Page 19 of Broken Rules

She looked…nice.She had dressed up for the party in a soft, floral print dress.A handful of necklaces in various lengths hung over her chest, and she wore those same silver bangles from our first meeting.They jingled musically with every tap of her foot.“Well?I guess she told you what happened,” she muttered darkly.

Right to business, as always, but I swore her eyes dipped down my open shirt for a millisecond before she caught herself.“Claudia?Yes, she told me what’s going on.”

Her chin jutted out.“She wasn’t supposed to send you here.”

“She didn’t,” I replied.

Shrugging, she turned and walked into the apartment.I hadn’t been invited, but I took it as a sign I should follow.I closed the door while she crossed the surprisingly spacious living room.The apartment had come furnished, filled with sleek, modern furniture that fit the general vibe I had picked up downstairs.

What drew my attention beyond the increasingly familiar aroma of incense and lavender essential oil were the pages of scheduling strewn across a coffee table like a toddler had come through and torn her binder apart.“I think I have it figured out,” she explained.“It’ll mean rearranging a chunk of shoots, but we might try to squeeze it in here.”She thrust an arm my way, pointing to a date on the calendar she held.“And filming tomorrow’s scenes in the morning and then getting down to the pier by early afternoon should work, but only if we really focus and stay on track.I think it’s totally doable.”She bit her lip hard like she was worried about convincing me.

“You don’t have to do any of this,” I told her.“It’s taken care of.We can go ahead the way we planned.”

Her eyelids fluttered, her lips moved, but it took a while for anything to come out.“What do you mean?”She eventually took a breath.

“I got it taken care of.We’re still on for tomorrow morning.”When she still gaped at me, I asked, “What?Don’t you think I can get shit done?Let this be a lesson.Call me in the first place because that’s what I’m here for.”

What did I expect?Thanks for starters.Maybe a little gratitude.Relief.What I did not expect was her wrinkled nose or the sneer that lifted her upper lip.“Seriously?That’s exactly what I didn’t want!”

“Excuse me?”I asked.My disbelieving laughter filled the room before I clarified, “You didn’t want this to be cleared up with as little trouble as possible?I must be misunderstanding you.”

“Dammit!I’m supposed to be the one handling things.Something goes wrong,Ihave to fix it.And I did!”She threw the calendar page onto the table along with the rest, scoffing.“Looks like I wasted my time.”

“Yeah, you did,” I agreed.She waved a dismissive hand and turned away, walking toward the window.“Don’t turn your back on me, Summer,” I warned.

Stopping on a dime, she turned around with her mouth hanging open.For once, I surprised her into silence.

“My job is to make your job as easy as I can.Or didn’t they teach you that in film school?”I asked.It might have been beneath me, but I enjoyed the way she stiffened.“Get off your goddamn high horse.You wasted hours of your time tonight by insisting on handling something on your own.We are supposed to be working together, aren’t we?”

“All I need is for people to start talking about how I have to run to you with every problem I have!”she shouted back, stomping her foot.“I can’t have people thinking I’m incapable of doing this job!”

“What the hell are you so afraid of?Why is everything a challenge?”

“Because it just is!”She threw her hands into the air.“Everything!Every day!I thought I finally found a partner I could count on, and what did he do?He used me.He destroyed my reputation, and he’s still benefiting from my work.I’m not letting that happen again.”Her chest heaved with every ragged breath once she went silent.

“Listen to me.”I closed the distance between us, taking her by her bare arms to hold her in place before she could turn her back again.“You have to let the past go.It’s getting in your way.”

“That is so easy for you to say.”Ducking her head wasn’t enough to hide her quivering chin.“You don’t know.I thought we were building something together.I trusted him.I worked my ass off for him… for us.And he threw it all in my face,” she whispered.

Case in point why I never bothered striving for anything long-term with a woman.There were too many expectations involved, along with too much responsibility for someone else’s happiness.I couldn’t bring myself to get caught up in it, but that didn’t mean I agreed with some stupid bastard breaking a woman’s heart.

“Fuck him,” I spat, though I did it softly.I didn’t have it in me to be harsh.Tears were always a weakness of mine, especially when the person shedding them went out of their way to look strong otherwise.“You’re going to leave his ass in the dust.”

Slowly, she lifted her head, her teary eyes meeting mine before she whispered, “How do I know I won’t get burned again?”

“You’ll have to trust me.”It was a big ask since I could hardly trust myself to stare at her mouth without devouring it.The temptation was almost too much.

“And how do I know I can?”

Damn her for doing this.“There are reasons why I’m not experienced with helping a woman through a tough time, and this is one of them,” I gritted out, my grip on her arms tightening.“Why won’t you let me comfort you?Why does everything have to be an argument?”

“Nobody asked you to stick around.”She glanced down at her arms, then up at me.“Let go of me and get out of here.That’ll solve all of your troubles.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”I pulled her close, making her gasp and stiffen.“My troubles started the day you walked into my life, Summer, and I can’t shake you.God knows I’ve tried,” I added in a strained whisper.

Her eyes met mine.The pain in them had changed to something else.Something as dark and needful as what blazed its way through me and demanded I lower my head and crush my mouth against hers, turning the undeniable chemistry between us into an all-consuming inferno.

As sweet as I’d imagined.Firm lips parted so easily, willingly, while a faint sigh stirred in her throat, a signal of her giving herself over to me, succumbing the way I did to the heat.

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