that," I protested weakly, but then admitted, "Oh God. I did that. I'm a fucking prick."

"Yes, you are."

"And she told me she loved me."

My sister's jaw dropped. "You slept with her, and she said she loves you, and then you dumped her?"

"It was in the middle of…you know…so I'm not sure it counts." I busied myself with placing the chopped vegetables in their containers, avoiding Tina's accusatory stare.

"There's more, isn't there?" she prodded.

I shoved the containers in the fridge and slammed the door shut. "We had a fight at the office. She said she's all in. That she wants me and only me."

"And you still rejected her? She told you what you wanted to hear. Just because someone's impulsive doesn't mean they're a commitment-phobe like me."

"She's nineteen years younger than me, Tina!"

Tina rolled her eyes so hard I was worried they might get stuck. "Who cares? Age is just a number."

"I'm forty-five! I want a family."

"How many times have you been in love, D?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" I snapped.

"Answer the damn question."

"Twice. Okay? You know that. Evette and Camilla."

"Evette was when you were twenty and Camilla was ten years ago. If you throw this one away, you may be well into your fifties before you meet someone else. Then you'll be old, childless, and loveless. Or you can get your head out of your ass and choose love now."

"This is real life, not a fairy tale."

"Yeah, and in real life you're miserable without Rachel," Tina retorted. "I've never seen you like this over anyone before."

I turned away, pretending to organize the spices, because her argument was starting to penetrate. "It doesn't matter. I told her it would never work. That she didn't know what she wanted."

"How did Rachel respond to that?"

I closed my eyes, remembering the fire in Rachel's gaze as she stood toe-to-toe with me. "That if I don't respect her enough to believe she knows what she wants, then she wouldn't respect herself for being with me."

Tina laughed. "I like her even more."

"Me too," I grunted.

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is that she thinks she wants this now, but she'll regret it." I slammed a jar of oregano down harder than I intended and it cracked. "She does everything by the seat of her pants. This is just another impulsive decision she hasn't thought through."

"Has it occurred to you," Tina said slowly, "that maybe you're the one who hasn't thought this through? That maybe you're so scared of doing the right thing that you're pushing away the love of your life?"

I froze, her words hitting me like a punch to the gut. "That's not what I did," I muttered.

Tina hopped off the stool and came to stand beside me. "Derrick, look at me."

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