Page 101 of Seduced By You

“No.Dadasked me to. If it were up to me, I’d leave you here, swimming in self-pity. We both know it’s what you do best.”

Ouch.“Low blow,” I muttered.

Blaize gripped both my arms, and he wasn’t gentle about it, either. “I refuse to let you sink back into that fucking hole you took years to claw your way out of. You can fight me. You can toss insults around, you can tell me you hate me. It won’t make a difference. I’m here until I’m satisfied that you’re okay.”

Releasing me, he made his way to my kitchen. I picked up his bag, sighing, and kicked the front door closed.

Should’ve answered the fucking phone, dickhead. Pretended you were fine. Schoolboy error.

I winced. Fuck if I hadn’t made the biggest one of those.

“Where’s your coffee?” Blaize opened several cabinets. “Ah, here it is.”

“I don’t want coffee.”

“You think I care? You and I need to have a serious conversation, and I can’t talk to you when you’re brimming with alcohol. The belligerence will piss me off.”

He made a pot, standing with his back to me while it brewed, his shoulders bunched around his ears. A dart of shame shot through me. Blaize had bigger fish to fry than me. In a few short months, our new cruise ship would launch. Yet, rather than dealing with what was probably a crammed inbox, he was here, looking after my sorry ass.

The coffee came at me black, even though I hated taking it that way. Instead of complaining, I kept it zipped. I took a sip. Christ, that was bitter. Bitterer than me.

I laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Blaize added cream to his cup.

“Nothing. Private joke.”

A loud bang rent the air, followed by several fizzes and whistles. I checked my watch, raising my coffee at my brother. “Happy fucking New Year.”

Blaize pulled out a chair at the breakfast bar, sitting. “I gave up sex with the hottest bartender I’ve ever seen to come here. So sit down and talk to me.”

“You were robbed.” I flashed him a grin.

“Tell me about it.” He tapped a fingernail against the granite. “I saw Leesa.”

My head jerked back. “When?”

“Before I came here. When you wouldn’t answer anyone’s calls, I figured it had something to do with her.”

“I broke it off.” Pain lanced through my chest. I let it consume me.

“I know.”

“I’m no good for her.”

“Disagree.”

“She doesn’t.”

He arched the same eyebrow as earlier. “Is that right?”

“I ruin everything I touch, Blaize.”

“Don’t exaggerate. The beach club business is thriving. You haven’t ruined that.”

“I ruinpeople. You’re all better off without me.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “Remember that old movieIt’s A Wonderful Life?”

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