Page 39 of The Fiancé Hoax

I reached for her, stroking her upper arm. “Then what's the problem?”

“We broke our first rule. It’s my fault, really. I shouldn’t have poured us that wine.” She grabbed her bra off the floor and put it on quickly. “I don't want things to get complicated, you know?”

“Oh.” I took my hand away. “Yeah. You're probably right.”

She put on those sexy little pink panties and glanced at me. “We’re business partners now. I worry that things could get messy if we... keep doing this.”

I watched as she pulled on her jeans and her top. A lump was growing in my throat. I swallowed it down.

I rose to my feet and put my boxers on.

“Yeah, I guess I got carried away.”

“We both did.” She gave a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

I nodded. “It was a mistake under the circumstances. We should just forget about it.”

She stood there motionless for a long moment. She watched in silence as I pulled my jeans and shirt on.

Finally, she looked away. With a shrug, she said, “It’s just attraction and proximity. Now that we have it out of our system, we'll be fine.”

“Absolutely.”

She glanced at me. “Well, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Felicity.”

She left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. I waited to hear the sound of her bedroom door opening and closing.

With a groan, I fell back on the bed.

Why did I have to make those stupid rules?

But deep down, I knew she was right.

There were so many reasons Felicity and I would never work out. She was sixteen years younger. She was my business associate. Marsh would find out sooner or later that I was investing in her business, and that she was helping me with the custody case. That would be enough to infuriate him already.

But if he found out I was sleeping with her? Not only would I lose my business attorney, but I would lose the only guy who gave a damn when I was going through the worst nightmare of my life.

Most of all, I had my daughters to consider.

Eva and Lily came first. Always.

This was already going to be difficult for them. They were already getting attached to her. And it would be hard for them to say goodbye in three months.

But if Felicity and I started getting closer to each other, it would make things worse for my daughters when she left.

If they saw Felicity and me growing closer, it would only hurt them. If they saw us flirting at breakfast or cuddling on the couch, they would become more hopeful that she would remain a permanent fixture in the house.

And Felicity and I both knew that wasn't going to happen.

Felicity had her whole life ahead of her. She didn't want to be saddled with a broken guy almost twenty years her senior with two kids.

Felicity was right. We had to keep our distance from each other.

I could handle heartache. I was used to it.

But I didn't want my daughters to lose any more than they already had.