“I’ve had a lot of projects keeping me busy recently.” Among other things. He attempted to unravel himself from her hold, but her clutch on his bicep only strengthened. “You know, work.”
“Oh, sure. Of course.” She glanced up at him, fluttering her false lashes. Her painted lips stretched into a sugary smile. “But I thought maybe we could see each other sometime.”
“You mean, like when I come in for coffee?”
“No, silly.” She playfully swatted at his arm, but a flush was creeping up her neck, and her dark eyes flashed briefly with panic. “Like on a date. As a couple.”
“Look, Evelyn…”
He was going to tell her he wasn’t interested, that work was taking up too much of his time, and that there was someone elsein the picture. A half-truth, but it wasn’t entirely false either. The words died on his tongue as Juliette walked out of Mystic Florals with Adrienne right beside her.
Humiliation burned through him.
This would not look good.
“Oh good, you’re still here.” Juliette’s smile faltered for a faint second when her gaze landed on the dark-haired female wrapped around him like a vine.
“Oh,hi.I’m Evelyn.” As though she sensed prey, Evelyn went in for the kill. She tightened her possessive hold until her grip was ironclad. “Brock’s girlfriend.”
“Not my girlfriend.” He removed her claw-like hands from his bicep, slowly unraveling himself from her hold. “Look, Evelyn. You seem like a really great girl, and I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that I wanted more. The truth of it is, I don’t. We just have some nice conversations when I stop in for a cup of coffee. Nothing else.”
Evelyn’s face crumpled. Her large brown eyes blinked up at him with unshed tears, and her bottom lip quivered. Guilt seeped into him, but he was quick to disregard it.
“Brock, I…” A single theatrical tear slid down her cheek. “I thought…”
“Nothing, Evelyn.” He filled in the empty spaces for her. “There’s nothing there. We’re just friends.”
“You’re wrong.” Then her gaze sharpened, and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself like a petulant child being scolded for misbehavior. She stormed off and when she glanced back at him, fury lit her eyes like molten fire. “This is the biggest mistake of your life.”
Damn. It looked like he would have to find a new coffee spot.
Once Evelyn walked away, Adrienne fisted both hands on her hips and gave him a sideways look. “Well? How does it feel?”
He raked a hand through his hair. “How does what feel?”
Adrienne’s grin was both snarky and serene. “To have made the biggest mistake of your life?”
Juliette looked mortified, but a hint of a smile tugged at her lips, and cool relief settled into him. He could’ve done better by Evelyn, maybe let her down more gently, but he hadn’t made her any promises from the start. She was just a girl he knew in passing, a friendly face. One who floated in then floated out, much like a falling autumn leaf on the breeze. She was there for a season, then gone.
Brock shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and dared a glance at Juliette. She was watching him. Not in earnest. Not in lust. Not in doubt. Just watching. He tried to be cool. Casual. “I dropped off your stuff.”
“Yeah, Viv gave it to me. Thanks for getting that clay out, I was really worried it might stain everything a horrible orangey brown.” She rose up on her toes, then rocked back on her heels. “I have a blanket I need to give back to you.”
He nodded stiffly, and Juliette’s gaze slid to her sister.
“Well,” Adrienne announced loudly to no one in particular, “I’m just going to go do…something else.”
Adrienne turned without a backward glance and disappeared inside Mystic Florals, leaving Brock and Juliette standing in the parking lot. Alone. She gradually closed some of the distance between them. “I’m glad I caught you before you left.”
“You are?” Brock glanced over at her, surprised. He was thoroughly expecting uncomfortable tension and a lingering sense of remorse to suffocate both of them.
“Yes. I talked to Anne-Sophie.”
Ah. Okay. So, this wasn’t about the kiss. Or the fact that she’d straddled him and let him give her an orgasm. This was about future plans for work, for the beach house. Brock stood there and nodded dumbly as Juliette went on to explain how she’d repaired her relationship with her baby sister and how Anne-Sophie had agreed to convince someone named Charity Rhodes to have her wedding at the beach house. While she explained how beneficial it would be and how it would undoubtedly propel them to the top of the list in terms of coveted wedding venues, Brock couldn’t stop staring at her lips. Couldn’t stop imagining how perfect they would look wrapped around his cock. Her tongue darted out, swiping along her plump bottom lip, and he clamped the urge to groan.
Somehow, it was like everything that happened between them last night hadn’t even fazed her. Like she’d already erased it from her mind. Yet here she was, going on about weddings and venues, acting like she hadn’t given him the biggest hard-on of his life.
“And I think Anne-Sophie will be perfect as a wedding planner,” Juliette continued, completely oblivious to his suffering. “If she runs the business, then Yaya will never have to worry about it.”
