The Better Brother

this off.”

I eyed the envelope warily when she offered it. “Drop what off?”

“Papers for a lawsuit,” she replied. “We’re aware of your algorithm for the new consumer spending predictions. I believe it follows our own, so I personally told the lawyer that I would happily drop this off with you.”

“Very nice of you,” I said darkly. I snatched the envelope from her hand. “But I think you’ve forgotten who stole what from who.”

She just shrugged and looked at me. “How is Alyssa?”

I stopped short at the question. I twisted back to look over at Michelle, who had yet to move. I tried to read the expression on her face, but she was utterly devoid of emotion. My ex-wife had become a stranger to me over the years. Just the same way she had become to Alyssa, who didn’t even consider her a mother.

“You don’t deserve to know how our daughter is doing,” I said icily. “In case you forgot, I am the one who has been raising her. Not you.”

I didn’t wait for a reply. I stopped to tell the office staff to make sure she left before I retreated back to my office to call Alyssa.

“Where are you?” I asked, listening to the wind on the other end of the phone. “It sounds like you are outside.”

“I am outside. I’m doing some Christmas shopping for Penny.”

“Penny isn’t with you? She’s at the condo?”

“Sleeping, the last time I checked,” Alyssa said. “What’s wrong, Dad? You sound pissed off.”

Pissed off didn’t even begin to cover it. Now that I knew Penny was back at the condo alone, I wanted to take advantage of the situation to talk to her about last night.

“Just a long day,” I replied. “I’ll see you at home.”

I left the office with the excuse of needing to get some lunch. I arrived at the condo thirty minutes later to find Penny awake and sitting on the living room couch with a laptop propped up on her knees. The long strands of her blonde hair were still damp from a shower. She was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, and I couldn’t deny that pang of desire going through me again. She looked up at me nervously when I came into the living room.

“We need to talk about last night,” I said. “I’m sorry for—”

Penny held up a hand as she closed her computer to set it on the couch next to her. “We don’t need to talk about it,” she said, rising up from the couch to face me. “It’s honestly okay. It was a one-time thing, right? We were both pretty drunk.”

Something about that last sentence settled hard in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t like the sound of it. I stood in front of her on the cusp of doing the right thing by walking away, but also wanting to cave in to that desire spreading through me again. I could see the same conflict flickering in Penny’s eyes as she swallowed visibly.

“Just a one-time thing?” I asked.

She blinked in surprise. I surged forward to clasp the side of Penny’s neck and tilt her head upwards. I kissed her long and hard, relishing in her sweet lips underneath mine. She kissed me back with a soft moan of relief while her arms wrapped around my shoulders.

CHATPER EIGHT - PENNY

I couldn’t shake the feeling of Gabriel’s lips on mine. Even if every fiber of my being was yelling to get away, that this wasn’t right, and yet it felt so perfect at the same time. He tasted delicious, of winter air and coffee. His strong hands were cupping the sides of my neck tenderly as he kissed me passionately.

The intensity of it all shook me to the core. I had been imagining this since coming home from the club last night. I couldn’t get rid of the memory of Gabriel’s lips pushing up against mine, or how his hands felt on my body as he had given me the best orgasm of my life with just his fingers. I had to try very hard not to think about what his cock could do to me.

Nerves had crashed over me all morning, though, when Alyssa told me that her father had gone to stay at a friend’s house for the night. She had no idea what had happened, and I planned to keep it that way. I didn’t want to let this ruin our friendship after gaining it back after all these years, but at the same time, I couldn’t tear my lips away from Gabriel’s as he continued to kiss me as if he was thirsty for something.

He kissed me with expertise that left me completely helpless in his hands. My lungs burned for air, but it was the confusion blossoming in my chest that forced me to push myself away from him. I gasped for breath as I took a few step backs to put some distance between us.

“We-we can’t do this,” I said, alarmed by how easy it had been for Gabriel to unhinge me. “You’re right, we can’t. God, Penny, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. You are just doing damn beautiful. But no, we can’t do this. I promise you, it won’t happen again,” Gabriel said, standing to walk over to the wall of windows and stare over the city.

I nodded mutely at him right as the front doors to the condo opened, followed by the sound of Alyssa’s heels clicking on the tiled floor.

“Penny? So, I stopped by Victoria’s Secret again and—” Alyssa stopped short when she realized that her father was standing in the living room. “Oh, Dad. I thought you were at the office. You just called me nearly thirty minutes ago.”

I glanced over at Gabriel with a pounding heart. He had called to see if I was alone. I could read the expression on his face before it went blank when he looked over at Alyssa.

“I had to come home for the afternoon,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion. “There was something at work that I needed to talk to you about.”