Page 77 of Third Chances (Men of Manhattan 2)

I could wait. I had already seen him with his shirt off down by the pool. But it would be different being in his room. It was more sexual here. I wondered if all in good time meant later tonight. Maybe James would fall asleep soon. I almost laughed at the thought. We'd be like two kids sneaking around.

"You'd like Penny," James said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I think you two will get along really well. I can't wait for you to meet her."

"You're making Daphne uncomfortable," Rob said.

I laughed. "He's not. I'm sure I would like her."

>

"You should come to our wedding next weekend."

Okay," Rob said and stood up. "Let me get you some more water. Hopefully it'll make you stop saying inappropriate stuff."

"See, he's a really good brother," James said as Rob walked back toward the fridge. "Someone put acid in my drink tonight and he's taking care of me. Who does that? He's such a good guy. I'm clean, you know. I've been clean for years. I'm not usually like this."

I swallowed hard. Was he an addict? Did his friend seriously slip something in his drink knowing that? I touched the bracelet on my wrist. It suddenly all made sense. That was why Rob was so good at taking care of him. This happened all the time. It felt like it was hard to get air into my lungs. The whole room felt stifling.

James frowned. "Don't you believe me?"

I nodded. "I believe you." And that was my problem. I did believe that he was clean. I believed my brother too. I couldn't do this again. This was one red flag I couldn't ignore. Suddenly my heart started racing. I needed air. "Drink the rest of your water, okay? I have to get going."

"You should stay for a movie. That's all I wanted to do tonight."

Me too. I should have just trusted my gut and stayed in my room. "Not tonight."

"Will I see you tomorrow? It certainly seems like Rob can't get enough of you."

I had only known him for one day. Why did I feel guilty walking away from him? But I refused to let myself lose anyone else. That was fair. There was no reason to put myself through this. "Yeah," I lied. "Get some rest, okay?"

He nodded. "Do you mind if I finish that?" He pointed to my sandwich.

"It's all yours." I had lost my appetite. I pushed it toward him. "Goodnight, James."

"Goodnight, Daphne."

I stood up and walked toward Rob. "I'm going to get going, okay," I whispered.

"What, why? I haven't even taken my shirt off yet."

I laughed. "It's getting late. I'm going to go get some rest."

"Did he say something else entirely inappropriate?" He gave me a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry if he was out of line, I..."

"No. No, your brother is great."

"It's something I did then?"

"No. Your brother is right. You're a great guy, Rob. I just...I can't do this."

"Can't do what? We only just met."

"I know. I'm really sorry. I hope that your brother gets some help. And I wish you the best of luck with all that. But I can't do this again."

"Wait, what?"

I quickly walked toward the door and left before I could change my mind. I immediately felt guilty. I knew the places where James could get help. It was irresponsible for me to walk away without telling Rob about them. But they hadn't helped my brother. So why would they help James?

I pressed the button for the elevator.

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