by Cathryn Fox
Ah, the words of the guilty. Kat shook her head, every old insecurity she had rushing back to the surface. How could he do this? She thought he was different. Thought there was more to him. Cripes, he couldn’t even do a two-week exclusive like he asked her for.
I am such an idiot.
She squared her shoulders and tried not to let him see how affected she was. “Looks like I caught you at a bad time.”
“She broke up with Peter,” Sebastian blurted out. “Wait. Shit.” He fisted his hair. “That’s not what I’m trying to say.”
She worked to stay calm, she really did, but tears pooled in her eyes, her heart so shattered she was sure she could never put it back together again. “Well, at least you’re not a total asshole sleeping with another man’s fiancé. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things I need to do.” Like grabbing a bottle of wine, calling Emery, and crying her heart out as she drank the entire contents in one sitting.
“I’m not…we’re not.” He stepped toward her and she stepped back, out of his reach.
His hands fell to his sides. “Kat, please.”
“Sebastian,” Zoe said. “She wants to leave, let her go. We were in the middle of something.”
“Zoe, stay out of this,” he said, the warning in his voice putting a pout on Zoe’s face. “Kat, we need to talk.”
“Nothing to talk about,” she said, hiking her purse high on her shoulder and turning on her heel. Not wanting him to see just how hurt she was, she kept her head high and forced her legs to work. She just prayed he didn’t see the way her hands were shaking.
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A week had passed since she found Sebastian and Zoe in his office, doing God knows what. Some small part of her wished he’d come after her, to tell her it was all a mistake and confess his undying love. But he didn’t, and that only hurt more. How could she ever have thought he was her Prince Charming, or that Price Charming actually existed? In the end, she was glad she found out what kind of a man he really was before she spilled her heart out to him. Here she’d thought he checked all the boxes. She was wrong. Loyal, he was not. He’d asked for two weeks’ exclusivity and couldn’t even keep to that.
With her computer poised on her lap, she flicked on her television for background noise while she went over some work files. Tacklers season opener was on at the Miami’s stadium. She flicked it off, not wanting anything more to do with football, or those associated with the team. She buried herself in her work, and when her doorbell rang, she nearly jumped out of her seat.
She put her laptop on her coffee table and padded to her door. She wasn’t expecting company and was dressed in her sweats. She peaked through the hole, and when she saw Sebastian standing there, her heart went into her throat.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“We need to talk.”
I have nothing to say to you, Sebastian.”
“Fine, I’ll do the talking.”
“She gestured toward the TV. Tonight is the season opener. Aren’t you going to get fired for not being there?”
“Probably, but what I have to say is more important.” She folded her arms and glared at the door. “Kat, open up. I’m not leaving until you hear what I have to say.”
“Sebastian—”
“I have a key. I don’t want to use it, but will if I have to. I’ll also tie you to your bed if I have to, but I’m not leaving here until you hear me out.”
“Fine.” She opened her door, and the second he entered her apartment, everything she felt for him washed over her in a flood. Her heart crashed against her chest, and her legs went weak. Her gaze settled on his face, and when she saw his bruised eye, she gasped. She reached out to touch it, but he captured her hand. “What happened?” she asked.
Instead of answering, he said, “Do you have any idea why I slept around all these years?”
She pulled her hand back. “Because you’re a jerk.”
“Kat, Jesus. I’m crazy about you. I’ve been in love with you since your sweet sixteenth. I couldn’t do anything about it. Danny was my best friend, and you were…well, you were Kitty Kat. So I buried my feelings in other women, needing to get my mind off you.”
“Oh,” she said for lack of anything else. “Just like you were burying your,” she stopped to do air quotes “‘feelings’—in Zoe last week.”
“Fuck no. She showed up at my office. I was as surprised as you were. Nothing happened. Nothing could happen.”
“Couldn’t get it up, huh?” she shot back.
“Never even tried. Never wanted to. It couldn’t happen because the second I took you in my arms that night at the house, the second I tasted you, I lost my appetite for any other woman.”
Her heart stopped beating. “Sebastian,” she breathed out, her legs a little unstable. God, was he saying what she thought he was saying?
“I asked for two weeks thinking we could get this out of our system. But it wasn’t enough. It will never be enough. ”
Hope flared inside her, but she was too afraid to give in to it. “What are you saying, Sebastian?”
“I wanted to come to you right away after you saw me with Zoe. I knew you were hurt, and I hated leaving you like that, but when I saw the jealousy, the pain in your eyes, I knew then and there that you loved me as much as I loved you. Up until then, I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to overstep boundaries, didn’t want to ruin what we had or scare you off.” He stepped up to her and she didn’t retreat. He put his hands on her arms. “Once I knew for certain that you were in love with me, too, I needed to step up and be the man you needed me to be.”
“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you come to me then? I was hurting, Sebastian.”
“I know and I’m sorry, but I needed to talk to your brother first.”
She looked over his black eye. “You…you risked everything to be with me,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“And Danny…” She winced at the swelling. “He did this?”
“Yeah.”
She shook her head. “He shouldn’t have done that. I’m a grown up and can sleep with whoever I want.”
“It’s okay. Danny is fully aware of my reputation, and he didn’t want me adding you to the list. He was just protecting you, Kat. You can’t fault him for that. But once I proved to him that I loved you, he forgave me, and we’re good now.”
He loves me.
She sucked in a quick breath, working to get oxygen back in her lungs. “How did you prove it?
He leaned in, his breath warm on her face. “I showed him something.”
“What?”
He captured one of her hands. “Come with me.”
She smoothed her other hand over her mess of hair. “Sebastian—”
“Kat, you look beautiful, now come with me.”
She followed him outside, and he opened his car door for her. She slid in, buckled up, and stared at him as he crossed the front.
He slipped in beside her. “Good?”
“Yeah.” He pulled into traffic. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
A short while later, they pulled into the stadium. She shook her head. “Why are we here?”
Instead of answering, he slipped from the car, walked around to her side, and helped her out. Hand-in-hand, he led her to the field. He glanced at his watch. “Just in time.”
She shook her head. What was going on? If he was going back to work, why did he drag her here? “Time for what?”
They reached the field, just as half time was starting. “Sebastian, what’s going on? I thought you were going to show me what you showed Danny.”
“I am.”
She shook her head and glanced around. “You showed him the stadium?”
“No Kat, I showed him this.” He pulled a box from his pocket and went down on one knee. Someone came running up to them with a camera. She glanced up and saw them on the jumbotron.
“Ohmigod, is this happening?”
>
“It’s happening,” he said. “And I want the whole world to know I’m in love with you.”
He wanted the world to know. Her heart squeezed as cameras flashed like mad.
He opened the box, and when she saw the ring, she started to cry.
“I love you, Kat. I’ve loved you for ten long years, maybe longer.”
“Same,” she managed to get out.
“Say yes. Say yes, and make me the happiest man in the world.”
“Yes,” she murmured.
He scooped her up planted a warm, loving kiss on her mouth, and pointed to the camera. “Now wave to your Mom, Dad, Danny, and Emery. They’re all watching.”
“You set this all up?”
“Of course, and Emery has a message for you.”
“She does?”
“Yeah, she said, ‘See, fairy tales really do come true’.”
She laughed and put her arms around his neck. “I can’t believe this.”
“You’d better believe it, and get used to me spoiling you.” He gestured toward the football players who were cheering for him. “I have to be here for the second half, but then I’m taking you home so we can start practicing for our honeymoon.”
Cheers erupted around them and she cringed. His face fell. “What, you don’t like that idea?”
“Oh, I do. But my family is watching. The world is watching. They don’t have to know everything.”
He laughed. “You’re right. They only need to know that I’m a committed man with eyes for one woman and one woman only.” He dropped a sweet, loving kiss onto her mouth. “I love you, Kitty Kat.”
A sound rumbled in her throat, and she was pretty certain it resembled a purr. “I love you, too, Sebastian.”
Thank You!
Thank you so much for reading, Confessions of a Bad Boy Doctor. I hope you enjoyed Kat and Sebastian’s story as much as I loved writing it. If you’re interested in reading more of my work, check out some boxed sets I put together. Firefighter Heat, Stone Cliff Series, and YOURS: Billionaire CEO Romance! Be sure to read on for a sneak peak of Confessions of a Bad Boy Millionaire.
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Interested in leaving a review? Please do! Reviews help readers connect with books that work for them. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.
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Happy Reading,
Cathryn
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Confessions Series: (All stand-alone books. Can be read in any order.)
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Confessions of a Bad Boy Professor
Confessions of a Bad Boy Cop
Confessions of a Bad Boy Fighter
Confessions of a Bad Boy Seal
Confessions of a Bad Boy Santa
Confessions of a Bad Boy Millionaire
Confessions of a Bad Boy Doctor
Confessions of a Bad Boy Geek
Confessions of a Bad Boy Millionaire
Braxton
“No. No way. Absolutely not. Not in a million fucking years.”
I glare at sweet little Eliza Banks as she plants one hand on her hips and blinks up at me with big brown doe-eyes that could melt the paint off my Tesla. Flashing those long lashes might have other guys scrambling to give her anything she wants, but the approach is useless with me. It didn’t work when we were kids, and it sure as hell isn’t going to work now.
It’s probably going to work.
“Come on, Braxton. Help a girl out, already.”
I stare at my best friend’s kid sister as we stand in the near empty parking lot, halfway between my office complex and my car. I can hardly believe what she’s asking me to do, or how tempted I am to say yes. I’d left work tonight, beyond ready to relax this long weekend. The only things on my agenda are a few games of basketball with the guys, a midnight sail in the San Francisco Bay and a drink at my favorite Irish pub with my best bud, Derek—aka Eliza’s brother—when he gets home Sunday. The last thing I expected was getting accosted by Eliza before I could reach my car. What she’s asking me to do is so ludicrous, so asinine I’d have to be insane to agree. Which begs the question: why am I so goddamn close to saying yes. I must be out of my fucking mind.
Keep it together, Braxton.
Summoning all my willpower, a tactic born out of necessity after setting eyes on Eliza when we were teens and being warned to steer clear of her by her brother, I ask, “What part of no didn’t you get, Lizard?”
She swats at a mosquito, annoyance flashing in her gorgeous eyes as she looks up at me. “Will you for God’s sake stop calling me that? I’m not sixteen anymore.”
I’m well aware of that. At sixteen she was a cute girl with freckles spilling from her nose to her cheeks, and I had a huge crush on her. But now, at twenty-six, she’s all grown up, and sporting a sexy body full of lush curves and sweet valleys that I’d love to get my hands on…my mouth all over.
Fuck me.
But she was hands off when we were young, and she’s hands off now. I made a vow to her brother—my goddamn best friend—never to touch her, and I don’t break my promises. I can’t blame Derek for not wanting a guy with a reputation like mine touching his kid sister. If I had a little sister, I wouldn’t let Derek touch her either. That guy has reached out and touched more women than Hallmark. Yet I’m the one making the headlines. San Francisco’s Most Eligible Bachelor. But fuck, how am I to say no to those seductive lips and pleading eyes. And when her fucking chest heaves from frustration…Christ.
“No,” I say flatly, and grab a fistful of hair as I plot the fastest path to my car. The sooner I get away from her the better. I make a move to go, but she steps in front of me and digs her heels in.
“Braxxxx…” she pleads. The space between us sparks with tension, warning me to get the hell out of there before I do all the dirty things racing around inside my brain, things that would shock a nice girl like Eliza.
“Ask someone else.” Fuck, my voice sounds like I’ve just eaten a bucket of gravel.
“It can’t be anyone else.” She moves closer and tugs on my lapels, clinging to me like I’m her lifeline. I watch the early evening sun light up the golden flecks in her eyes. Bad move. “It has to be you.”
Shit, damn and hell! I’m this close to caving and being one of those guys.
Her knuckles brush my chest, and it takes every bit of strength I possess not to back her up, press her against the wall of my office tower and kiss the living fuck out of her. “Why, Eliza?” I grumble, losing patience, mostly with myself, as her scent fills my head. I take advantage of the situation and pull in a deep breath of her. Bad move number two. “Why does it have to be me?”
“Because you’re smart, successful, a self-made millionaire and one of the hottest…” She freezes for a second, like she said too much, then continues with, “I mean you’re not bad to look at.”
I arch a brow. “Hottest?”
Her cheeks turn the prettiest shade of pink. I don’t think I’ve seen her blush before. “Uh…hottest jobs,” she explains.
Is that what she was really going to say? I don’t think so, and let’s be honest—it makes me feel way better than it should that she thinks I’m hot, but no way in hell will I let her know that—or take advantage of it. Instead, I say, “You think being CEO of New Tech Industries is a hot job?”
“Yeah, starting a tech company from your dorm room and turning into one of the world’s most successful project management businesses is hot.”
“Was that a compliment, Lizard?” I ask, purposely using her nickname to remind me this is my best friend’s sister, and that she’s never once complimented me over the years. She doesn’t even like me, and I can’t say as I blame her for that. “Trying to soften me up so I’ll agree.”
She lifts her chin. “No. Just stating a true fact.”
“You’ve done all right too, you know,” I step back a bit, putting enough space between us to get her scent out of my head. “Snatched up by Exact Inc. straight out of Stanford and now, as Q
A Engineer, you’re advancing the ‘art and science’ of hiring for other businesses. I’m just sorry they got to you first.” Her mouth drops open as she blinks up at me. “You might want to close your mouth, Eliza. Before you eat that fly buzzing around us.”
“But…wait, what did you just say?”
“I’m always looking for top talent.”
“You think…” She goes quiet for a second, glancing away. I can almost see the wheels turning behind her eyes, and then she frowns and shakes her head. “Wait, we’re getting off track here. Will you do it, Brax?” she asks, steering us back onto the topic at hand. “Will you help your best friend’s sister out?”
“Jesus, Eliza.” I clench down on my jaw as a gust of wind whips through the parking lot, sending loose strands of chestnut hair across her face. I curl my fingers and resist the urge to tug them away. Or better yet, drag her to me.
She huffs out her annoyance. “For crying out loud, Brax, I’m not asking to marry you, or anything ridiculous like that.”
Marrying me would be ridiculous?
“I just need you to pretend to be my…” she makes a frustrated gesture with her hands. “…significant other for a couple days. How hard could that be?”
Hard. Really fucking hard.
She glances upward and almost—not quite, but almost—rolls her eyes. “Just pretend you’re really into me.”
“Yeah, to get another guy to notice you.” I shove my hands into my pockets, click my molars together. I don’t think I like that. In fact, I know I don’t. I’ll worry about why that is later, but for now…“Do you have any idea how insane that sounds?”
She shrugs, and averts her eyes, but I catch that familiar sadness before she looks away. That sorrow takes me back in time, to when we were teens and she was always overlooked by all the guys. Jesus fucking Christ. Does she not have any idea that she was a swan then, and is a swan today? Any asshole who can’t see that doesn’t deserve her attention. No, she needs to be with a guy who will worship her, show her how beautiful she is, inside and out.
