Page 39 of Breaking Rules

Giggling, she stands. “But heiscute.”

In the kitchen, I check Milo’s food and water while Bella sits at the bar-height table.

As I start the coffee maker and pull a lowball glass from the cupboard, I can feel her watching me.

I make her coffee the way she likes it, then set it in front of her. “Here you are.” Then, glass in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other, I sit next to her.

Bella sips her coffee, and I down the whiskey in one go, relishing the way it burns.

“Wow. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up on the floor. How many drinks did you have at the party?” she asks, turning to get a better look at me.

“None.” I shake my head, pouring myself another drink. “If I had, I wouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel.”

“Why are you drinking now?” Bella mutters, a pensive expression on her face.

“I wasn’t in the mood then. I am now.”

“What changed?”

“You’re here,” I confess.

A flush works its way up her face, making my smile widen.

It only lasts a second, though, because her words from earlier pop into my mind, and anger floods my veins. “Did someone bother you at the club?”

“Just a guy who tried to get my attention by touching me.” She shrugs, taking another sip of her coffee. “He was just drunk. I can take care of myself.”

Fuck. This woman baffles me. No matter how hard I try, I can’t read her.

“I can’t figure you out. What drives you to make decisions? What motivates you? One minute, I think I understand, but thenbam—you surprise me again.”

“It’s because you don’t know me. At all.”

“Yet. I don’t know you yet,” I correct her, pouring myself another drink. I toss it back, then drag the back of my wrist across my mouth. “What about Meghan and Garcia? Is it just me, or were they flirting?”

Bella sets her mug on the bar and yanks off one stiletto, then the other. “God, my feet are killing me,” she groans. “Oh yeah. And who knows? Maybe it’ll turn into something more.”

“Relationships are overrated,” I say into my glass after I fill it up once again.

She chuckles, the throaty sound sending electricity down my spine. “That’s why you’re single?”

No, I’m single because I can’t imagine being involved with someone for real. Not after what happened in college. Not after I discovered how easy it is to fundamentally hurt someone. Destroy them, even.

Not after I learned how one stupid decision could so thoroughly change a person’s life.

I twirl the glass in my hand, banishing the dark energy billowing inside me. This is not the place for it.

“I don’t do relationships. Everyone knows that.”

“And I’m sure every girl you meet thinks she’ll be the one to change your mind.”

“There isn’t a woman in existence who could make me change my mind. Dating sucks.” I sip from my glass. “Besides, why would I commit myself to one girl when I have a horde of them following my every move?”

“You’re disgusting.” She twists her lips, and a crease forms between her eyebrows.

“I’m a realist.” I lift my glass. “A lot of men think the same way. They just don’t have the guts to admit it aloud.”

Bella traces the rim of her mug with one finger. “Is Jake cheating on me?” she whispers without looking at me.

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