“You know this is the right thing to do, Melly,” he says, his tone much softer now. The use of his childhood pet name for me makes bile burn in my throat. “For Mom and for Ashley.”
For Ashley, yes. Not for Mom. And definitely not for Bryce. But my little sister’s fate is unfortunately tied to theirs, and until she can stand on her own two feet, it’s up to me to take care of her. Because there’s nobody else to do it.
“Will you at least come to the meeting tomorrow?” he asks, his tone dripping with nauseating sweetness.
I wipe a stray tear from the corner of my eye.
“Melly?”
“Yes! I’ll go to the damn meeting.”
Chapter
Six
NATHAN
Istare out the window at the retreating back of my date, looking at the same ass that captivated me two weeks ago when I first met her at the gym. So why is it doing nothing for me now? The doorman of her building nods in greeting and opens the opaque glass door for her. Before she steps inside, she spins on her heel, a scowl twisting her pretty features as she flips me the bird.
I snort a harsh laugh, impressed by her fire if nothing else. Her contempt is no less than I deserve after the terrible end to our already disastrous date. I wince at the memory of her on her knees, her lips wrapped around my shaft as she sucked me off. Or at least she tried to before I stopped her mid-act. Not that she wasn’t eager or exceptionally talented in the art of giving head, but when she fluttered her eyelashes at me, her dark brown eyes wet with tears, it should have made my cock twitch and brought me closer to the edge. Instead there was nothing. And when I pulled her head back and told her to stop, the look of pure shock on her face made me wonder if it was the first time she’d ever been rejected in her life.
The fact that I wasn’t able to get close to finishing was no surprise to me though. My last few dates have ended in a similar unsatisfactory way.
“Home, sir?” My driver’s familiar voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
After checking to make sure my date is safely inside her building, I lower the partition until I’m staring at the back of Teddy’s head. “Yeah, home.”
My younger brother paces the length of my office, his hands stuffed into his pockets and a frown furrowing his brow as he digests the information I’ve just given him about Melanie Edison and her family.
“Thanks for flying in to do this, Drake.”
He stops in front of my desk. “Anytime. You know that.”
I roll my neck and flex my shoulders, but it does little to ease the pent-up tension in my muscles.
Drake tilts his head and watches me with curiosity. “So, how serious are you about this meeting today? Is this just to appease Dad or are you actually considering this proposal of his?”
Taking a seat behind my desk, I run my tongue over my bottom lip and consider my answer. “I’m actually considering marrying this woman and having a couple of kids. Is that insane?”
He rubs a hand over his jaw and presses his lips together before he sits opposite me. “I wouldn’t say it’s insane, but as to whether it’s right for you … I guess it depends on your reasons. Are you only doing this because Dad asked you to, or is there something in it for you? Something you actually want.”
I recall my date last night and how bored I was listening to and rehashing the same old stilted conversation. And how the inevitable hookup that usually follows was as unappealing as the plain salad my date ordered for dinner at the finest steak house in Manhattan. “You know, even a couple of months ago, I would’ve said there was nothing in it for me, but lately …” I glance at the painting on my office wall, a constant reminder of all the perfect summers we had as kids. Our dad teaching us to swim, and our mom cheating at volleyball and loudly proclaiming her innocence when anyone called her on it.
“And now?” Drake prompts me.
I run my tongue over my teeth. And now what? “I don’t know, Drake, but I do know that the endless stream of women doesn’t do it for me anymore. Meaningless hookups feel empty and …” I shake my head, unable to explain it, even to myself.
“So you’re looking for more? A relationship? That’s understandable, but that doesn’t mean you have to marry some random woman Dad picked out for you.”
“But I don’t want the whole falling in love bullshit that goes with a relationship, Drake. That’s not for me, and it never will be. So maybe this is the way. If Melanie Edison and I are compatible enough, why not try it the old man’s way? Because the idea of another year or more in the dating pool trying to find someone to marry and have kids with, not to mention managing all the expectations about not falling in love, exhausts me just thinking about it.”
Drake rolls his eyes. “Your entire love life exhausts me. I don’t know how you do it.”
I shrug. “Yeah, well, maybe I won’t be doing it for much longer.”
He barks out a laugh. “Okay, so you do this instead. What exactly is the plan here? You meet this woman and if you don’t hate her on sight, you’re going to go through with this?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You say that like you think I’m not going to be able to read her. I’ll know if we’re compatible or not after five minutes, and you know it.”
“I’m not doubting your people-reading skills, bro. But this is your life, not a case. You’re going to tie yourself to this woman for life if you have kids together.”
“I know, Drake. But this kind of arrangement …” I blow out a breath as the realization hits me. “It makes sense for someone like me. I have absolutely no desire to do the whole love and romance thing, but I do want kids, and I want to have them with a woman I can trust and respect. And I’m sure I can work out whether Melanie is worthy of both those things by the end of the afternoon. So yeah, maybe a marriage that’s also a good business arrangement is right for me.”
Drake folds his arms and gives me a single nod of his head.
“So you’re with me on this?”
“Always, brother.”
The door to my office opens, and my secretary pops her head inside. “Your guests are here, sir. They’re seated in the boardroom as requested.”
I nod my acknowledgment, and she disappears from view.
Drake arches an eyebrow at me. “Time to meet the potential in-laws.”
I stand and fasten my suit jacket. “Let’s do this.”
Drake stops outside the door to the boardroom with me behind him, his fingers grasping the handle. He flashes me a smirk over his shoulder. “You nervous?”
I scowl at him. Has he forgotten who he’s talking to? “No, of course I’m not fucking nervous.”
He chuckles. “Just checking.”
We step into the room and are immediately greeted by a man I recognize as Bryce Edison from the pictures I found online. He sweeps his blond hair out of his eyes before extending a hand. Drake shakes it while I look past him at the man I assume is their family lawyer, until my eyes lock on the only person in this room I have any interest in talking to besides Drake.
She stands facing the window, her back to the room, and is wearing a white blouse tucked into a black pencil skirt that perfectly showcases her hourglass figure against the backdrop of the city skyline.
“Miss Edison,” I say, and she spins around, her eyes flickering to Drake and her brother before finding mine.
She takes a few steps toward me, her hips swaying slightly with each one. “Mr. James.” Her voice is calm and clear, but I don’t miss the way her left hand curls into a tight fist at her side or the soft pink flush at the base of her neck. She offers me a soft smile, and that’s when I notice the striking green of her irises. She’s much more beautiful in person than in the pictures I saw of her.
I take a step toward her, and now we’re only a foot apart. Her breath hitches, drawing my gaze to her neck. The slender curve of her throat thickens as she swallows, and her body’s reaction to my close proximity has my pulse spiking.
“Melanie, come sit,” her brother orders, his nasally tone severing the connection between us. I’m immediately tempted to tell him to shut the fuck up and then, more importantly, to ask him who the hell he thinks he’s talking to, ordering her to sit like a dog. Until I remember that she’s not mine.
Not yet.
