Page 24 of Her Dirty Secret
I go up on my toes to greet him with a kiss. “I was just asking,” I reply nonchalantly, pressing my mouth to his. I slip my arms around him and sink into him, hoping to put him in as good a mood as possible.
“Mmm,” he murmurs. “I missed you today.” His hands slip over my backside, pulling me into him tightly. “Want to join me in the shower?”
I press my hands against his chest. “Maybe later,” I reply. “But first I need to talk to you about something.”
He draws his head back, giving me a suspicious look. It’s the first time in recent memory I’ve passed up the chance to get him naked. “Everything okay?”
I roll my lips through my teeth. “It’s about Emily.”
“Okay, what about her?”
I step out of his embrace, tugging him by the hand into the living room. Once we’re settled on the couch with one of my legs crooked in his lap, holding his hand in mine, I look up at him and take a deep breath. “I think I know why she won’t talk to us. But I need you to promise not to freak out if I tell you.”
Bryce laughs and undoes the top two buttons of his shirt, then leans back into the couch while stroking my leg. “This is about the Italian.”
My mouth drops open. And I realize I was an idiot to think he wouldn’t already know everything. He always knows everything. After all, that’s kind of what he does for a living. The sight of me gaping like a fish makes him laugh harder.
“Seriously, babe,” he says, then hooks his thumbs back, pointing at himself. “Security consultant.”
I shake my head. “But why didn’t you tell me you knew? When did you know?”
He shrugs, giving me a small smile. “You have zero poker face, Sera. When I made that joke about killing someone this weekend, it was written all over your face. It took me about two minutes to figure out where she was on her little trip and who she must’ve been there with.”
Fuck. I forget sometimes exactly how damn observant he is.
“So why aren’t you more upset about this?” I press. “You hate the guy.”
Bryce shrugs. “I don’t hate him,” he starts, but is stopped short as I fold my arms over my chest and give him the most skeptical look I’ve got. “Okay, fine, I’m not his biggest fan. But I’ve long since learned to stay out of Em’s business. And I know it was probably just some impulsive thing she did anyway. She doesn’t do relationships. No sense freaking out over something that’s not going anywhere.”
“What do you mean, she doesn’t ‘do’ relationships?” I demand. Suddenly, I’m angry on Alessandro’s behalf.
Bryce pulls a reticent face. “She has her reasons.”
“Ones that make it okay to toy with people’s emotions?” I demand.
His eyebrows jump. “The Italian has emotions? There’s a newsflash.”
“Bryce,” I say, a warning in my voice.
He puts his hands up. “Okay, okay, I didn’t realize he actually cared about her.” He pauses. “Does he actually care about her?”
I take a deep breath. “Yes,” I reply softly. “I’ve never seen him like this. I think he really loves her.”
“Wow. Didn’t see that coming.” He looks pensive about it.
“Does that change the way you feel about them?”
“I don’t know,” he admits. “I’d already written it off. But regardless of how he feels, he’s got a mountain to climb to even get her to listen.”
“You’re the first hill,” I point out.
“Me?” he asks in surprise.
“Yes, you, you big scary dork,” I snap. “She told him she couldn’t really date him because she didn’t want to upset you.”
“Pfff,” Bryce scoffs. “Please. Em does what she wants. That’s a total bullshit play.”
“She may be your sister, baby, but I know a woman trying not to fall for Alessandro when I see one. I was that woman once,” I remind him.