Rule's Addiction (The House of Rule 3)

“Yes,” the other girl said slowly, no doubt recognizing Maria’s serious tone.

“Something’s bothering me that’s absolutely none of my business.”

The blood seemed to drain from Courtney’s face. “What?” she asked, as if she didn’t really want to know.

Maria stood up and lifted the picture down from the shelf and came around the desk, laying it in front of the other woman. She put her finger on the man who held his arm around Courtney. “Is that Nick?”

“No, that’s Damian,” Courtney said slowly.

Maria dropped her head and let out a relieved laugh. “Oh, thank God.”

Courtney sent her a confused smile. “Why? What’s up?”

Maria began speaking, unable to keep the joyful relief from her voice, “Look, you don’t have to tell me anything more. It’s your business. I’m just glad that one’s not Nick.”

“Why?”

“Because I think you having feelings for Nick—” As the other girl’s eyes flared, Maria held up a hand, stopping any words that she might have spoken. “Look, it’s not my business, I get it, we’re not friends or anything, I’m just relieved, that’s all, because last night, I saw that one,” she indicated the other brother, “with a woman. When I heard you asking your secretary about Nick, and then saw that one’s arm around you, I got the two of them confused.”

Courtney studied her for a moment before asking softly, “You felt bad for me?”

Maria gave her a lopsided smile and shrugged. “Well, I’m a woman, that’s all. And when I knew that one had been—”

“Damian?” Courtney interrupted.

“Yeah, when I knew Damian had been with that Goth chick last night—”

Courtney interrupted with a stunned look on her face, “Damian was with a Goth chick? Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Maria answered slowly, wondering what she’d said.

“Was her name Angie?” Courtney asked.

“Yeah.”

“No way. He was with her again?”

“You’ve seen her too?” Maria asked.

“Yeah, I met her at a party. He seemed really possessive, which was totally shocking, because Damian has a reputation, you know? It’s a love ‘em and leave ‘em type thing for him. That party was weeks ago—I can’t believe they’re still seeing each other.”

“Garrett said she was a ‘random woman’, but I told him she didn’t look random to me. I can tell you this, nobody introduced us or anything, but she didn’t look very happy. They were at the lake house when we arrived and Garrett wasn’t too pleased about it, but that one—”

“Damian?” Courtney asked with a smile when Maria referred to Damian as ‘that one’ for about the fourth time.

“Yeah, Damian was pissed—at Garrett,” Maria told the other girl.

“But it’s Garrett’s house,” Courtney said, confused.

Maria shrugged her shoulders. “So I’ve been told.”

Courtney was silent for a moment while she stared at her as if contemplating something, and Maria began to feel uneasy until the other woman asked, “So Garrett’s pretty hung up on you, huh?”

Both embarrassment and a thrill went through Maria. “No! I don’t think so, I mean, no. . . why do you say that?”

Courtney let out a smile. “Come on, Maria. You think he keeps every hotel he buys? He usually flips them so fast it makes your head spin. But he didn’t flip yours, did he? Why did he hang on to it?” The other girl was quiet a moment before continuing, “And you’re here with him now.”

“You think so? You think he feels something . . . different for me?”

Courtney gave her a soothing smile. “I’ve known him a long time. He doesn’t drag women around with him, ever.”

The two girls watched each other as Maria took that statement in. Before she could form a reply, the door opened and Garrett walked back inside. When he shut the door and sat down, a sudden quiet fell over the room.

Silence pulsed for a few seconds before Garrett spoke up. “Look. You two need to hash this shit out before it drags on for much longer. The animosity between you two is—”

Maria kept her gaze on her hands folded into her lap until Courtney interrupted, “We’re okay, Garrett.”

Maria lifted her eyes to Courtney who was smiling at Garrett. Then the other girl turned to her for confirmation. “Aren’t we, Maria?”

Maria felt relief at the other woman’s generosity of spirit and a hint of happiness wrapped around her heart. “Yeah, we’re all good,” she said with a small smile.

****

Garrett showed Maria around the building and she couldn’t help it, she was impressed. The décor was both elegant and subdued, yet somehow conveyed a warmth and vitality that made the building come alive. As they turned toward Garrett’s office, Maria caught a glimpse of a young, dark-haired woman carrying a take-out coffee cup and a designer purse walking from the direction of the bank of elevators. She looked like the girl in the picture in Courtney’s office.

“Hey,” Maria heard her call out.

Garrett stopped in his tracks and turned, his lips twisting with pleasure as the girl strolled up toward them. “Wassup, big brother?”