He was aware of her in a way he never was with any other woman. Her faint floral scent flavored the air but it wasn’t just that. It was her. Something about her seeped through to his brain and senses.
He wanted to touch her.
He wanted to strip off those clothes and taste her.
He was in trouble. He was in big trouble.
“Paige?”
Underneath her flawless makeup, her face was pale and she looked exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept properly for nights.
He wanted to haul her into his arms and fix everything, an impulse that made him step back.
He wasn’t going to screw with his best friend’s sister.
When he had a fling, which he did far less frequently than people thought, he picked strong women with spines of steel and hearts of stone.
An ex-girlfriend had once told him caustically that dating him was like driving off-road in very rough terrain.
Paige looked as if she’d break at the first pothole. If there was one heart he was never going to damage, it was hers. It had already sustained more than enough damage at the hands of Mother Nature and a bunch of doctors. At least that was what he told himself.
“How are things at Urban Genie? Busy?” He saw her cheeks turn from pale cream to strawberry blush. “How was your bachelor party? Any business leads?”
“Not exactly.” She fiddled with the edges of her jacket. “That didn’t work out.”
“No?” He wished she hadn’t chosen to wear that cheerful coral lipstick.
Paige’s addiction to lipstick was a source of amusement to most people. To him it was one more thing that tested his willpower. It drew attention to her mouth, which made it tough on him because that was one part of her he tried never to look at.
He’d kissed plenty of women in his time and not one of those kisses had stayed with him.
He’d never kissed Paige, and he thought about it constantly.
“It’s not important.” She dismissed his question with the smile he’d seen her use a million times with her parents and her brother.
“What happened?”
She eyed him. “It was everything you said it would be, so unless you’re longing to say ‘I told you so,’ now would be a good time to move on. You don’t need details. Let’s just say it didn’t work out.”
He watched as she curled her fingers into her palms. “What happened, Paige?”
“Nothing.”
He knew her well enough to know that “nothing” was a whole lot of “something.” “I want to hear about ‘nothing.’”
“You’ll freak out and overreact. Then you’ll tell Matt and he’ll freak out and overreact. If I wanted Matt to know I would be sitting in front of him now, not you.”
“I promise not to overreact.”
“They wanted a few too many extras. Extras that weren’t included in our list. That’s your cue to say ‘I told you so.’ Laugh and get it over with.”
He’d never felt less like laughing.
Anger stirred inside him. “They made a move on you?”
She gave him a warning look. “You promised you wouldn’t overreact.”
“I lied.” He spoke through his teeth. “And I want details.”