My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 272

Chapter 272

I decided to break the tension. I closed the file and leaned back, looking up at her with a bored, casual expression.” Are you going to Claire’s new exhibition opening tomorrow night? It’s her biggest show of the year.”

Gianna blinked, surprised by the change in topic. She smoothed her skirt down, “Yes. I promised her I’d be there.”

“Good,” I said, spinning my pen between my fingers, “I’ll be there too. I’m bringing a date. A plus-one.”

Gianna froze. Her hand, which had been reaching for her bag, stopped mid-air. She didn’t say anything, but I saw the way her eyes clouded over. There was a tiny, split-second hesitation, a flicker of something that looked a lot like hurt or confusion.

“I won’t be having sex with her, obviously,” I added. I wanted to make sure she understood the rules, “But we’re open to dating otherwise.”

Gianna didn’t answer immediately. She looked at the floor, her lips pressed into a thin line and I picked up on it instantly. That hesitation shouldn’t have been there. We had just finished in the chair, and already she was acting like there was some kind of “us” that could be offended.

I realized right then that I needed to draw a hard line. If I didn’t, her mind would turn this into something it wasn’t. I needed to show her exactly where we stood. We weren’t a couple.

“You seem unsure, Gianna,” I said, my voice narrowing. “Is there a problem with me bringing a guest?”

She snapped her head up, and for a second, her mask slipped. But then, she forced a bright, tight smile onto her face. It was the kind of smile that didn’t reach hér eyes, the kind people use at funerals to stay polite.

“Of course not!” she said, her voice a little too high, a little too fast, “That’s a great idea.”

“Right,” I muttered, watching her carefully.

“Anyway,” she said, grabbing her bag and backing toward the door, “I should go. I have…. I have a lot of college work to finish before tomorrow. And I need to get some sleep.”

I checked the clock on the wall. It was barely three in the afternoon. The workday wasn’t even close to being over, and we both knew it, but I didn’t push her to stay.

“So, I start this job tomorrow, right?” she asked, her hand finally finding the cold metal of the door handle.

I gave her a single nod. “Yeah. Tomorrow.”

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