“Sorry, bro. I didn’t mean to leave you out of the loop.”
“So you’re finally delegating, huh? What’s the deal, Bray?”
“And you’re opposed to this why?”
“I didn’t say I was opposed. Hell, I’m the one who’s been after you for years to quit micromanaging everything. But there’s got to be a reason.”
“Not nec
essarily.”
“Give me a break. For you to do a full one-eighty like this, there’s a reason, and I’m guessing she’s got one hell of a magic pussy.”
Anger slides along the back of my neck. My brother’s not saying anything off-brand, but it irks me that he’s right.
But it’s not Skye’s pussy—though she has a pretty spectacular one. It’s not her sexy lips or her great rack. It’s not her gorgeous brown eyes. It’s not her talent or her intelligence. It’s not anything specific about her.
It’s more about me and my reaction to her. My feelings for her—how she’s crawled under my skin, challenging my body and my mind.
“It’s Addison Ames’s assistant, isn’t it?” Ben says.
“She has a name,” I say. “It’s Skye.”
“Interesting that you’re not denying it.”
Why bother? My brother knows me as well as anyone. No one knows the real Braden Black. I’m not even sure I do sometimes. But Ben knows me pretty well. We’ve been brothers for thirty-three years, and he was with me the night the whole Addison Ames thing started.
“No,” I say succinctly. “I’m not denying it.”
“Then you should know I had dinner with Apple tonight.”
“For fuck’s sake. Didn’t you just fuck her a few days ago?”
“Dinner, Bray. We had dinner tonight. We didn’t fuck. The only reason I bring it up is because she ran off at the mouth about you and Addie’s assistant—”
“Skye,” I say. “Her name is Skye.”
“Christ, okay. Skye. Anyway, apparently Addie’s really freaked out now. Thinks Skye’s after her job or something.”
“That’s not true.”
“Are you sure? How well do you know this woman, Braden?”
Not as well as I’d like to.
Damn.
“Well enough,” I say. “She wants to be a photographer. What do you see in Apple anyway? That black hair of hers is freaky.”
“What can I say?” Ben laughs. “She’s hot. And she’s a good person. She’s not her sister.”
No, she’s not. I need to remember that. Back when all the shit was going down between Addie and me, Ben and Apple were on my side.
“Look,” Ben says. “I think it’s great if you’ve found someone you care about. Really. And if she’s the reason you’re taking a step back and doing some delegating that’s long overdue, I’m all for it. There’s just one thing that concerns me.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“You barely know her.”