Page 47 of The Kissing Part
“And it was quick of him to invite you to move in with him while you’re here,” Harper says. “You’re both in a hurry and then pulling away. I’m getting whiplash.”
I frown. “Me too.”
Harper cocks her head. “Seriously, though. What is it about my brother that makes you want to rush into something serious? Don’t you meet eligible men all the time?”
“He’s different.” I smile dreamily. “I just have all these wonderful memories from our summer together.”
“Exactly,” Harper says. “Memories. It’s been nine years. If you’re going to do this, you need to start over.”
“Ooh, like they just met,” Mackenzie says. “I can introduce you.”
My brows scrunch at that bizarre idea. “That seems unnecessary—”
Olivia pokes her head in the doorway. She’s wearing an old-fashioned floral nightgown. “If we’re having a strategy session, I should be involved.”
I smile. “Just talking about men and how confusing they are.”
“Ah.” She backs up. “I don’t want to intrude on your personal life. It’s important to keep the boundary between personal and professional.”
“For God’s sake, you live with your boss,” Harper says. “Get in here.”
Olivia walks in and gingerly takes a seat on the bed across from Harper.
“Olivia’s right,” I say. “I blurred the personal and professional with Owen, and I shouldn’t have. Obviously, I have to fire him.”
“I wouldn’t advise that,” Olivia says. “Why don’t you just drop the personal until you can drop the professional? Don’t mix the two. I say we hire the next bodyguard without consulting him. I suspect no one will meet his standards. He’s unnecessarily complicating things.”
“Because he wants her, but he can’t admit how much,” Harper says. “Wounded-bear alert.”
Mackenzie stifles a laugh.
“That seems the most likely explanation,” Olivia says.
My cheeks warm, pleased by the thought but also frustrated. “How can Inotget personal with him? We were already very personal last night.”
“I thought he was mad at you,” Mackenzie says.
I lift one shoulder up and down. “We have incredible chemistry. It wouldn’t take much to get him into bed again. That much I’m sure of.”
Harper sticks her finger down her throat. “Besides theewwfactor of that’s my brother, please tell me you can control your hormones. You’ve been with the great Mick Schaeffer.”
“There’s no comparison,” I say.
Mackenzie lifts a finger. “This is the real problem. You have Owen on a pedestal, looking at him through the foggy lens of the past. You don’t know him now.”
“He’s improved in bed,” I say.
“Again,eww,” Harper says.
“And he’s a protective, loving brother and son. You like working with him, right, Mackenzie?”
“Yes, but do you know what he likes to do in his free time?”
“He cruises for women with Nathan,” Harper says with a sour note. “Nathan thinks he’s God’s gift to women. Such an ass.”
“I hate arrogant men,” Olivia says.
Harper leans over to give her a fist bump.
