Page 31 of Dating His Brother

“Where are you running off to?” he called out from the bed.

“Just gathering up my clothes,” I answered.

He came shooting down the ladder after me, grabbing my hands to stop me. “Oh no you don’t. You can get dressed if you want, even though I’d much prefer that we both stay naked. But suit yourself. You’re not going to take off again like you did last time though.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” I argued.

“You came here for sex, and I gave it to you. Now I want you to do something for me in return.”

“Oh cause that was such ataxingfavor for you to do!?” I shrieked in disbelief.

He smirked, tilting his head with an expression that told me to come off it. I knew damn well he enjoyed every second of that just as much as I did.

“Fine,” I groaned, crossing my arms. “Just what is it you want from me?”

“That’s a loaded question,” he laughed. “Right this moment, what I want from you is a promise.”

I let out a heavy sigh, shifting on my feet. “Dawson, you know I can’t…”

“A promise to stay the night. Have dinner with me and everything,” he proposed.

My brow furrowed as I looked back to him in shock. “Dinner? Staying the night? Really? That’s it?”

“I know you’re very busy, but…yes. Please, Isabella.” He pulled both of my hands to his lips and kissed them. “Just give me one night.”

“You think I’ll magically fall in love with you or something?” I teased.

“No.” He shook his head with a serious expression. “But you are going to marry one of these men from this Heartstring thing. That’s the plan, right?”

I looked down to our feet and nodded. That was the last thing I wanted to be reminded of right then.

“But we met for a reason,” he added. “Whatever the reason was. However this all ends. You’re here right now. And right now…you don’t belong to anyone. Let’s make the most of one last night together.”

“Lastnight?” I questioned. “You don’t want to see me anymore?”

His face drooped, like something was paining him. “This isn’t about what I want. It’s about what I can endure. I can’t have you one minute and see you all over town with some other guy the next.”

“Bull shit,” I snapped. “Every man is capable of that. It’s like a dream come true for you because you all have your fair share of women to run around with too.”

“Not when we’re in love,” he defended.

My bottom lip trembled at the mention of the L word. That was almost enough to send me running out the door, but my feet felt like they were glued to the ground. And I was transfixed, lost in Dawson’s eyes.

“Come on. One night. What do ya say?”

I caved into him with a smile. He found me a more fitting robe upstairs and he wore the one I had grabbed in a rush. After opening a bottle of wine, we lounged on the big pillows on the floor and talked for hours—stopping only long enough to order takeout for dinner.

Two bottles of wine and a pile of empty food boxes later, we went back to his bed and continued talking, kissing, and making love until the sun came up.

17

Isabella

Heavy rain was pouring down the big windows of the Heartstring board room, blurring the view of the city. It matched everything I was feeling inside. It was all a wet, soggy mess.

Jada paced the front of the room like a sergeant general preparing her troops for war. “I’ve booked the auditorium and all seats are sold out for the live broadcast set for one week from today. I have a whole team of stylists booked along with the film crew and security team. Our team of artists are in their own meeting as we speak, working on the set design.”

Artists.My mind ventured off to the background of my portrait, which Dawson had rendered into a landscape of mountains and valleys—all glowing in bright pinks, reds, and oranges. On our last night together, he showed me the progress and said the addition was meant to depict how it felt to make love to me.

---