“Could you imagine?” Breaker asks. “Brothers getting married to sisters? That’s a fun story.”

“You’ve lost your goddamn mind,” I say as I stand from my desk. “Marriage is not for me, let alone to someone like Lottie.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Breaker asks, standing as well.

I put my phone in an inner pocket of my suit jacket and slip my wallet into my pants pocket. “She’s a mess. Disorderly, a loose cannon, and too erratic for my liking. She’s a total wild card, and I don’t need that in my life.”

Breaker smiles. “I think you do. You’re such an uptight asshole, and she might be able to loosen you up.”

“There will be no loosening.” We leave my office and head toward the elevators. The floor is quiet; we’re the last to leave. We might have a billion-dollar enterprise, but we understand what it takes to make sure employees are happy, and that means making sure they all go home to their families at five.

JP presses the down button on the elevator. “I think if anyone needs a Lottie in their life, it’s you.”

I pierce him with my gaze. “Don’t even start with that shit, okay?”

“He’s right,” Breaker says. “Just from the small glimpse I caught, she looks like a spitfire, and I’d very much enjoy watching her drive you nuts.”

“She already drives me nuts.”

The elevator doors open and we step inside. “I don’t know. I think there’s something there,” JP says. “Did you see it, Breaker?”

Breaker nods his head. “I did.”

“You both are so full of shit.”

We ride the elevator to our private parking garage, and when the doors part, I don’t bother to wait for my brothers as I head to my car.

“It was the way you looked at her when she got off the elevator, when she approached you in the conference room, and when she sat on your lap,” JP calls out. “There was heat in your eyes.”

Ignoring him, I unlock my car and get in. The last thing I need is my two idiot brothers putting ideas in my head. There’s nothing but a platonic partnership happening between me and Lottie.

Do I find her attractive? I’d be blind not to. She’s fucking beautiful, but I can look past that.

And did she look fine as hell in her form-fitting dress today? Yeah, she really fucking did, but once again, I can look past that because I’m a professional and I know how to separate attraction and business.

A knock on my window startles me. Breaker is standing right outside my car. I roll down the window and say, “I don’t fucking like her, okay?”

Breaker smiles and leans down so his arms rest on my door. “I wasn’t going to say anything about that, but your defensive tone isn’t making a solid case.” I’m about to roll up the window when he stops me and adds, “Make sure Karla makes that appointment. I feel really fucking bad about skipping out on their presentation. We don’t do shit like that.”

“I know.”

“And make sure Lottie knows it. Explain to her what happened.”

“She doesn’t need to know.”

Breaker nods. “She does. She needs to be able to trust you, Hux. If this is going to work, both of you are going to have to drop the hate and learn to work with each other more harmoniously. If you can’t, sooner or later Dave is going to see right through it and you’re going to lose everything you worked toward. And I know that’s the last thing you want.”

I think back to the conference room and say, “She did give off the wrong energy, even when she was attempting to be the doting fiancée.”

Breaker nods again. “You’ve got to let up, man. I know you like to keep personal and business separate, but I think this is a time when you can’t do that. You have to show her you’re human, or else it’s never going to work.”

And that’s what I’m afraid of—showing her who I really am—because even though I’ll deny my interest in her, I know a part of me, deep down inside, knows if I got to know her, if she got to know me, there might be something there.

Mixing personal with business is a huge risk. Lines get blurred, promises get lost, and it never works out, ever. It’s why I need to keep my distance, why we both need to keep our distance.

“I’ll give it some thought,” I say, even though I know I won’t.

All it took was one meal with Lottie, one meal at Chipotle, and I knew she was different. I knew she could be trouble. She’s unlike any woman I’ve ever met. Filter free, she says what’s on her mind, she shows no remorse toward her messiness, she’s outgoing and up for anything, and there’s no holding back with her. It’s why I need to remain stoic, why I need to continue to keep space between us; if I don’t, I know I’ll be wrecked in the end.

Lottie could wreck me. But there’s no way in hell I’m telling my brother that. He’s far too insightful, damn him.

“Will Miss Lottie be joining you?” Reign asks.

I nod. “Yes, she’s just finishing up on something.” I glance down at the homemade pizza and say, “This looks amazing.”

“Thank you. I also made some dark chocolate raspberry mousse for dessert. I’ll bring it out when you tell me you’re ready. Until then, it’s chilling in the fridge.”

“Thank you, Reign.” He takes off, and I reach for my phone. I texted Lottie five minutes ago, letting her know dinner was ready. I haven’t seen her since I’ve been home. From what I could tell, she came home and went straight to her room, where she’s been hiding out ever since. There’s no doubt the last thing she wants to do is eat dinner with me, especially after everything that happened today, but she needs to eat.

I’m about to stand from my chair and get her myself when she descends the stairs. She’s wearing one of the silk robes I had purchased for her. This one matches her eyes, a deep jade green. As she takes the last few steps down, I watch the slit of the robe ride up her tanned bare leg. My eyes travel to her waist, where the tie is cinched tightly, accentuating her petite frame, and then my eyes land on her breasts, which gently sway as she makes it to the main level.

There’s no mistake—she’s not wearing anything under that robe.

When her eyes meet mine, she says, “I was taking a bath when you texted.” Her voice is monotone, devoid of any life. Her eyes are sullen, and even though she looks tempting in that robe, she isn’t strutting with confidence like she normally does.

Breaker’s words come back to hit me hard in the chest.

You have to show her you’re human, or else it’s never going to work.

Lottie pulls out her chair and takes a seat. She doesn’t acknowledge the place setting, me, or even the food. Instead, she unfolds her napkin, sets it on her lap, and then picks up her fork and knife and cuts a small piece of pizza. I watch as her lips form an O shape and she blows on the steaming pizza.

There’s no humor, no anger, just . . . nothing . . . to her personality. It’s almost as if the bath she just took washed away any remnants of the Lottie I’ve come to know over the past few days.

The spice is gone.

The hatred is gone.

The arguing is nowhere to be seen.

She’s hollow.

Did I do that to her?

And even though she’s grated on my nerves for what’s felt like every goddamn second she’s been around, I’d take that over this Lottie any day.

I think today broke her, and that doesn’t settle well with me. I may be a ruthless bastard at times, but this . . . this doesn’t feel right.

The rules I’ve set firmly in place when it comes to business waver as I feel an inherent need to tell her what happened today, to bring back some of the life that’s vanished from her eyes. “It was an important phone call I needed to take.” My eyes fall to her, looking for any sort of reaction.

“I’m sure,” she says quietly, but her tone has an edge to it, as if she doesn’t believe me.