“Just tell Dad if you want to come to any games. We have a private suite,” Phoenix says when he receives two cups of coffee. “Now I have to run. Charlotte will have my head if her coffee isn’t piping hot.”
“Who’s Charlotte?” I hiss to Amanda once he’s gone.
She chuckles. “That’s his assistant, though she bosses him around so much we all joke that she’s actually the one in charge.”
“He does seem very easygoing.”
“He is. By the way, your coloring is amazing,” Amanda says as Ambrosia hands over our steaming cups. “Do you mind if I ask about your background?”
I get this question all the time. “My father was Latino, so that’s where I get my skin tone. Mama was Irish, and that’s where my red hair comes from. I guess my hazel eyes are a combination of both.”
We exit the coffee area and pass more office doors before taking a right when the corridor dead ends. Here, framed photos line the walls, and I inspect the faces as we pass. I’m impressed to see so many women in executive positions, though this is a cosmetics company, so I guess it makes sense.
My eyes flicker over a photo of Phoenix and then to the next one, where my feet stall. Amanda notices and stops too. She grins when she points at the pic. “That’s Phoenix’s twin.”
I swipe my brow dramatically. “Whew, I thought I was crazy there for a second.” I check out the silver name plate beneath to find that the twin is Dr. Helix Hale, and he’s Laboratory Co-Director and Co-Head of Research and Development. He wears glasses, but otherwise, his face is an exact replica of the man I just met. The next photo in line is of a woman, also wearing glasses and with the same title.
“That’s the other Dr. Hale, Nicolette. They’re married and run the labs together. They’re completely adorable,” Amanda informs me.
I move on to the next picture, and I swear, my heart almost falls out through my asshole and onto the floor.What the fuck?My fingers twitch with the need to touch his face, but I fist them at my sides.Brown eyes gaze at me from beneath stern eyebrows as my mind drifts back to seven years ago.
To our one perfect night. That’s what he called it.
And it was… until it wasn’t.
My face heats as memories of that evening come flooding back. The way he rescued me in that nightclub. Our meal at Waffle House, complete with the requisite chaos one comes to expect with a late-night visit to that establishment. The conversations over greasy food and stout coffee.
And then later, at the hotel. The way his hands seemed to know my body, even though we’d only just met. His soft brown eyes that never left mine when he was on top of me. The feel of him pushing inside me. Our breaths warming each other’s lips. Whispers that dripped with tenderness like I’d never known. The goddamn intimacy.
Though I’ve done my best to metaphorically sandpaper the man away over the past seven years, he left an indelible mark that could never be completely erased.
Hardware Joe.Why is his picture on this wall? A quick glance at the silver plate under his photo gives me the answer… and his real name.
Remington Hale
CEO of European Division
I’ll be damned.He’s not a hardware store owner after all. He’s a Hale, an executive at the largest cosmetics company in the world, and most likely a freaking billionaire. His lies reach so much farther than I ever expected.
“That’s Remington Hale, the oldest brother,” Amanda says, startling me. I’d been so caught up, I almost forgot she was there. At least I now know why Phoenix seemed so familiar. They’re fucking brothers. Though Remington’s hair is a couple shades darker and he has brown eyes instead of blue, the family resemblance is obvious.
“So, um, he works here too?” I’m impressed by the level of calm my question portrays, when on the inside, I’m a fucking ball of panic. I don’t want to ever see Joe, a.k.a. Remington Hale again.
Do I?
No, absolutely not.
I hate that my stupid mind is warring with itself. Of course I don’twant to see that prick again. It would be a disaster, one I have no intention of ever facing.
I don’t think I’ll be able to let you go after tonight.He’d sounded so sincere when he stared into my eyes and said those words that magical night. What if…
For fuck’s sake, Mindy, don’t go there.
“No, he used to,” Amanda answers, “but he moved to London a few years ago to take over running the European offices.”
I can feel her gaze boring into me, so I force myself to look away from his beautiful face. Her head is cocked to one side, so I force a smile onto my face and utter a quick apology.
Her grin is knowing. “Don’t worry about it. Most women have the same response when they see Remington. Or any of the Hale brothers, for that matter. They were definitely blessed in the genetics department.”
