The Bachelor Contract(8)

“Miss?” the guy grunted.

“Sorry.” She shook her head and rubbed the oil down, massaging it into his skin.

There was something very wrong with the fact that for years she’d been able to exhume him from her daily thoughts—he was her past, not her future.

Maybe it was the hours. The stress. The rejection.

A man who didn’t even care that she existed was prying his way into her only safe place—her job.

And instead of leave her wanting or sad, it pissed her off.

She dug her fingers, massaged, kneaded, and the more she thought about the power Brant had over her, the deeper she dug, until a bead of sweat ran down her temple.

Done.

She was done.

Brant Wellington could go to hell for all she cared.





Chapter Four





The familiar burn of whiskey trailed down Brant’s parched throat as he stared out the window. Rain slammed the glass and blurred his reflection, making it look as if tears were staining his face.

But his cheeks were dry. Just like his throat.

He learned four years ago that crying didn’t fix things. It didn’t change the fact that he’d walked away. It didn’t make the dead live again.

It was easier to hold on to anger and ignore the sadness.

He sucked in a breath and dropped the empty glass on the floor; it shattered around his bare feet. Reminding him of that night. The night his life had been changed forever.

“Sorry I’m late, baby.” Brant had been watching the sexy brunette for the last hour—it was bordering on creepy, so he needed to make his move. The only problem? He wasn’t sure what to say other than hi.

Hi?

Did that work on a woman so attractive that the minute he set eyes on her his entire world had tilted?

He’d watched her turn down the last five guys without as much as blinking. What made him any different? Sure, he was good-looking, and eventually he’d be rich thanks to his trust fund—but right now he didn’t have anything more to offer her than any of the other sad, pathetic guys who’d tried to stake a claim; in fact he probably had less. He’d been working his ass off just to get through his junior year, and at this rate he was so stressed that most of the time he didn’t even sleep.

He had dark circles under his eyes to prove it.

When he was stressed, he couldn’t sleep—even medicating himself didn’t work.

Yeah, he was a real winner.

“Um, hey.” The gorgeous woman’s face broke out into a smile before she glared at the guy currently hitting on her and said, “As you can see, my boyfriend’s here.”

“Right.” The guy sized Brant up and must have decided she wasn’t worth it, because he walked away.

“First things first.” Brant turned back around to face the woman. “If a guy isn’t willing to punch another guy in order to have a conversation with you—he’s an idiot.”

“And you aren’t?”

Brant grinned. “Of course not, because I was completely ready to break his nose—just so I could say hi.”

Her eyes lit up. “That’s a good line. Does it work often?”

“You know, this is the first test run I’ve done with it, so I’ll have to give you my conclusive results later.” He winked.

“So you’re saying there’s going to be a later?”

“Oh, absolutely.” Brant pulled out a stool. “I’m actually from the future, so I know everything that’s going to happen from here on out.”

“Fine.” She crossed her arms. “I’m game. Hit me with it.”

Brant waved over the bartender, took one look at her, and guessed. “Beer?”

“IPA.”

“Done.” He pulled a bar stool toward her and sat. “We don’t go home together.”

He must have shocked her, because she jerked back from him and frowned. “We don’t?”

“No. Because I don’t just let any woman take advantage of me on the first date.” He grinned at her stunning smile. “But we do exchange numbers, I send you some flirty texts, and you respond with a terrifying amount of smiley faces.”

She laughed harder.

“And we go on a date. It’s horrible, because even though I’m from a very wealthy family, my grandfather thinks its comical to only give me enough money to eat fast food and fill my gas tank.” He sighed. “So I buy you a hot dog.”

“And I like this hot dog?”

“Nope.” Brant sighed. “You choke on it. I save your life, and you thank me by giving me a kiss.”

“And this is after I’m done choking up food?”

“You brush your teeth. I offer floss, silly details, can I go on?”