Page 7 of Desiring My Brother's Best Friend

"Incredible," she finishes.

"Yeah." I smile. "I should've given in a long time ago."

She laughs. "If only I'd known I could seduce you with a near-death experience."

"Please don't make it a habit," I say, nuzzling her neck. "I think my heart would give out."

"So..." she says hesitantly. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well," I say, stroking her hair. "I think I'm going straight to hell. Or my grave, if your brother ever finds out."

She groans, burying her face against my shoulder. "Please don't talk about Jake right now, Owen."

"Sorry," I laugh. "But hopefully, he won't find out. Now that we've gotten this out of our systems, things can go back to normal."

I try to sound bright and cheery when I say the words, but it hurts my heart to do so. I don't mean them. I want more from her than just this one spur-of-the-moment hookup, but it's foolish to think anything else could come of this.

Right?

Lena stiffens in my arms, and for a moment, I think she'll call me out on my bullshit, but then she rolls onto her back and sits up. She looks at me, gorgeously tousled from the sex. "Yeah. We should get back to work."

I stand, not meeting her eyes, as I pull my pants back on. I can feel the tension between us, and it's awkward and heavy, but there's nothing I can do about it. What's done is done, and now I have to move forward like the professional I am.

"Okay, so I think I'll start with the floor first," I say, trying to keep my tone light and casual. "Once we get that taken care of, we can tackle the walls."

Lena nods, not looking at me as she buttons her shorts. "Sounds good."

I start to gather my tools, feeling a little bit relieved that we seem to be falling back into our usual work routine. But as I'm setting up my saw, I hear her speak again.

"So ... are we going to talk about what happened?"

I pause, trying to think of a response that will satisfy her without things getting even more awkward between us. "I think we said everything that needed to be said."

Lena frowns, folding her arms over her chest. "That's it? You're just going to brush me off like that?"

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. I don't want to hurt her feelings or make her feel rejected, but I also don't want to get into a discussion about our relationship. Or lack thereof.

"I'm not trying to brush you off, Lena. I just ... I don't know what to say. It was a mistake. We both got caught up in the moment, which shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry if I led you on or gave you the wrong impression, but I can't give you what you want. It would be wrong."

Lena shakes her head, clearly frustrated with my answer. "Owen, you can't just pretend this didn't happen. It did. And it was good. We were good together. Why can't we just see where this goes? I know you felt something too, or you wouldn't have?—"

I cut her off, holding up a hand to stop her. "Just because we had sex doesn't mean I have feelings for you. I'm sorry if I led you on, but that's all it was. A physical attraction. That's all."

I hate lying to her, but it's better this way. It'll hurt less in the long run for both of us.

"I should go," I say, turning away from her. "I'll call you later about the next step in the renovation."

"Fine." She folds her arms across her chest, glaring at me. "You can leave."

I pick up my toolbox and start toward the door, trying to ignore the tension between us. This is how it has to be. It's for the best.

As I reach the door, Lena calls my name, and I pause, glancing back at her. Her expression is softer now, and she looks almost sad.

"Yeah?"

"I know you think you're doing the right thing, Owen, but you're wrong."

Her words sting, but I try to brush them off. "It's for the best, Lena. We both know that."

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