Page 23 of Nothing to Win

Nodding, Gia handed over the paper bag filled with the remnants of their lunch.

After the door closed behind Jenna, Spurn spoke, “Call a lot of your boyfriends Mister?”

“Only in bed,” she said.His startled eyes flashed to hers.She smiled.“I’m kidding.I think she’s afraid of you.”

“Jenna is not afraid of me,” he said.“You excused her.”

“To talk about Bram.Do you think it’s a good idea for you to come to his birthday party?”

“And dinner with your parents,” he said, returning to the laptop.“Yes, I do.”

For him, it was black and white.Her father thought the same way.What was with that?

“Why did you make this deal?”she asked.“Why do you want everyone to think we’re together?”

His fingers stopped, but he didn’t look up.A few seconds passed before he slowly closed the laptop lid.

“What did your father say to you when you went inside last night?”

“He’s suspicious of you.”

“He should be.”

At least Spurn, Brogan, was being honest, even if forthcoming was still a ways off.

“He told me to never see you again,” she said and his eyes narrowed a fraction.“Don’t worry our deal is still intact.I told him that I was old enough to make my own decisions.”

“Good,” he said.“It’s good I know that.I have a meeting with your father this afternoon.”

She rolled closer to the desk.“You do?”

“Unless you’re the Sear on my schedule today.”

The idea of her father and Brogan in the same room had never even entered her mind until she got into this.Now the notion made her hands shake.

“Me?No, this is impromptu.Jenna texted me and—”

“I know, I’ve told her to only refer to you on the schedule as ‘Irish’ from now on.”

His attention on her was absolute.Though he showed her no smile, she relaxed enough to free hers.

“You called me that last night.”

“It’s what you tasted like when I kissed you,” he said.“The coffee.”

“The coffee,” she murmured.

The cream had been sweet, the coffee bitter, and the liquor delicious.The freedom to have something her parents forbade was the real excitement.Brogan hadn’t sneered, he’d watched her, his eyes intent, curious, almost heated.Kind of like they were right then.

Could he read her thoughts?His gaze grew more intense.From across the room, she could feel the warmth of his breath as it had been on her lips last night.

“Anything else you want that’s always been forbidden?”

Her lips parted, his loaded question shallowed her breath.

“Why is my father suspicious of you?”

Pushing away from the table, he turned his chair toward her.“Quid pro quo.”