Page 39 of Worth the Fall

“You don’t have to know someone to like them,” he countered.

“That’s not true,” Patrick added as he finished off his own beer.

Jesus. The two of them drank like they were in a frat house.

“Fine. You don’t have to know someone to be attracted to them,” Matthew clarified with a shit-eating grin.

“I’m not attracted to her,” I lied.

Of course I was attracted to the woman. She was sexy and mouthy, and I had a pulse. Her attitude got me going, but telling my brothers that would only lead to more questions. Which would eventually turn into a lecture on how I was allowed to be happy and move on and date someone else.

I already knew all of those things already.

Being a single dad hadn’t given me a lot of free time for myself outside of work, and I was okay with that. I’d never been on a dating app, no matter how many times Matthew pushed. I’d always felt like if I was supposed to meet someone special, it would happen naturally. So far, it hadn’t, and I was okay with that.

“Do you think she’s hot?” Patrick asked as he poured himself another.

I didn’t answer, and the two of them started cracking up like I’d said the funniest thing ever when I hadn’t even said a single damn word.

“Guess I was wrong.” Matthew finished off his second beer. “You won’t mind if I ask her out then.”

“I’d mind,” I snapped.

“Because you want her all for yourself?” Matthew pushed.

“I already told you.” I sucked in a breath. “She’s an employee of the resort. We don’t date employees.”

“I’ve never heard that rule before,” Patrick said with a slight grin as he tapped his bottom lip with his finger. “I wonder if Mr. and Mrs. Gonzales know about that rule.”

Mr. Gonzales worked at the concierge, while Mrs. Gonzales worked at the front desk. They had met and fallen in love at Sugar Mountain Resort over twenty years ago. They’d even gotten married on the property. Of course, there was no rule about dating coworkers. And if one half of the couple was in a higher position than the other, they simply needed to sign a form that acknowledged the relationship was consensual.

Our lawyers had insisted it protected us.

“It’s going to break their hearts when we tell them they have to get a divorce,” Patrick added while Matthew laughed.

“Listen, assholes, I’ve just instilled it, okay? It’s a new fucking rule. Hands off Brooklyn.”

“Or what?”

That was Matthew again.

Pushing.

Always fucking pushing.

“Clara!” I shouted through my frustration. “Time to go!”

I walked outside to wait for my daughter while both of my brothers giggled like a couple of schoolgirls behind me. I didn’t have the energy to put whatever the hell I was feeling into words and serve it up to them on a platter that they could easily digest.

I was definitely attracted to Brooklyn, but so what? I wasn’t sure what it meant, if it even meant anything at all. I did know that it wasn’t entirely appropriate for me to have feelings for an employee. Being one of the owners of the resort meant that I needed to follow a stricter set of rules. Be better than the rest. So, daydreaming about fucking Brooklyn until she screamed my name was not being better than anyone.

But it still felt really damn good. And I hadn’t felt this good in years.