Page 73 of Hot Commodity (Banks/Kincaid Family 1)

"Throbbing."

Boston eyed Cameron's deserted breakfast plate and snagged a piece of abandoned bacon. "Didn't the doctor give you any meds for the pain?" he asked around a mouthful.

Olivia's eyes grew round as if his suggestion was scandalous. "And risk letting Cameron think I'm trying to overdose?" she whispered in dismay. "I think not."

Boston smiled and shook his head, wiping grease from his fingers on a napkin. "He went a little overboard with his assumptions last night, didn't he?" he agreed as he reached for Cameron's glass of orange juice to wash down the salty flavor on his tongue.

But he barely tipped the drink back before he was sputtering and spitting the liquid back into the cup.

Olivia came to her feet in worry. "Are you okay?"

He held up a hand to reassure h

er, all the while choking and coughing. With a couple bobs of the head, he grabbed his napkin and dabbed at the mess he'd made. "Sorry," he offered. "I thought it was orange juice."

Olivia frowned. "It's not?"

She went to reach for the cup, but as soon as Boston saw her, he tried to intercept.

She was faster.

Bringing it to her nose, she sniffed the orange brew. When her eyes rose toward Boston, he glanced away guilty.

"Screwdriver," she hissed.

He didn't answer, could only sigh. When he lifted his eyes toward hers, he quickly looked away as if he were still embarrassed about seeing her buck-naked the first time they'd met.

Letting out a low growl, Olivia rested her chin on her hands. "Sienna really played a number on his head, didn't she?"

Stunned she would dare say that name aloud in Cameron's house, he blinked a moment. And then he realized. He'd just found a kindred spirit. This woman would worry about Cameron just as much as he would. She'd cover for him and lie for him just like Boston always had, because, well, it was Cameron. Who wouldn't give his life for Banks?

"I don't know if he'll ever fully convince himself it wasn't his fault," he murmured. "He'll always think he should've done more to help her."

Olivia closed her eyes. A depressed silence filled the air between them. "Have you ever been in love?" she asked out of the blue.

Boston jerked back. He shifted in his seat, vaguely uncomfortable, and lifted one shoulder. "I-I don't know." But even as he spoke, he quickly added, "I mean, I've never dated a woman long enough to really fall, because one time, in college, there was this girl..."

He paused, not sure how to go on, not sure if he wanted to. Then he shrugged and started again. "I went out with her for a little over a semester. It was the longest relationship I'd ever had. And it ended badly." He shook his head. "Since then, I make it a point not to get too involved or attached."

Ice cold Boston Kincaid. That's who he was. That's who he wanted to stay. It was better than putting himself through misery as Cameron was doing.

He lifted his face and caught Olivia studying him. She was going to pry. He knew it even before she asked. His stomach knotted in preparation.

"Do you think you loved her?"

Boston stared thoughtfully at the far wall. His vision filled with the sweet, pale face of a young woman too scared to be left alone, but begging him to do just that. He hadn't known true agony until the moment he'd walked away and realized he'd probably just made the biggest mistake of his life.

"I don't know," he murmured quietly before he finally glanced back at Olivia. "But if I did, I don't ever want to fall again."

As if chilled by the thought, Olivia wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't want to fall in love either," she announced is if making the decision that very moment. "Just look at what it did to Cameron."

Boston studied the miserable Olivia and wanted to tell her it was already too late for her. She loved his cousin, and she could deny it as much as she wanted, but the feelings would still be there.

Cameron strolled into the room then, and Boston felt a sudden urge to grab his best friend by the throat and pin him to the wall. The man was on self-destruct. He'd had his ups and downs before. Boston had seen Cameron at this lowest, and he'd seen him pick himself up and start over. But this time, he was going to take Olivia under with him.

Boston didn't want her to become collateral damage, especially when he suspected she might be the one thing to save Cameron from completely destroying himself.

"Ready?" Cameron asked. "Or do you want to sit and flirt with my wife for a while longer?"

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