Page 29 of Baby for Brother's Best Friend

“I’m sure the ring itself is priced very high,” he answered. “But I did not pay anything for it. I promise.”

My gaze flicked up to meet his, and I found nothing but honestly lingering in his blue gaze. I nodded, reaching up with a shaking hand, taking the ring out of the box, and slipping it on my finger.

A perfect fit.

I glanced back at Blake; he was staring at my hand and the ring that was nestled there. A peculiar look crossed his features, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

I turned my gaze back to the rock on my finger, turning it this way and that to watch it glint in the light, and I had to admit, if only to myself, that I really, really liked how it looked.

CHAPTERTWELVE

BLAKE

I blewout a breath of relief as I watched Nell disappear into her apartment building, throwing a small wave my way before she disappeared behind the door.

I had thought about offering to walk her up, but I also knew that my self-control wasn’t the best at that moment, especially not with the taste of her still on my lips.

“Where to, Mr. Whitlock?”

My driver’s voice rang out through the vehicle, snapping me out of my thoughts and bringing my attention back to him.

I blinked my eyes rapidly, internally shaking myself as I tried to focus.

“Home, Jeffers.” I said to the man, who met my gaze in the rearview mirror and gave me a quick, curt nod before pulling the car away from the curb and navigating us back toward Manhattan.

I looked out the window as we drove. For the first few minutes, I tried as hard as possible to avoid letting my thoughts go back to Nell. But after what felt like the hundredth time having to wrench my mind away from her, I gave up.

The way that her skin had felt beneath my hands, the way that she had moaned and fisted her hands in my hair. I had thought that getting that taste of her would be enough, that I would be able to please her, provide her with an orgasm, and then that would be that.

But just like with the kiss, now that I’ve had a little bit of her, I needed more. I was turning into a fiend.

And then there was the ring. I huffed a sigh and slid down further in my seat, closing my eyes so I could picture it. I hadn’t lied when I told her the ring hadn’t cost me anything.

But that was because the ring itself was priceless.

It had belonged to my mother, who had passed away during my first year of college.

Only Jourdan knew the truth of it all. He was the only person that I trusted with the reality of how I had grown up. And from the way Nell had always behaved around me, the accusations of privilege and the comments about silver spoons, I knew that he hadn’t told her anything.

The ring was the only thing I had left of my mother. And growing up, it had been the only thing we’d had of any real value. She had never actually been married, my mother. But the ring was left over from an engagement to a man, not my father, who she had loved when she was younger.

He had died before they could get married, and she had loved him ever since. She never married because, for her entire life, she was left grieving the only man she had ever loved.

I had contemplated giving it to Nell; I had even thought about going out and buying a nice enough ring to get us through this lie and then allowing her to keep it after.

But Jourdan knew too much.

He wouldn’t believe the engagement was real if the woman I presented to him as my fiancé didn’t have it on her finger. And so, I decided to give it to Nell.

What I hadn’t anticipated, however, was just how much I had liked seeing it on her finger.

It suited her.

The silver of the band and the blue of the sapphire seemed to work. It was unique and beautifully crafted, a true work of art, exactly like the woman that now wore it.

I had also considered telling her the truth about who the ring had belonged to. But the truth is, I'm a coward. I had been very careful for my entire life to never bring up my mother or my family to anyone who wasn’t Jourdan. Because discussing my family would open me up to the potential for questions.

Questions that I would have never felt comfortable answering.

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