Breaking Bro Code (The Line Up #4) - Misti Murphy Page 0,80
the bar is quiet.
Down at the other end Arrow talks to a guy in a leather jacket who is drinking his whisky neat. It’s just the two of us tending bar at the moment. Pez is due to arrive any minute though.
“Sorry, I’ve been busy.” She slips onto a stool. “I’m working on plans for Emma Westbrook’s mansion.”
“I don’t know who that is,” I admit.
“She’s a huge deal in the health and wellness field. Runs a chain of yoga retreats around the globe. She’s only a year older than me and she’s dominating her market. She’s such an inspiration to me. Working with her is a huge deal.”
“I’m so proud of you.” I’ve missed her so damn much this week. Our schedules haven’t synced up at all, and the small amount of time we’ve managed to spend together she’s seemed distant. Like she’s pulling away. Growing bored of me. Getting over her crush as I fall harder. Please don’t let that be the case. “But I missed you. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” She puts her purse on the bar. “I have something I want to talk to you about.”
“So I gathered from your messages,” I say. “I have something to talk to you about too.”
“Oh really?” Her gaze runs down my body to where the wood hides the rest of me. Still, I feel her hot consideration. My body reacts like an attention whore. My cock thickens inside my jeans. I tactically adjust myself.
“Is my brother—”
Thinking about Hud cools me down. The conversation we had this morning where he made it more than clear that he doesn’t want me and Lily together replays in my head. That ship has sailed though. It’s too late for me to leave Lily alone. “No. He was here a while ago, but he went shopping for baby stuff.”
“Can you believe there are only a couple more weeks before the babies arrive?” She smiles and gets that faraway look in her eyes when she thinks about being an aunt.
I know she’s excited about meeting the babies. But today the light in her seems to be tempered. Actually, it has felt that way all week. “I’m going to be a godfather, aren’t I?”
“There’s a good chance.”
Hud’s going to nominate me as the guy to help scar his children. “But at least they’ll get it right when they pick you to be the twins’ godmother.”
“Those poor kids,” she says. “At least Jane is normal. Compared to the three of us. Otherwise they wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“That may be true.” But the truth is those boys will be lucky to have Hud as their dad. “He’ll be a great father.”
“He really will be. He was to me.” Something flashes in Lily’s eyes as she glances away from me and chews her lip.
Since we came home she seems to be less certain about us, and I don’t think I’ve helped the situation. “Is everything all right?”
“Of course.” She smiles brightly. “So what else could he possibly have needed to buy? When I saw him on Wednesday he said they had everything.”
“I’m not entirely sure. He said something about nipple shields and a bath thermometer.”
She leans over the bar. “Christ, he’s going to be unbearable over the next few months, isn’t he?”
“So now wouldn’t be a good time for me to throw caution to the wind?” I mirror her movement. Our faces are a mere inch apart, and I want to bridge that distance and taste her mouth despite the witnesses at the other end of the bar. Would it surprise her if I did? Would she welcome it? “And kiss you right now?”
“In front of Arrow?” Her eyes widen and her lips part.
“I don’t give a damn about Arrow.”
“I like it when you get all growly and intense.” She wets her lips. “When I know you just want to grab me.” She trails her hand along the wooden surface. “Are you thinking about laying me out on the bar so you can have your wicked way with me?”
“Fuck. I am now.” I have to take a deep breath as my cock turns to granite. I tip my head in the direction of the doors that lead into the kitchen.
She nods back. Glances at Arrow who is still busy with his friend. And then Pink Panthers her way to the double doors.
I meet her there. Take her hand and push through them. “Come on.”
“What are we doing?” she asks as we hurry along the corridor to the office.