Page 42 of Runaway Bride for the Boss

Then Andrea came home from wherever she went, and she’s a completely different person. I was convinced she was angry when she saw the gift from her brother. What changed? I glance at her from the corner of my eye: we’re in the private cinema watching a funny movie, but I’m so in my head that I can’t tell what has happened for the past twenty minutes.

“What? What is it? You’ve been staring at me since I got home.” Andrea pauses the movie with the flick of a remote.

“It’s just weird. You were angry this morning and then you disappeared for two hours and came back wanting to watch a movie together. What gives?”

She sighs. “Look, I won’t lie, when I saw the nail polish I immediately thought you were trying to lock down my rich brother…and possibly succeeding since I’ve never seen him go out of his way to buy such a personal gift.”

“I—”

“No, let me finish,” she interrupts. “I was wrong. As soon as I was in my car driving to town, I realized how wrong. You wouldn’t even let me pay for your damn glasses, and have been dropping all your tips to pay back the expense. “Alex got you the phone, and I could tell you wanted to return it. Knowing Alex, he probably threatened you into keeping it, and since then you’ve hardly even used it to make calls. When Greg gave you the gift box earlier, you were visibly uncomfortable. But then you opened it, and those damn polishes made you melt.”

“No, it’s—”

“I’m not done yet. I realized the reason that you aren’t comfortable accepting gifts has to do with your ex, but those polishes were different. They were thoughtful. By the time I got to Alex’s office, I was only angry at him for trying to seduce you.”

“What? No, he isn’t trying to seduce me. He’s just being nice,” I rush to defend him. My face heats up when she gives me a knowing look. Damn it.

“Anyway, I made a discovery, and I couldn’t really be angry at him anymore.”

“What discovery?”

She shrugs. “You’ll find out soon enough. Let’s stop talking about it. Why haven’t you cleaned that off?” She nods at my nails. “You have actual nail polish remover now, not to mention plenty of options to replace that chipped mess.”

Honestly, I was worried that if she saw that I had used the gift, she would be set off again. I really can’t stand Andrea being mad at me. I won’t say that, though, so I just shrug.

“Come on, let’s go.” She turns off the projector and drags me to my room. She tears through the package that’s still exactly the way it was when I got it and hands me a bottle of remover and the cotton balls.

I sit cross legged on the floor and quickly rub off the old polish. My heart races as I sort through the different colors:there must be at least two dozen options, and so many fun, vibrant choices, unlike Larson’s preferred nude or clear.

“You’re smiling.” Andrea observes, and I glance up at her. She’s sitting across from me on the floor. “No, no, don’t frown. It’s just nice is all. I’ve rarely seen you smile since we met. How about this one?” She points to a bottle of rich royal blue polish.

I immediately love it and pick it up, trying not to think about what she just said. Of course, I haven’t been smiling much. I left everything and everyone I’ve ever known for a fresh start in a new place. It’s a terrifying prospect, but I’ve been really lucky.

“You know, I’m really glad that I stumbled into your bar that night. You’re like the sister I never had.”

She gives me a warm smile, her eyes going a very light shade of blue. “I’m glad I hired you. I finally have someone to talk to. Growing up, girls only became friends with me to get close to my brothers. It was tiring trying to find out who was a true friend.”

My heart does a hard thud, and my smile slowly fades. I’m not friends with her because of her brothers, but that doesn’t mean I should jeopardize what we have by getting involved with either of them.

I swallow and announce, “I’m going to stay away from Alex and Ezra.”

She gasps. “No, that’s not what I meant. Don’t do that. Relationships can’t be limited at any rate. Whether you stay away from them or not, if they’re determined to have you they will. So, don’t do it, at least not because of me.”

I frown at her, not understanding what she’s getting at. “But you specifically asked me to stay away from them.”

“Yes, and it was shortsighted of me. You’re like a sister to me now, so imagine if we actuallybecamesisters!”

My frown deepens. “Become your sister…but that would mean I marry one of your brothers and—” I stop when she giggles, literallygiggles.

“Yes, exactly! Wouldn’t that be fun? Then you would have the right to our secret family recipe…and the other family secrets…” She trails off. “So don’t stay away from them unless you really want to.” She winks.

Marry one of her brothers. My heart skips a beat when blue-green eyes fill my head and I quickly shake it off. What am I thinking? “I doubt that would happen,” I pronounce honestly.

“Well, we’ll just have to wait and see won’t we?” she says enigmatically. Before I can think of what to say, she scoots closer and asks if she can apply the polish. I say yes, of course.

When we’re done she loves the way the color comes out, so much that I offer to apply it to her nails.

“I don’t know. I have to wash my hands so often at work and cleaning up alcohol spills would probably ruin it, no?” she asks, staring at the polish with something like longing.

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