Brandon (Anderson Billionaires #3) - Melody Anne Page 0,32
felt you didn’t feel it, too, then I’d back the heck off, and this project would be so much easier for both of us. But as it is, we have to deal with it, and there’s zero chance I’ll stop flirting with you. Either deal with it or pull out of the project.”
That was blunt. And she found herself respecting him for it. She could handle a man who said what he felt. It was a lot better than hiding behind innuendos and lies. She finally sighed. She’d been hard on him from the very beginning, and she didn’t like being that person.
“We had our night. It was amazing and satisfactory. But it ended, and that’s just how it goes sometimes. Now we live next to each other, but that doesn’t mean it has to be awkward,” she insisted. “I understand you flirt. It comes naturally, and I’m not going to lie and say there’s zero attraction, but that doesn’t mean we do something about it. It’s not that simple.”
“Don’t you get tired of being alone? I know I do sometimes,” he said. “Wouldn’t you like to have someone by your side who understands who you really are and who’ll keep you warm at night?”
Chloe felt tears in her eyes, and there was no way she was going to let them fall. Allowing him to come with her hadn’t been the smartest idea she’d ever had. He simply affected her too much. She could only take him in small doses.
“I’d rather be alone than in a relationship where I feel lonely,” she told him honestly.
“Have I ever ignored you when we’re together?” he asked.
She paused. She couldn’t lie. “No,” she answered with truth. “But that’s because we’ve never been in a relationship. You aren’t the settling-down kind of man, and I’m too busy to give proper attention to a relationship.”
“I don’t know what I want this to be in the end. I just know I want something from you, and you won’t give me a chance to find out what that is.” She was thinking this was probably the most honest this man had ever been with any female in his life. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
Those tears she was fighting were coming closer and closer to the surface, and she couldn’t let them fall. If she gave into the weakness she was feeling, she was afraid the door would open, and he’d step through. If he did that, she might never have the strength to push him back out the door again.
“I’ve done the relationship thing, and it never works. I think being alone is worth exploring, worth taking a chance on,” she said.
Chloe’s heart was pounding as they pulled up to an operating veterans center in the city, where a dinner was taking place. She wanted to see how the facility was being run, so she’d volunteered to help. They had no idea she was working on the current project in Cranston. It helped that she’d volunteered before. Not as much as she’d like to, but enough that they always let her into the different community centers when she called and said she was free. She needed to run inside before she gave in to Brandon and what he was asking of her.
“We’re here,” she said in a tight voice.
“We need to finish this discussion,” he insisted as he reached out and stopped her from opening the door.
“Please, Brandon. We need to get through this meal,” she said. “If any of what you are saying is true, then you’ll let go of me so I can do it with a clear head.”
She was almost shocked when he instantly released her. She was afraid to even look at him as she opened her car door and stepped out. He walked around and stood by her side, this time without touching her, which she was grateful for.
“Let’s go do some good while we find out the bad,” he told her. “We have plenty of time to finish the discussion later.”
Those words were like an omen, and she didn’t bother replying as she made the walk around to the back of the center to enter through the kitchen.
The pastor from the church down the hill was there with a smile on his face as they entered.
“You made it, Chloe,” he said before holding out his hand to Brandon. “And you’ve brought a friend. That’s wonderful.”
“I’m sorry I’m late, Pastor Bart. I got held up,” she said.