Page 12 of My Ex's Brothers

I sigh, wanting to argue, which in and of itself is…strange.

Usually, I try toavoidconflict in any way possible, not wanting to make waves or cause issues. But it’s like something about Richard just baits me. I want to argue. I want to kick and scream and tell him to leave me alone, but I also can’t deny that seeing him tell off Tara this afternoon, and defend me in front of his ex-wife…

Well, a girl could get used to that kind of treatment.

Yeah, a girl who didn’t fuck his brother and have his baby, maybe.

Maybe I should add a glass of wine to my self-love session tonight, because clearly I’m out of my mind.

First Dane, now Richard…yeah, I’m losing it.

Not that the Rose brothers aren’t deliciously appealing, it’s just that they are more than off-limits. Helping me in a pinch is one thing, but I don’t intend to make asking for favors a habit. I need to remember that. I need to work on making myself independent, making a life for myself and my daughter out of the wreckage of what Ithoughtwas going to be my happily ever after.

And that happily ever after doesnotinclude hockey players, or my ex’s relatives.

“You sure you don’t need anything else?” Richard asks once the waitress has brought his card back.

I shake my head. “No, I really need to get back to the Bugle and grab my car, and?—”

Richard dismisses me with a wave of his large hand. “I get it, don’t worry, Cinderella. I’ll have you back before your carriage turns into a pumpkin.” His smooth, even tone makes me feel like molten lava.

Before I can get up, he does, glaring at me where I sit. His gaze pins me, freezing me to my spot. A slight gasp escapes my throat as I bite my lip.

Shit. No one, not evenDex, has ever looked at me…like that.

“Stay,” he says, his command dripping with authority.

Like a dog, I stay. I don’t move an inch.

What the hell?

Richard slowly saunters over and pulls my chair out for me, his large hands gripping the sides of the seat, knuckles brushing against my thighs. My dress rides up my thighs just a bit and his rough thumb slides along my flesh, making me clench my thighs together. Warmth blooms in between my legs and I am mortified.

Oh my God!

But it’s not his touch that has me bolting out of the chair. It’s his words, the way he says them.

“Good girl,” he purrs, and I think I need to get as far away from this man as possible, because this…

This is not the way I should be responding to my ex’s brother in a restaurant.

Fuck me.

I get up quickly, adjusting the hem of my skirt as he pushes the chair in.

“Now, shall we take the princess back to the ball?” he asks, his tone humorous, but also silky and smooth.

Seductive, even.

I shake my head, trying to disperse the unfamiliar and inappropriate feelings. Not only is Richard my ex’s brother, he’s also fifteen years older than me. But somehow he still plays hockey like he’s damn near Tripp’s age.

I don’t get it, and I don’t want to get it. I have a feeling if I look too deeply into Richard Rose, I might find myself unable to dig my way back out of a hole I don’t want to be in…

He places his palm on the small of my back, and I let him guide me to the car, if only because I know once I get back to my house, once I get back to my daughter…this…whatever this is, is not happening again.

It can’t.

I need to keep my eye on the prize, need to remain focused.

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