Cian laughed. “Connor and Rachel? As if. She would never...” His gaze slid to Connor.
He remained silent.
“Oh, come on!” he snapped. “Are you serious, Connor?”
Oh, shit. Gareth noticed everything. It made him a ridiculously good businessman and lawyer, but also a truly annoying friend!
“It’s nothing,” Connor replied tersely.
Gareth smiled contentedly. “Maybe you’re right. I must work too much and don’t see enough of you, if Connor really thinks he can lie to me and I won’t notice.”
Yes.Human lie detectorwas definitely a cooler nickname thankiller whale.
“We didn’t actually sleep together,” Connor replied impatiently. It was a matter of definition. The church wouldn’t be pleased with his actions, but no one in a porno would classify it as sex.
“Not really?” Cian looked at him, irritated.
“Do you want the details because it’s been so long for you and you can’t define sex anymore, or what?” he asked calmly, raising an eyebrow.
Cian snorted. “I want to know what got into you. I know she’s pretty, but...you don’t get involved with women who evoke even the slightest emotion in you. And anger is one of them. So why do you want her?”
Connor’s jaw clenched. It wasn’t because Rachel was pretty, although she was. Or that she was a challenge, although that was true too. He wanted her because… because everything she said, everything she did, how she reacted, how she moved… because everything about her fascinated him and turned him on in a twisted way. It all made him want to get closer. He didn’t understand it. And not understanding drove him crazy!
“It doesn’t matter,” he replied angrily. “I want a lot of things, like to slap that smug grin off Gareth’s face because it fucking pisses me off. But I won’t because his pretty face is all the poor bastard has.” That is, apart from the millions in his bank account. “So it’s irrelevant if I want Rachel. I’m not going to do anything about it because I’m looking for a woman for a serious relationship.” Right, he wasn't looking for someone to finger-fuck in an alleyway until she came and came and he was so incredibly hard it hurt.
Okay. He had to pull himself together.
“Wait. So you’re really serious about the bet?” Gareth asked, frowning. “You want to settle down with the next woman you like and have a few kids?”
“I definitely don’t want to settle down, and I’ll have to think about the kids thing. But, otherwise...why not? It's time to try this relationship thing everyone thinks is so great.”
Gareth stared at him as if Connor had picked up the goat dung next to his shoe and thrown it.
“I told you,” Cian said impatiently.
“And I didn’t believe you. You're always talking nonsense,” Gareth replied, defending himself. “Like that time you said you’d roll your own oatmeal.”
“It would be healthier for Ada.”
“But not for our sanity,” Connor said sharply. “You’re as impatient as Ada at Christmas.”
“I made oatmeal.”
“Three times.”
“I’d call that a success,” Cian said contentedly. “But Connor’s secretly hoping Rachel will give up before he has to get serious.”
Gareth frowned. “She doesn’t seem like the kind of woman who gives up easily. Trust me, I know the signs. She looked like my sister when one of our players said he could recite more digits of pi than she could.”
Connor rubbed his eyes. “She won’t give up,” he confirmed. His old plan was moot. “But I don’t have to fall in love to find a girlfriend I can have a serious relationship with.”
Cian raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. I think there are a lot of people who would disagree with you there.”
“Not me,” Gareth said.
“No, no one here expected that.” Cian snorted. “We both know that your new relationship with that opera singer isyour absolute dream situation because she doesn’t expect any feelings!”
“I’m just saying.” He shrugged. “Relationships don’t have to be based on love to work. But I would recommend that you stop having sex with the couples' therapist next door on the side, because then you'd be treating both women like shit. No woman likes that.”
