Page 31 of One Night in My Rival's Bed

‘It certainly doesn’t hinder your performance in bed or on the desk or on the floor,’ I said.

‘Good to know.’

A small silence passed.

I rested my chin on my bent knees and bit down on my lower lip. ‘Have I killed the mood?’

‘What do you think?’

I ran my gaze over his gloriously aroused body and my pulse began to pound. ‘I’m thinking no.’

His lips twitched with an almost smile, his eyes dark and gleaming. ‘Come here.’

I came. In more ways than one... Just saying...

CHAPTER EIGHT

INSPITEOFthe earth-shattering lovemaking, we did try to get some ideas on the computer screen for Ethan and Niamh’s house, but I sensed Grayson’s heart wasn’t in it. He didn’t want their marriage to go ahead, so why would he want to design a house for them?

I pushed away the computer mouse and sat back on the chair he had placed in front of his desk next to his. ‘This isn’t really working, is it?’ I asked.

He scraped his hand through his hair and sighed. ‘It’s so soon to be planning a house. They didn’t know each other six weeks ago.’

‘I’ve said it before—people can have instant connections.’

He turned his head to look at me and my heart fluttered. ‘Do you think your sister really is in love with my brother?’

It was a hard question to answer. ‘I think she believes she is.’

He pressed his lips together and looked back at the computer screen. ‘They haven’t given us a detailed enough brief. Normally, I spend a couple of hours or more with a client on a first consult. We iron out any inconsistencies or council or engineering limitations. It saves them time and money to get it right first time.’ He waved his hand at the printed sheet on the desk in disgust. ‘This looks like Ethan left it to Niamh to decide what goes where. He should know better; he’s worked with me long enough.’

‘Sometimes men in love do things they would never normally do. I think it’s kind of cute, actually.’

Grayson turned his head to look at me again, his forehead creased in his signature frown. ‘There’s nothing cute about a house that is impractical for people with the kind of disability my brother has.’

‘Maybe Niamh doesn’t see Ethan’s disability. She just sees the man she loves.’

‘Or believes she loves.’ His tone was rich with cynicism. ‘I wonder if she would love him if he didn’t have my grandfather’s trust fund.’

I pushed my chair back and stood. ‘I think it’s time we called it a night.’

Grayson turned his chair to face me, his expression shuttered. ‘You’re angry.’

I blew out a breath of frustration. ‘Of course I’m flipping angry. You keep accusing my sister of being a gold-digger. It’s so insulting. I know her well enough to know money and status are not things that impress her. She loves Ethan because of who he is as a person and how he makes her feel.’

‘But you said, only minutes ago, you thought she onlybelievesshe loves him.’

My shoulders went down on a sigh. ‘Who can say how anyone really feels? The signs are all there but...’ I left my sentence hanging.

‘What signs?’

‘People in love want to spend lots of time together. They look into each other’s eyes a lot; they touch and mirror each other’s movements.’

‘It’s hardly an exact science.’

‘No, but it’s not without some merit.’

There was a beat or two of silence.

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