Page 107 of Spurred On

He ignored her. “We’ve made peace. We’re good friends. The last thing I want to do is ruin it. Okay? Are you happy?”

“That’s not the question,” Lisa said. Again the only one in the room with a beating heart. “Are you happy?”

He frowned at her. “It doesn’t matter if I’m happy.”

“Doesn’t it?”

He glanced at Cade, who had gone suddenly somber. “Remember what you told me?” I wanted her to be happy, even if it meant I would lose her. That’s real love, I think.

His brother stilled. Nodded. “I do. It’s like that, then?”

“Yeah.”

They shared a moment of understanding, the two brothers, and then Cade stepped back.

Claire scowled at them both. “What? What did you say?” When neither responded, she raised her voice. “Are you planning to seduce Sidney or not?”

A movement in the doorway captured his attention and to his horror, he saw Sidney standing there, staring at him, her mouth agape.

Well hell.This was bad timing. Really bad timing.

Or was it?

Perhaps it was providential after all.

“I don’t know,” he said, not to his sister, but to the woman in the doorway. “That is entirely up to her.”

***

Her heart stuttered. Sidney stared at him. The others simply faded.

She could hear their conversation, but it was muffled and remote. When they realized she was standing there and had heard everything, like mice, they skittered away, leaving her and Cody alone.

She stepped into the office and closed the door, taking in his pained expression. Something that might have been hope flickered in his eyes.

They’d spent the past few months together, nearly in each other’s pockets. He’d been nothing but friendly, respectful, and distant—to the point she’d finally come to the conclusion that friendship was all he wanted. And she’d dealt with her conflicted feelings on that note.

Or she thought she had.

While she truly did crave his kisses—real kisses, not those stupid forehead ones—and she knew damn well how phenomenal he was in the sack, she really treasured this new relationship as well. It hurt that he didn’t seem to want her that way anymore, but she’d come to terms with being his buddy—as hard as that had been.

Now, what she’d assumed was a closed topic cracked wide open again.

She could barely contain her excitement.

“So,” she said with a sigh. “What was all that about?”

Cody dropped into his chair and grimaced. “They’re worried I will seduce you and break your heart and you will leave.”

She offered a coy smile and sat across from him. “Is that what you intend to do?”

“No!” She loved the furor in his tone. It boded well. For her seduction of him.

Because that was what she intended to do. Now that she knew. She still wanted to understand why, if he still had the hots for her, he hadn’t made a move, but that could wait.

For all his faults and glowing attributes, Cody was a pretty straightforward kind of guy. When he wanted something, he went for it. If he didn’t, well, he didn’t want that thing. This restraint on his part was unfamiliar to her.

“You don’t intend to seduce me, or you don’t intend to break my heart?”