“You’ve known me long enough to know I’m both objective and fair. And if you can’t give me a satisfactory answer, then…you have to ask my brother out on a date.”
“You’re insane.”
“What’s the matter?” Meg taunted. “Afraid you’re going to lose?”
A low snorting sound bubbled up. “No.”
“Then agree to the bet.”
“Fine.” Ro blew out a frustrated breath. “What’s the question?”
Pausing dramatically, Megan gave her an assessing once-over, as if to study her choice of fashion. When the sly woman asked her final question, Ro understood why.
“If you’re so certain you and Brody are doomed from the start…if you’re so afraid of taking that leap and seeing if there’s something real between you two…then why, after spending a week under the same roof as the man, did you change your mind and rush-order a sexy as hell dress…in my brother’s favorite color?”
9
Fucking gorgeous.
Brody stood next to Ro, unable to take his eyes off her as she spoke with two of Clayton Yorke’s elite guests. Truth be told, he’d been struggling to look at anything else all night.
Hair down, the thick, dark waves fell in a silken waterfall over one of her bare shoulders. Unlike so many of the other women in attendance tonight, Ro had kept her makeup simple and light.
The less-is-more look gave her an air of casual elegance that shined in the sea of false lashes and artificially filled lips. But that dress…
If blue wasn’t already my favorite color, it sure as hell would be now.
The tight, fitted off-the-shoulder dress showcased Ro’s delicate neckline, teasing him with just a hint of cleavage that made him wish for more. Soft and stretchy, the gathered material hugged the woman’s curves in a way that made him jealous of the damn thing.
Even her damn collar bones made his fingers itch with the urge to touch.
She takes my breath away.
It wasn’t an exaggeration or some dramatic declaration. When he’d first caught sight of her back at the house, Brody hadliterallylost the ability to breath.
He’d been standing in her living room, talking to Christian about the logistics of tonight and last-minute adds to the guest list when he’d lost his own words mid-sentence. Ro had come down those stairs looking like his deepest, most desired fantasy come to life, and everything had just…stopped.
She’d looked at him. He’d stared back at her. And for that brief, unexplainable moment in time, it was as if they’d been the only two people in the room.
But then, Meg had joined them seconds later, saying something to her fiancé as she walked, and the unexpected spell had been broken.
Even now, after having been glued to Ro’s hip for the past hour-plus, while she perused the crowd at Yorke’s ridiculously extravagant party, Brody had to force his lungs to pull in a breath every time he glanced her way.
It didn’t matter that she’d been quieter than normal on the ride here, or that he’d spent the last week vowing to keep her at arm’s length and in the friend zone. Nor did Brody care about the trove of Chicago’s most eligible single females—all clad in barely-there dresses and heels that defied all sense of logic—currently making their rounds through the crowd of plastic and money.
Whether in passing or from clear across the room, the brazen, lingering looks and come-hither smiles he’d received did nothing for him. He looked at those other women and felt…nothing.
No spark of attraction. No desire.
Nothing.
Tall or short. Blonde or…blonder…it didn’t matter. There was only one woman who’d caught Brody’s eye tonight, and she was standing right beside him.
“Here’s my card.” Ro held out the small square of colorful cardstock to the couple who’d shown interest in hiring her to redesign their charity’s website. “My socials are on the back, and there’s also a QR code to my website. From there, you can see my digital portfolio which shows samples of work I’ve done for others, including Mr. Yorke.”
The smile she flashed the well-dressed husband and wife duo wasn’t at all like the ones he’d seen her throw Yorke’s way when they’d first arrived. This one was real, and it was all Ro.
Wide and genuine, seeing it warmed his heart in ways he didn’t understand. The most beautiful smile he’d ever seen, he decided. And Brody couldn’t help but wonder how he’d never noticed it before now.