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Her lashes fluttered open, the lightest twinge of pink blooming across her cheeks in the dimness of her father’s porch light. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I chuckled.
I popped the button on her seatbelt for her and hopped out of the driver’s seat, my dress shoes squishing in the mud as I rounded the car. There wasn’t a single part of me that cared that I’d have to scrub it off of them later. The face she gave me when I opened her door and slinked my arm beneath her knees, hoisting her out like a goddamn bride, was so worth it.
“Let’s get you inside.”
“Hunter,” she laughed, kicking her feet in an attempt to get me to put her down. But if I was already struggling to walk in the mud, there was no doubt it would turn into quicksand for her in those heels. “I think you might send my dad to an early grave if you cross the threshold with me like this.”
“I’m already going to get an earful from Brody. What’s one more?” I joked. I took the steps of her front porch slowly, careful not to drop her, taking as long as I could before the moment ended. I knew come tomorrow morning that brick wall would be back up in full force, but in that moment, I had my favorite version of Lottie. Easy, calm, pliable Lottie, who basked in the post-sex glow, the Lottie that made me question whether any of this was a good idea in the first place.
She reached out to knock on the door, apparently deciding it wasn’t worth it to look for her keys, but before her knuckles could make contact the door opened wide.
Brody’s glare was scathing. He looked at me like I’d set his entire house on fire, murdering his family, the villain in the story of his life. I’d been on the receiving end of that kind of glare from him a handful of times, usually when I went against his judgment and got a verbal lashing about trust and business. This time, however, it was personal. I was holding his daughter in my arms, he’d seen the photos of us circling the newspapers and the internet, and neither of us looked convincingly like we hadn’t just had sex.
Lottie’s buttons were all sorts of mismatched, for Christ’s sake.
Slowly, gently, I set her back on two feet and watched as she slid through the space between her father and the door. She gave me a little wave before disappearing up the stairs, almost stumbling in her heels and gripping onto the railing for dear life.
Brody stepped out onto the porch and slammed the door behind him.
“Can’t I come in?” I asked, heavy breaths of fog clouding around my head in the nearly freezing weather.
“Nope.”
I sighed. This was going to be so much fun.
“I’ll cut straight to the point, Harris,” he started, voice gruff and wrinkles creasing. He took a step toward me, one finger jutting out and poking into my chest. “I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all. I know you. I’ve seen how you are with women. Did you think for one second that I would approve?”
“No, sir.” It was honest. I wasn’t going to lie to him, not about this, even if I felt like I was getting a lashing from a parent.
“That girl deserves the world. Do you hear me?”
“I know that.”
“Then don’t act like you can fucking give it to her,” he snapped. Spittle flew from his mouth, and every word pushed me further away from the front door, that angry finger poking me until I stepped back onto the steps. “Her last relationship was a goddamn nightmare, Harris. He was just like you.”
“I understand,” I said. I knew it was the only thing I could say—there was no changing Brody’s mind on this, and he was entirely right. Lottie and I weren’t real, after all. It was just a ploy. She was in it for the breeding business, and that was all. Every part of me could appreciate where he was coming from, even if it sucked to be on the receiving end of it.
“I’m not just going to stand by and watch her get hurt again. She doesn’t need another fucking playboy breaking her heart,” he said. “And just because you’re a client doesn’t mean I won’t beat the living daylights out of you if you become another name on the list of shitty men in her life.”
I swallowed, unsure of what to say. I wanted to tell him the truth, wanted to tell him he had nothing to worry about because Lottie didn’t have her heart in this to begin with. The guilt ate away at me as I took the final step off the porch back into the mud.
“I won’t break her heart, Brody. I promise you.”
He spat on the floor, his jaw twitching. “Then I hope to God she breaks yours.”
Chapter 16
Lottie
The suffocation hit me like a foul ball.
I’d been too comfortable after we’d had sex in his office. Hunter had been so sweet, so reassuring afterward, that even running into Jared didn’t feel as horrible as it should have. I’d let him carry me to my front door. I’d fallen asleep in his car. It was too much. The walls had come down too far, and I was more than happy to build them back up again.
I had avoided him for days before we set off this morning. Sure, I’d responded to his urgent business messages and calls, but under no circumstances had I gone out of my way to see him, speak to him, or touch him. I’d sealed my fate back in his office—I just had to pick up the crumbling pieces of myself and glue them back together before they shattered even more.
The private jet was nice, though.
