Heartbreaker: A Workplace Friends-To-Lovers Romance (Paths To Love Book 3)

by Grahame Claire

  “I’m trying to be serious.” She wrestled again, but I was too strong.

  “So am I.”

  “I mean it. I’m no saint.”

  “I should hope not.” I slid a hand up her spine. “Is that all you brought me out here to say?”

  “Didn’t you ever wonder why I never dated?” A spark of anger changed her tone.

  “Not really.” Her nostrils flared as she glared at me. “I’m not in the habit of thinking about you with other men.”

  Her fierce expression wavered. “Why didn’t you marry that girl you brought to all those functions a few years ago?”

  “Because I always put work first. She wasn’t the right one. That wasn’t fair to either of us so it never evolved into anything.”

  Lines of uncertainty creased her forehead. “How do you know she wasn’t the right one?”

  I cupped her cheek. “Is there any doubt in your mind I’m the person you should be married to?” Her expression was blank, and my confidence tripped. “Setting aside all the outside stuff,” I clarified. “In here, do you know?” I pointed to her chest.

  “Yeah.”

  “I didn’t have that with her.” I wove my fingers through her hair, cradling the back of her head. “Are we done talking about old news?”

  “Being rejected and cheated on shaped everything from the time I was seventeen. It was so humiliating, hurt so damn much, I just couldn’t let myself be vulnerable. I never wanted to feel that way again. You have the power to do so much more.” The words tumbled out of her mouth, raw and honest.

  She was the strongest person I knew, even back when we were kids. I wanted to punish Bryce Green all over again, knowing full well he was the one who’d hurt Heartbreaker. I’d seen during the confrontation in the convenience store how she still carried wounds of the past, but she didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

  I ran my nose up the column of her neck. “When you’re with me, you’re safe,” I said low in her ear.

  “It’s not just what happened back then. My career and my family are the most important things in my life.”

  I pulled back so she could see my face. “I know that.”

  “The world we’re in, it’s hard for women. And I’m not using that as an excuse. I’ve accomplished more than a lot of women in our field. People already talk, and I can’t give them any more fuel. I know I’ve worked for your family for so long we should be past it, but it’s important that my accomplishments are recognized for what they are and not tainted with rumors suggesting I’m where I am by sleeping my way to the top.”

  “I’d destroy anyone who even hints at that.” My temper rose just thinking about someone daring to say such a thing.

  “Well, you’d have to start with your brother.”

  My anger ramped up another level. Just how much trouble was he causing? “What did he say?” I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear it, but I was going to anyway.

  “That I’d gotten where I am on my back.”

  “I’ll handle him.” And I wanted to right this instant.

  “I already did.” She placed a hand on my chest and part of my anger evaporated at her touch. I bet she had.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know, didn’t see—”

  “He’s your family.” It wasn’t a good excuse even if it was the truth. “Every single day I have to think about the moves I make, the words I say, and I’m not the best at filtering thoughts. If you or your father did something, no one would blink, but if I did the same thing, I would be crucified, all because I wear a skirt. That’s just the way things are. I couldn’t mix that with a relationship.”

  I clasped her shoulders. “I get it.”

  “You can’t without walking a mile in my shoes,” she argued.

  I tried again. “I understand where you’re coming from. I can’t change people’s perceptions, but we can face them together. If they want to talk shit or keep their archaic way of thinking, that’s on them.”

  “I’m going to need time to get used to that.” She heaved a sigh.

  I gave her a satisfied nod. “We’ll get there.” I swallowed thickly, wondering if I’d be better off keeping my mouth shut. No. Total truth. “Since we’re hashing everything out, I . . .” I hesitated. What was the point of bringing up Drew’s accusations about the photo when I didn’t believe him?

  “What is it?” she asked, her impatience overshadowed with worry.

  “Drew sent me a photo of you with two men and a woman. He said they were prostitutes, and you—” I couldn’t say it out loud. It had been hard enough hearing the words when he’d spoken them.

  “That I what?” she demanded, all concern gone. One corner of her mouth twitched.

  “You were a client of theirs,” I finally settled on.

  The color drained from her face. “What?”

  “I never believed him.”

  She held out her hand, palm up.

  “Let me see.”

  I handed her my phone.

  She studied the photograph. “That son of a bitch. This is from a few weeks ago when I spoke at Paths of Purpose. They’re security experts and teach self-defense. I flew them up from Houston to talk to the lady who runs the place.”

  She shoved my phone into my pocket as if she couldn’t stand to look at it a second longer. “The biggest issue at hand is Drew seems to know a lot of your private business.” My brother and I needed to have a long chat about all the lines he’d crossed.

  “Like he was stirring up shit to undermine me,” she concluded bitterly. I didn’t disagree.

  After all, it was Drew who claimed that Mulaney had offshore accounts with our dad and that they had been having an affair. As Mulaney said, Dad must have been looking at a different version of EXODUS to believe that I had been stealing from the company.

  “I’m going to talk to Drew, Heartbreaker, because he was the one who suggested you were having an affair with Dad, and that you had been taking from the company.”

  “What the fuck, Easton? Why is he doing this?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”

  “You have to. He’s never liked me, but this is beyond that.”

  “What is he up to?” I muttered, trying to get my temper in check. If I kept thinking about this, I’d lose my mind.

  I reached for her, needing to touch her. We held each other for a while as we absorbed everything we’d talked about.

  After a bit, she tilted her head to the side. “You’ve got that look.”

  “What look?”

  “Like there’s something else on your mind.”

  We knew each other better than either of us realized. “The other night when we fell asleep together, why did you leave again?”

  “I lost control with you.” Her jaw worked. “I needed to get my head on straight about what was happening between us. It sure as hell wasn’t going away.”

  “No need to fight it anymore.” I pulled her against me. “I love you, Heartbreaker.”

  “I love you too.” I kissed the corner of her mouth. “I wouldn’t do this emotional stuff for anybody else,” she sulked.

  “Good to know.” Something in me loosened.

  She pulled my head toward hers. “So we’re clear,” she started, “I already told you this, but I’ll say it again. I haven’t been with anyone else since we got married.”

  I dropped my forehead to hers. “I know, and neither have I.”

  “Are we good now?”

  “Not quite.” She pulled away, wary. “I need my ring back.”

  Her body relaxed into mine as she held up her hand. “I don’t know. It looks kinda good on my finger.”

  I lifted my hand. “Heartbreaker, give it to me.”

  She slid the ribbon from her own long finger and placed it on mine. “You can’t wear that forever,” she said, sounding disappointed.

  “Go get yours,” I said against her lips.

  “How are you so sure I have them with me?”

  I arch
ed a brow, and she hustled to the car. When she returned, the diamond ring and her red silk band were in her palm. I plucked them from her hand and took her left one in mine.

  Slowly, I slid the silk on. I reached in my pocket and produced a circle of rubies. Her eyes darted to mine. “This is permanent.”

  I eased the band onto her finger, followed by her diamond. This had been real from the moment we said I do, but seeing the symbol of our commitment, knowing we were on the same page, made me feel like we could face whatever was ahead . . . together.

  “We have a tradition in the Jacobs family,” she said reverently, staring at her hand. “We pass down wedding rings. I was supposed to get my great-great grandmama and granddaddy’s.”

  “Then we just added some tradition to the family.”

  “Nobody is ever taking these off me. Promise me when I die, you won’t let them.”

  Pride wound through every crack in me and filled it. “But what about your great-great grandchildren?”

  “Everybody knows how I am.” She shrugged. “I started to say they could pry it off my cold, dead finger, but that’s what they’d do.”

  I laughed. “These are your rings forever. We’ll give your great-great grandparents set to whichever of our kids gets married first.”

  “I haven’t agreed to children.”

  “You will.” I brushed my lips against hers.

  “Now are we good?”

  “I’m good if you are.”

  “Thank Christ. From now on, when we get pissed at each other can we just go out in the backyard and settle it? This talking it out stuff is for the birds.”

  “Hmm. Not the backyard, Heartbreaker. The bedroom.” I nipped at her ear and she shivered. “Come to think of it, I’m irate.”

  She wrapped her arms around my neck. “We can’t have that.” She glanced back toward the SUV. “Looks like we’ll have to work this out in the truck.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Mulaney

  “Well, well,” Mitch said as Easton and I walked into the kitchen, hand in hand. Everyone, including Ruby, was gathered there, the lights low, voices hushed to help Ruby’s brain heal. “We were beginning to think y’all made off with our car.”

  Our six-hour trip had taken eight. Easton and I exchanged looks, the smile on my face ridiculous. I didn’t even care if my brother was giving me a hard time.

  “Looks like they got their shit sorted,” Stone said. Muriella elbowed him in the side. “What? I was just quoting my grandmama.”

  Mitch glared at me and Easton. “Oh, hell no. Y’all just bought yourselves a Yukon,” he said, crossing his arms.

  “Why, Daddy?” Gabby asked innocently.

  He flushed and was suddenly at a loss for words.

  “Because we took it for a test drive,” I said, snickering, and Mitch looked like he wanted to pass out.

  “I don’t want to hear about that,” Daddy said sternly, moving across the room toward us. “You look happy, baby. As happy as I’ve ever seen you.”

  “I am, Daddy.”

  He kissed my cheek. “’Bout damn time.” He turned to Easton, his tender expression turning hard. “That’s my little girl.”

  “Mulaney is my whole world,” Easton returned. He was respectful but not intimidated.

  “Hope you know what you’re gettin’ into by joining this crazy bunch, son. You didn’t just marry Mulaney. You’ve got the whole damn family,” Daddy said, the man-to-man exchange over.

  “Y’all are my kind of crazy,” Easton said easily.

  “Give it a few years. You’ll feel like you’re in the nuthouse,” Granddaddy offered dryly. He looked a little better now that Ruby was home safe and sound.

  “What are you doing out of the bed, woman?” I asked. I’d learned a thing or two from those no-nonsense nurses at the hospital. I’d written and left thank-you notes from the gift shop to them for taking such good care of Ruby.

  “If you two hadn’t been lollygagging around, I’d be there now, like the doctor ordered,” she huffed, adjusting the blanket draped over her lap.

  “You threw away the sheet of his instructions on Daniel and Vivian’s plane,” Daddy said, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from the front pocket of his shirt.

  “Are you sassing your mama?”

  “If it means keeping you healthy, then yes,” Daddy returned stubbornly.

  “Next thing I know, y’all will be telling me what I can and can’t do.”

  “Now you know that’s not true, Ruby. Nobody can get an order in since you’re so busy dishing them out,” I said, breaking away from Easton to hug my grandmother. “How are you feeling?” I pressed my cheek against hers. Just being close to her brought me a sense of calm.

  “I’m fine. Y’all don’t need to fuss over me like I’m dying.” She was being snippy, but I could hear how much it meant to her that we were all here and worried about her.

  “Easton, Mulaney, are y’all hungry?” Mama asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m starved,” Easton replied, lighting up at the prospect of some home-cooked comfort food.

  Mitch muttered under his breath. “I bet you are.”

  “A word, if I may.” Daniel pulled Easton and me aside after supper on the trek to Grandmama’s house. He flicked his gaze toward everyone. “Somewhere private.”

  “Around here?” I snorted. “If you can handle the cold, I know a place.”

  We wandered out to the pasture where my beautiful beast was trotting around like a pent-up bull.

  “Hey, handsome. I thought you liked it here.” Ragnor puffed air out of his nostrils and eyed Easton and Daniel suspiciously. “Give me a minute,” I said to the two of them.

  I climbed over the gate and landed inside the pasture with a thud.

  “Mulaney . . .”

  I put a hand on the metal gate, careful not to touch Easton. Rage didn’t particularly like it when I was close to anyone else. “I’m good.”

  I walked over to my horse, who zigzagged around me, kicking up dirt as he went.

  “You’re mad at me.”

  He nudged me as he galloped past.

  “Damn it, Mulaney.” Easton was halfway over the gate when Ragnor reared up.

  “Stay out there.” I pointed toward Daniel, who was poised to take action, though what he thought he might do I didn’t know. Neither of them could stop my wild beast. Nobody could.

  Rage buzzed me once more, barely tapping me as he went.

  “He could kill you.” Easton’s attempt to control his tone and volume failed.

  Ragnor charged toward them, stopping short when he got to the fence. He snorted a warning before taking off, running in a wide berth around the large pasture. I watched in wonder, knowing full well Easton was right. He could kill me, but he wouldn’t—we had trust in each other.

  “If you don’t want to talk about what’s eating you in front of them, I’ll tell them to go away,” I called, motioning toward the guys.

  Rage only ran harder.

  “Is it girl trouble? ’Cause I can promise you, ain’t no woman worth getting this worked up over.”

  Faster and faster he flew, and with each pass, his berth around me shrank. That same little spike of nerves when we drilled new ground for crude hit me, though the danger was different. With oil, generally only money could be lost. Standing in the center of a wild horse tornado was something else entirely. It was exhilarating, causing every molecule of stress to leave me. I knew it was temporary, but I’d take it.

  Easton was perched on the fence and appeared ready to kill someone, namely me. His fists were wrapped around the gate, one foot on the rung, the other dangling, ready to hit the ground running if need be.

  “You don’t have to impress me, handsome.” I kept my shoulders relaxed and my eyes on him as the distance between us grew smaller and smaller. “And you owe me a ride.”

  Sometimes I forgot just how big my beast was; he was pure muscle.

  “This can’t be because I got married
.”

  Ragnor made an abrupt turn, beelining straight toward me at a rapid clip.

  “Mulaney!”

  I kept my focus on the horse, Easton’s cry somewhere far in the distance. Big, dark eyes landed on me. Nothing had changed between my boy and me. Unbridled emotion reflected back at me. It wasn’t fury at the world. Rage felt too much and didn’t know what to do with it. Just like me.

  He’s not going to stop.

  He was going too fast, was too close. Yet I stood there. Trusting.

  Those eyes glimmered. His gallop thundered in my chest.

  He diverted just before he reached me, the wind whipping around as he passed, blowing my hair in my face.

  He slowed to a stop in front of me. I rested my head on his nose and stroked his neck. “You taught me to love, handsome.”

  He snorted, stomping his hoof.

  “That man over there thinks I can be a mama,” I said, letting my horse absorb some of my fear. “Which is crazy. You’re the closest thing I’ve got to a kid, and I’ve abandoned you.”

  He nuzzled me, the wildness in his eyes tamed. I ran my hands down his sides and kissed the tip of his nose. “I kinda like it when Easton does that to me. Guess affection isn’t so bad, huh?”

  Hot breath blew in my face. “Are you trying to get rid of me? Or do you want to scare them again?”

  I hugged Rage and walked backward toward the fence. “We’ve got a date tomorrow, handsome.”

  He watched as I climbed the gate and made a disgruntled noise when Easton placed his hands on my shoulders.

  “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

  “He wouldn’t hurt me.” I felt Easton’s tension and understood his concern, but I knew my horse.

  “He’s wild.”

  I looked into my husband’s sky-blue eyes. “So am I.”

  “You might need to be jealous of a horse,” Daniel observed, leaning back on the fence.