Page 27 of Her Brother's Billionaire Best Friend

“It seems to me like you want to run away from your responsibilities,” I said.

“My responsibilities?” said Laura. “You’re not my responsibility.”

“It takes two people to go to bed together, Laura. You did it too. And now you’re acting like it’s something I can forget about. I don’t want to forget.”

“Well, what about what I want? I want to keep my job, Lucien.”

“How is this going to affect your job?”

“You don’t need me to tell you how awkward it’s going to be.”

“Doesn’t have to be. Not if you just—”

“Forget? You’re the one who wants to forget about it, who wants to run away. Not me.”

I hadn’t meant to say that. And the truth was that it didn’t even apply to our situation. I wasn’t talking about forgetting the night with Laura in Vancouver, or our trip to the Cascades. Or that I had feelings for her once again, and this time not feelings of hate but of a deep attraction that had lifted me out of the darkness. I was talking about the day she’d run out on our wedding, and I could see that she knew that, as she drew back and stood up, her eyes showing pain.

The only problem was that she had no idea that the man she’d forgotten about was standing before her.

“You have no idea how hurtful that is to say,” she said.

“I guess you’ll forget about it eventually,” I sneered. “If you want to keep working here, keep working. It’s not like I care.”

Laura said nothing, but I could see her lip trembling, and for a terrible moment, I thought she was going to cry. But before I could find it in me to say something comforting, she turned and walked out of the office. Only this time, she closed the door behind her. It slammed shut, and I stood there in my office. Thinking about how close I’d been to telling her who I really was.

Chapter 9

Laura

I’d felt so guilty as I went into Lucien’s office that morning. I knew he’d be disappointed, even angry. I knew I was going back on everything that I’d said before. But I’d convinced myself that Lucien was a kind man with a good heart, who could be persuaded to see reason.

But now I realized he was an arrogant jerk who thought he could hurt me as he pleased. The thing about me running away had especially hurt my feelings. Of course Lucien had no idea, but the reason his comment had struck me so deeply was because he was right. I had run away from Conor. And now I’d run away from him too, in a way.

But there was something that a man like Lucien was never going to understand. That the reason I’d run away was for the sake of Kyle.

When I’d got back into the house on Tuesday night, Kyle was sitting mournfully at the table.

“How was school, bud?” I asked him, as I poured myself a cup of tea from the kettle and sat down. Trying to take my mind off Lucien.

“It sucks,” he told me.

“Kyle,” I told him. “You’ve only been there for two days.”

“I’ve been there enough to know that it sucks,” he said. “I miss my old school. Can’t we go back, Mom?”

For a moment, I wished I could say yes. That I could avoid my brother’s looks in the hallway, avoid the whole situation with Lucien. I’d been in a fantasy-world in Vancouver, where there were no consequences to our actions. Our one-night stand didn’t have to mean anything because no one was going to get hurt. But if I got too close to Lucien and Kyle found out, then I’d never have forgiven myself.

Besides, I didn’t have the heart to tell Kyle that even if we did go back, no newspaper within two hundred miles of San Francisco was going to hire me. Was I going to start from scratch again? Work in the mailroom? I’d fought for more than that to give my son a better life.

But when I saw Kyle standing on the driveway of my house, I knew it wasn’t like the old days. It didn’t matter that I liked Lucien, that I thought there was some good in him. It didn’t matter that he was gorgeous and charming and even funny. I had other responsibilities, and I had to make that clear.

But after I left his office that morning, I wasn’t exactly feeling as charitable. In fact, I began to think that Lucien was pathetic. He might be strong, talented and charming, but he was also immature. After all, what did he expect? That we’d start a relationship together after a fling that had lasted two days? Did he think I was going to walk into his office and ask him on a date?

The rest of the day was unbearable. It made me angry even thinking about him. Only, it was my job to obsess about things.

I got home from Lakeview that day in a dark mood. So did Kyle—the school bus dropped him off a few minutes after me, and he slung his rucksack into the corner of the room.

“Pick that up and unpack it properly, please,” I said. I was stunned—I’d never seen Kyle treat his things with so little respect. That wasn’t the way I’d raised him. As a single mother alone in San Francisco, I’d had to look after every single thing I bought. I was a master of budgeting, repairing my clothes, and taking care of my apartment. And I’d taught Kyle to be grateful for what he had.