Page 53 of Beyond the Hate

He groans. “My brothers are the bane of my existence.”

“And yet you built this company for them so you can spendtime with them.”

“I’m sorry, Lace. I wish you had the family you deserve but your family being a den of assholes doesn’t mean you should avoid relationships.”

I disagree. I’ve tried enough relationships in my thirty years. I have my friends. I’m perfectly happy to spend the rest of my life being the fun aunt.

My heart clenches at the thought of always being alone. Attending every event by myself. Never having a partner who understands me.

Fine. I’m lying to myself. I’m not perfectly happy being alone. But I don’t want to have my heart broken either.

“I’m not interested in a relationship.”

Eli smirks. “I’ll change your mind.”

“You can try.”

“And I’ll succeed.” His phone rings and he swears under his breath. He digs it out and reads the display. “I need to answer this but this discussion isn’t over.”

“You can’t have a discussion by yourself.”

He kisses my nose. “Which is why we’ll be having the discussion together.” He opens the door and saunters away.

I glare at his backside as he hurries down the hallway. He reaches the door to the offices and glances over his shoulder at me. He winks before disappearing.

Eli thinks he’s won this round. He has no idea how stubborn I can be.

Chapter 17

“You can catch more flies with a dare than with honey.” ~ Eli

Eli

Paisley opens the door and scowls at me. “What are you doing here?”

I let my gaze linger over her, taking in every detail. She’s wearing an emerald green dress that clings to her figure, the neckline dipping just enough to reveal a hint of cleavage. The skirt splits high on one side, stretching well past her knee, promising to reveal her bare legs with each step she takes.

My Lace is cute in her jeans and t-shirts but in this dress? She’s sexy as fuck.

“You look gorgeous.”

Her cheeks darken and I watch as the blush travels down her neck to her chest. I want to follow the path with my tongue. My cock hardens and lengthens as I imagine drawing those spaghetti straps off her shoulders to reveal her chest.

“You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”

She taps her foot and I notice she’s wearing a pair of matching emerald green stilettos. Damn, how I’d love to sink into her while she’s wearing nothing but those shoes.

Paisley snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Eli. What are you doing here?”

I force my thoughts away from bending Paisley over the couch and grin. “I’m your date for the evening.”

She purses her lips. I know those pretty pink lips taste sweet with a hint of the exotic. Just like Paisley. She’s sweet but she’s also unconventional. I will never get bored of this woman.

“Date? I never agreed to go on a date with you.”

I feign confusion. “You didn’t?”

She narrows her eyes on me. “You know how I feel about miscommunication regarding dates.”

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