Sweet in Love Read Online Free Page A

to sleep with Pete. He was too gorgeous for her own good, and she’d been wondering what it would be like if she just forgot about her relationship with Amandine and went for it.
    The wine was slightly sweet and fruity, with an undertone of oak, and would go well with the sea bream she’d ordered. So this was what rich people drank. It was nothing like the cheap supermarket vintages she usually kept in her apartment. She sighed with appreciation as the alcohol loosened the tension in her gut. “You know, I’ve been meaning to talk about what you said at Wong Lotus.”
    “By all means.”
    “If we
were
to date, can we keep it…you know, quiet?”
    “Quiet? You mean secret?”
    “Well…yes. It’ll be awkward if, you know, things don’t work out.”
If I break it off
.
Or you decide to get out
.
    “I’m still friendly with most of my exes.”
    “Not me. I don’t do well with exes.”
They usually end up being annoying
,
and I have to get rid of them by becoming a bitch nobody could live with
.
    He shrugged. “I’m not any of your exes. We’ve known each other for a long time, and we have a lot of mutual friends and history.”
    “That’s precisely what I’m worried about.”
    “Brooke, this isn’t high school. We’re too old to sneak around.”
    She flushed. He was making her sound like the immature one.
    “Besides,” he continued, “even if I agreed with you—which I don’t—it wouldn’t be possible. I already told Gavin.”
    “You did
what?
”
    “You heard me.”
    “Why?”
    He shrugged again. “It came up.”
    “I work for his wife.”
    “So? It’s a free country. You can date whoever you want.” He paused and leaned forward in a confidential manner. “Unless, of course…”
    “What?”
    “…there’s a clause in your employment contract that says you can’t date your boss’s brother.”
    Brooke gave an exasperated sigh. “For your information, I don’t have an employment contract at all. Amandine and I trust each other, see? Which is what makes this worse.”
    “You think Amandine really cares if you’re dating me?”
    “She might.” Amandine knew Brooke didn’t date long-term. She also knew Brooke wasn’t the type who dreamed about settling down, buying a big house with a white picket fence and having kids. And she’d totally want those things for her baby brother.
    “Brooke. She’s my sister, not my mother.”
    “She’ll worry about you.” Amandine believed in love and commitment, not casual affairs.
    He laughed. “I think you’re confusing my present adult life with high school. The fact is, she’s more likely to be worried about
you
once she knows we’re dating.”
    “Why?”
    “Because…” Pete leaned forward again, but this time his dark eyes were intent and completely devoid of levity. “I want you in the most carnal way possible.”
    Wow. Brooke’s breath caught, and her chest and neck grew hot. The interior of the restaurant was fairly dark, but could Pete notice anyway?
    She wanted him in exactly the same way. That was the biggest reason she’d avoided him. He was Amandine’s baby brother, for heaven’s sake! Did she want to make things awkward and complicated, even jeopardize her relationship with Amandine and Gavin?
    On the other hand, maybe she and Pete hadn’t been able to let go because they hadn’t finished what they’d started eight years ago. There was a need for closure, and it was more or less universal. That was why cliffhangers were always resolved, why people gritted their teeth and slogged all the way to the last page of books they weren’t enjoying, why quitters were reviled by society.
    So of course she and Pete felt the need to finish what they’d started, even at the most basic level. But once they had their orgasms, they’d be able to tie a little bow around the incident and move on.
    So
,
a one-night stand with your best friend’s younger brother?
    Sure. Why not? He wasn’t a minor anymore. It wouldn’t be a