The CEO's Seduction (A Hamilton Family 1)

Anna stiffened, anger sweeping through her. How dare he put down Brett like that? “It’s your wedding, so I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”

“I just—” He shrugged. “He’s not for you.”

“Oh, really?” She put her hands on her hips. “So if I told you Nina isn’t good for you, and you can’t continue loving her—you’d stop? Just like that?” She snapped her fingers in his face. “You’d be done with her?”

“There’s a difference. She loves me back,” he said gently, grabbing her shoulders. “He won’t love you back. You can spend your whole life loving him, wasting your time on him, but he won’t feel the same. I don’t think he can.”

She swallowed hard. “You should be ashamed of yourself. How dare you insinuate he can’t love, or be loved? How could you have no faith in the very thing that changed you, and made you a ‘better’ man?”

“I have faith in true love,” Christopher snapped. “But you can’t save a man who doesn’t want your love. If you could, it would have happened before now. Let it go. He’ll only hurt you.”

She lifted her chin. “Then let me be hurt.”

“He told me he doesn’t like you like that.”

She knew that already. Did they really think she was such an idiot that she didn’t see the truth staring down at her? “You know what? Screw you.”

She turned her back on him, but immediately crashed off a hard chest. Without looking she knew who it was. Only her luck would be that bad. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered under her breath as he caught her arms and steadied her.

Jesus, take the wheel.

“What’s wrong?” Brett asked, his voice hard, ignoring her as he glowered at her brother. “What did you say to her?”

Chris tightened his fists. “Me? Nothing. You’re the one—”

“Knock it off. Both of you.” Anna stepped in between the two men, frowning at both of them. The last thing she needed right now was them fighting over her. Especially when there was nothing to argue about in the first place. Chris was worried Brett was going to touch her, but she knew after last night that he never would. “I’m so sick of everyone treating me like I’m a weak little child. I’m not.”

“No one thinks you are,” Brett said. His eyes remained on her brother, and he flexed his jaw. “Do we, Chrissy?”

“Don’t tell me how to feel about my own damn sister,” Chris spat, his face red. “And if you call me that damn name one more time, I’ll—”

“Brett, come with me.” Anna grabbed his hand, pulling him back toward the library. He looked down at her in surprise, not budging. “We need to talk. Now.”

“Hey.” Nina crossed the room and grabbed Chris’s arm when he tried to follow them. “We talked about this last night. Let them go.”

Christopher shot Brett one last threatening look but didn’t move.

Whatever Nina had said to him worked.

It was a frigging wedding miracle.

As they passed every family member, hand in hand, all eyes were on them. She pulled Brett into the library, which doubled as her father’s office, closed the door, and then locked it so they wouldn’t be interrupted. He let go of her hand as soon as they were alone, backing up a few feet from her. She tried not to let that hurt her.

Tried, and failed.

Story of her life.

“What did he say to you? Why were you upset?” Brett asked, his voice strained.

“None of your business.” She bit her lip. “You know, you can’t have it both ways.”

He cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

“You say you can’t be with me, and that you’re empty inside, but then you come rushing to my side if I blink too many times.”

“I can’t help it if I want you to be happy. Part of wanting you to be happy is keeping my distance, because if I get too close, you won’t be.”

You’re wrong. You make me happy. The words almost escaped her, but she swallowed them back. He didn’t want to know how much she wanted him. Didn’t want to hear those words, no matter how much she might want to say them. “Then you need to stop swooping in to save me with my brothers. It will only make them think you feel things for me that we both know you don’t.”

He averted his eyes. “How do you know what I do, or don’t, feel for you?”

“I know you don’t want to be with me the way they seem to think you do,” she said slowly. “If you were going to do something with me, it would have been last night, when you woke up with me in bed with you, literally naked.”