She peeled her tank top off over her head, careful to avoid messing up her freshly done hair or makeup. Then she took off her jeans as well. “Actually, I need you to help me pick out which dress to wear to the ball tonight.”
He eyed her up and down, his eyes positively wolfish with lust. “Oh, I can definitely help with that.”
She laughed and unhooked her bra, then laughed again when he drew in a sharp breath. What was with him? He was acting like he’d never seen her or her breasts before. Maybe, she thought with a fleeting sadness, it was because he knew this would be the last night they’d have together.
As the sadness of her impending departure washed over her, she wondered, not for the first time, if she should just give in and sign his stupid pre-nup. She honestly couldn’t imagine spending the rest of her life with anyone else, and if her signing a document meant they could be together, maybe she should just do it, even if his distrust of her didn’t exactly bode well for a healthy and lasting relationship—
Her thoughts were interrupted when Nathan crossed the space between them, gathered her into his arms, and crushed her mouth to his.
***
“Hello, this is Layla. Please leave a message, and I’ll call you back as soon as possible.”
Nathan listened to Layla’s message, which she of course delivered in a sincerely apologetic tone, for the sixth time in less than sixty minutes. “Layla, this is Nathan. Call me back as soon as you get this.”
She still wasn’t answering her phone, and his earlier fear was beginning to morph into true dread, so he checked in with Kate again.
Kate’s search hadn’t gone any better. “I called Jacob, and he said she’d already left. But he also said something about her still needing to pick out an evening gown. So I called just about every department store in the city, but that didn’t turn up anything. So I called Spencer Greeley to see if he could trace the credit card I gave her to buy the dress. I knew I should have just picked one out for her,” she fretted. “But she said she wanted to choose her own dress this time. Mr. Greeley said he’d see what he could do, but he was already working on another project for you due in the morning.”
“I’m near my loft. I’m going to check to see if maybe she’s there and just not answering her phone for some reason,” Nathan said. “I’ll call you back if she isn’t, and you can tell Greeley to make the credit card his first priority.”
A few minutes after hanging up with Kate, he was relieved when he pulled up to his building and saw the red Mini he’d bought Layla parked curbside. There was a small lot around back, but Layla claimed to prefer street parking in front because it was less fuss. When it came to everything outside of him, Layla always chose the less fuss option.
He took a leaf from her book, though, and parked his Maserati behind her car. His heart eased off the adrenaline as he entered the building and got into the elevator. But he couldn’t quite allow himself to feel relief, not until he saw her with his own eyes.
However, when he opened the elevator doors, he did see her with his own eyes. And she was standing naked accept for a pair of panties, kissing his brother.
***
The kiss with Nathan was very nice, a little too nice. Alarm bells flared in the back of Layla’s head. The kiss seemed familiar, like she’d experienced it before, but at the same time, it didn’t feel quite right.
He smelled differently. Like simple soap and water as opposed to his usual expensive cologne. And though the kiss had started out with great passion, his lips were now gentle above hers, as if he’d be happy to just stand there kissing her for hours on end. And though she could feel his hard-on, none of Nathan’s usual driving need seemed to be present. She couldn’t remember him ever just kissing her like this, without touching her breasts or complaining about how crazy she drove him while seeking entry into her womanhood.
A nauseous feeling rose in her stomach. This man was a very good kisser, she realized. But he was not Nathan.
She put her hands on his chest and pulled back from him, effectively breaking off the kiss. For a moment their eyes locked, hers confused, his glittering with some unnamed emotion. And then it hit her. She had finally found the man she’d been searching for since June. But she hadn’t even recognized him as Andrew Sinclair until this very moment.
That’s when she felt another presence in the space. They both looked up to find Nathan standing in the open doorway, his face a work of stone-cold anger.
“Nathan,” she said. And the most eerie feeling of déjà vu overtook her.
She started to explain, but Nathan crossed the room in a lightning flash. And before she could stop him, he pulled Andrew away from her and punched him dead in the face.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“NATHAN, NO!” he heard Layla yell behind him.
Ten years ago, he had turned tail and run when he encountered a less-naked version of this exact scene, but this time he grabbed Andrew and punched him. He had been afraid of Andrew swooping in to steal Layla away from him before, but now he only knew determination. Layla was his woman, and he’d be damned if he let his brother steal her back twice.
He swung at Andrew again. The second punch also hit its mark, and it sent his brother toppling to the floor.
“Stop it,” Layla said again. Out of the corner of one eye, he could see her putting back on her tank top.
Nathan ignored her, keeping his fists at the ready, while he waited for Andrew to get back on his feet, so he could hit him again. But Layla grabbed one of his punching arms, pulling it down with both of her hands and all of her might.
“Stop it,” she said. “It’s not what you think. I thought I was kissing you.”
“What?” Nathan asked. The thought of his brother pretending to be him in order to kiss Layla sent another storm of rage through his entire system. “So you didn’t—”
Andrew chose that moment to jump to his feet and blindside Nathan with a punch of his own. Nathan felt his lip split as his head whipped to the side with the impact of his brother’s fist. He brought a hand up to his bloody lip and decided this time he was going to beat his brother within an inch of his life.
But before he could make a move on Andrew, Layla was in front of him, pushing his brother away from him and saying, “Don’t you dare hit him again. You stop this right now.”
“He started it,” Andrew yelled.
“Yes, because you tricked me into kissing you, which you had no right to do,” she said. “Now back off.”