Page 22 of The Billionaire's Commitment

“You aren’t looking for someone? Are you already involved with someone? You didn’t tell me. I never would have asked you out if I had known.”

A sinking feeling filled my stomach at the thought that I had just found her again, got her in my life, and she was already wanting to leave it. I couldn’t let it happen. There had to be a reason why she didn’t want to see me again, and I needed to find out what it was and change her mind.

“No. Nothing like that. It was nothing you did. It was nothing that I did. It just is. Thank you for the lovely evening. It was nice to see you, but we can’t do this again. Goodnight,” she said, and for the second time in two days, she went into a cab and drove away from me.

Chapter 10

Zoey

“You are so beautiful; I can’t get enough of you. I have to have you again,” Brody said and brought his mouth back to mine.

I wrapped my arms around him, feeling his muscular body next to me and his hardness between my legs. I squirmed under him, loving the feel of him holding me. I kissed him as if I thought he wasn’t real, as if I thought I would lose him at any moment. His body moved over mine, and I opened my legs, wanting what he had just given me again and as many times as he could.

“Yes, Brody. Take me. I want you,” I cried out,and the sound of my own voice woke me up.

I threw the sheets off of me and took a deep breath. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a sex dream. I certainly never had one about a guy who had been a childhood friend. My mind didn’t work that way; my subconscious never went there. I wasn’t one who really liked sex or had any experience that made me want to go back for more.

All it took was one night, one dinner, with Brody, and I was feeling things I hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever. I was certainly waking up feeling things I hadn’t felt with or towards my ex, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it.

There had been a reason I had told Brody we wouldn’t work out. I wasn’t just being evasive. I wasn’t playing hard to get hoping that he would come chasing after me. I wasn’t a woman who would do that. I said what I meant, and I meant what I said. There was no way that I could get involved with Brody.

I had told him as much before we had gotten out of the restaurant. I told him how my future wasn’t in the city before we had even eaten dinner. I was only going to be in town for a short period of time. I didn’t want to get involved with someone and then have to try and make it work once I left or for either of us to think that it would when it wouldn’t. I didn’t want to put myself through that, nor him.

He didn’t need me jerking his chain and thinking we could have something that would last when it wouldn’t. It was best not to get involved at all for both of us. I could see how involved he was with New York, with his friends, with the life he had carved out here. My life wasn’t here, which meant it wasn’t with Brody.

I kept telling myself that it was the right decision, the only decision, as I got up and ready for work. I reminded myself that I had come to New York because I needed a change, to see who I was and without being involved with a man. I couldn’t do that if I was spending all my time with Brody.

Even as I kept trying to convince myself I had made the right decision, I remembered how kind he had been at the restaurant. I remembered how easy and fun it was to talk to him, how he had smiled at me, how he had wanted to take my hand, and how good it had felt to feel his hand next to mine. I had looked at his lips more than once and imagined him kissing me, holding me in his arms, and never letting me go.

The attraction I felt for him, which had only been under the surface since I was a teenager, didn't matter. Work was what I was there to do, and it was what I was going to do. I dove myself into my work, making calls, and following up on reports and investigations. I worked like a woman possessed and didn’t take lunch, nor did I talk to anyone. I felt like I had made good headway and had been able to get most of the files off of my desk by the end of the day, all but Robert Blackwell. There wasn’t much that I could do for him. I should have put his file with the others that were considered closed, but I hadn’t.

The file made me think of Brody and how he had looked at me when I got in the cab the night before. He had looked so dejected, so hurt, and that was all my fault. I was so overwhelmed by what he had said, how the night had gone, and how he had made me feel. I had been more abrupt than I should have been with him.

I hadn’t allowed myself to think about him all day, but as the sun set and I thought about going home, all I could think about was him. I wasn’t a cruel person, or at least I tried not to be. I could have been kinder to him; I could have explained things better, but I hadn’t. We shared a past, and he deserved better than just my curt answer as I drove away.

The right thing in the situation would be to go to him, to explain everything to him, and hopefully get him to see why I did it. It wouldn’t change anything between us, but at least he wouldn’t feel like I had rejected him outright. If we talked, he could understand where I was coming from and be okay with it. I was honest, and there wasn’t anything he did wrong or me; it just was. He deserved to know exactly what I was thinking. It would allow us both to move on.

I might have wanted to see him again. I might have wanted to find an excuse to get him to smile at me. I needed to move on, and if I worried that I had wronged him, I would only keep thinking about him. The best way to move past him was to talk to him and then forget about him.

It was with that in mind that I left the office and headed down to Mustang Sally’s. There was a large crowd when I showed up, and I stood in the doorway, taking it all in. I hadn’t seen much of the bar when I was there before. I was too concerned about the people I was going to meet and seeing Brody again to take in my surroundings.

A long bar lined the right side of the bar, which was full of people sitting at it with beers and food sitting in front of them. Groups of people were huddled in little packs, and it took me a second to realize they were doing a quiz night. I had heard they were popular and had been invited once by Ty, a co-worker, to go with a group. I wasn’t good with random knowledge and hadn’t felt comfortable going out with them, so I had said no. They had talked the next day about how much fun they had, and I wished I had gone. I was hoping they would ask again, but they hadn’t.

There was a burly man with a pot belly talking with a thick Irish accent in the back of the bar. Every seat was taken, and everyone looked like they were having a good time. I looked behind the bar to see Grace working. She was too busy to see me standing there, not that I expected her to welcome me if she had.

“Brody’s in the back. He went to get some ice for Grace,” a voice said next to me.

I turned, startled, and looked down to see Logan sitting on a bar stool next to me. I had no idea when he had gotten there and could only assume he had been there the whole time, and I just hadn’t noticed him.

“What makes you think I’m here to see Brody?” I asked.

“Aren’t you?” he asked.

He had me there, and I nodded. He smiled at me. “Good. I’ll take you to him,” Logan said and stood up.

“Shouldn’t you stay here? Watch the front or something?” I asked.

“It will only take a minute, and this isn’t a bad crowd. I think we can risk it.” He winked at me.

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