The Billionaire's Illicit Twins - Holly Rayner Page 0,10

both had too much to drink.

I mean, he was the enemy, technically speaking. I’d just gone up against his lawyers in court yesterday. And yeah, the case itself was finished. But the negotiations for the settlement weren’t. And until that happened, this was a really, really big conflict of interest. One that would almost certainly jeopardize my career if my bosses found out about it.

And that didn’t even touch the fact that he was Ethan freaking Parker and I was just plain old Bella Mayfair. We didn’t exactly exist on the same planes of reality.

And even if we had, I didn’t have time for a relationship right now. I didn’t even have time for a guy who came over and spent the night on occasion. I’d just won the biggest case of my life, and if things went the way I hoped they would, that would mean a big boost to my career.

Did I want a relationship? Yes. Someday. But for right now? My career had to come first.

Not that he’d asked. Not that a relationship with him was an option.

God, Bella, get your head in the game, that nasty voice in my head snapped. Stop acting like there was even a possibility for a relationship in the first place.

I jerked my attention back to Ethan, hoping he hadn’t gotten all of that from my gestures—or my face. Hoping he’d only gotten the important part. The part about him probably needing to go, sooner rather than later.

Luckily, it seemed he had. He stood and pulled his jeans up, letting them hang from those amazing hips of his, a six-pack rising up from them and leading to an amazingly well-defined chest, then the thick column of his neck, right to that perfect—and incredibly expensive—face.

God, he was gorgeous. And also not mine. In fact, I’d probably never even see him again in person. And that was the best thing, really. Because seeing him would just remind me of all the things we’d done last night.

“You’re completely right,” he said. He took a moment to pull his T-shirt over his head, then slipped his feet into his shoes and walked toward me. “It was a terrific night, and I mean that sincerely. I’ve…”

He stopped himself from saying anything else and gave me a completely unreadable look, then ducked toward me and brushed a soft kiss across my cheek.

A kiss that brought back memories of what those lips had done to me last night and sent champagne bubbles fizzing through my stomach.

He groaned a bit as if he was having the same thoughts, but then pulled back, his eyes sparkling down at me.

“I’ve never met anyone like you, and that’s the God’s honest truth. But it’s probably better if we’re not…”

“Ever seen together,” I supplied, nodding. “We’re in agreement there. With the case and the negotiations going on, it would be a complete nightmare. And I might not get fired, but it definitely wouldn’t look good to the higher-ups at my firm.”

He reached up and brushed a soft finger down my cheek, his eyes dimming a bit. “Right. Well, then. Good luck, Bella. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about hiring you away from your firm.”

He turned and was out of my bedroom and through the front door of my apartment before I could answer him, leaving me gazing at the closing door with something that felt a whole lot like sadness that I wouldn’t get to see him again. Regardless of what my better nature said about kicking him out being the right thing to do.

Chapter 6

Ethan

Two Months Later

I stared up at the door in front of me, my teeth clenched together as I tried to prepare myself for what was to come.

My weekly Sunday night dinner with my entire family. Yes, I loved them all dearly. Yes, I owed them a whole lot. Yes, they were the only people I could ever count on to actually be on my team. Which was why I was always willing to make the trip across the river to New Jersey to see them on the weekends.

But these weekly dinners had been themed dinners, of late, and that was the part that had me standing out here on the front step, stalling my butt off before I went in. The theme? Convince Ethan to get married. The players? The entire family. The lead role? My mother.

Not that my brothers were restricting themselves. No, they were all involved as well. Each of them happily married with a bunch