The cynic in me is sure of that, but the rest would rather not hear that I’m right.
“Of course not. I told you I wouldn’t accept the money. I meant it.” She shrugs. “I think I’m meant to expand my understanding of business so I can succeed with my B and B in the future.” She raises a brow at me. “Then again, maybe you’re in my life merely to teach me patience.”
I can’t tell if she’s kidding until she sticks her little pink tongue out at me.
I don’t want to, but I find myself laughing. “Maybe. So you’re actually agreeing to help me distract Griff?”
She nods but holds up a finger. “With conditions.”
Of course. I sit back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest. If she’s ever negotiated a deal in her life, I’ll be shocked. I, however, have been doing this for damn near a decade. “Lay them on me.”
“I’m not sleeping with Griff for you, not even if I’m failing. I’ll be friends. I’ll flirt. I’ll lead him on, even. But I won’t go to bed with your brother unless it’s something I want.”
I’m good with that. I intend to make sure Keeley never wants to sleep with my brother. Ever. I don’t think I could stand it. “Agreed.”
“Good.” She nods as if that little win has given her the courage to give me her next condition. “At a time and place of my choosing, you and your brother will sit down, face to face, and have a conversation of no less than one hour.”
I lean in, brace my arms on the desk, and I laugh. “How are you going to make him agree to that, sunshine? Griff hasn’t talked to anyone from his former life except Harlow in three years. There’s no way you’ll force him into the same room with me.”
“If I can’t, that’s on me.” She shrugs. “But if I’m able to persuade him to listen to reason, you have to sit down and talk. Agreed?”
It’ll never happen. “Sure.”
“Great. While I’m doing your dirty work, you’ll be mentoring me on how I can succeed with my business plan. You’ll teach me how to buy the property, how to find reputable contractors, how to advertise on the Internet, and whatever else I need to know. We’ll be exchanging…services. As such, we should mutually agree that we’re working together so we won’t be sleeping together.”
She’s better at negotiating than I thought, but I only have one answer to that. “No.”
“No to what? You won’t help me?”
“I’ll teach you anything you want to know, sunshine. I’ll write up your bid. I’ll hand-walk your paperwork. I’ll do whatever I can to help you open the inn of your dreams. I will never agree to not having sex with you.”
Keeley frowns at me. I see her reddish-brown brows draw together and a little vertical line work in between. “Fine. Because I won’t agree to have sex with you. So unless you’re going to force me…”
I sit back, cursing under my breath. I won’t, and she’s probably ninety-nine percent sure of that, so she’ll take the tiny gamble. “Tell you what? I won’t stop trying to seduce you. Of course, you’re always free to say no. I’ll never push you to do something you don’t want…but I won’t give up trying to get you back into bed.”
“Why? Because you like an easy lay?”
“Damn it, that is not how I see you. I won’t stop because I want you.”
“Whatever. Don’t touch me when I haven’t consented, and we’ll be just fine.”
“All right.”
It will be my mission in life to make her burn for me. In fact, I wonder if I can bend her in the next twenty-four hours. How can I stack the deck in my favor? Then I realize I have an ace up my sleeve. “Learning to distract Griff is a full-time job. If you’re going to do that, you need to give up everything but school.”
“Then I can’t afford my rent. Are you going to pay it?”
“No. You’re going to move in with me. I’ve got a spare room.”
“I can’t break my lease.”
I smile. “You can’t. But I can.” It’s been a while since I’ve looked through a lease for a loophole, but I’m sure I can find one. I scoot closer, move in for the kill. “Think of this as a money-saving opportunity. Free rent. Free food. Free clothes. Free business advice.”
Keeley hesitates. “For how long?”
“A month.” That covers the three weeks before the Stowe heirs lift their nose from their business, plus another one to make sure the job is good and done. “After that, I’ll help you find a place and negotiate a better rental agreement if you want. You’re going to come out ahead.”
“You’re only offering me this option because you want to have sex with me again.”
I choose my words carefully. “And because I want to divert my brother’s attention away from this mega listing. Until today, those two desires have been mutually exclusive. You’re giving me a way to have my cake and eat it, too. I’m merely agreeing.”
“I don’t want to live with you, even in a separate bedroom.”
I could tell her that’s the deal. Take it or leave it. The words are on the tip of my tongue. But I swallow them. “The ocean in your backyard every day. Meditating to the sound of the waves. I’ll even clear a space on the lanai for your yoga.”
She bites her lip. I’ve tempted her. I tamp down a smile.
“That’s ruthless.”
“That’s what I’m good at. Yes or no?”
Her lids slide shut. Her blue eyes are so readable, so being closed off from her is a disadvantage. But if I had to guess, she’s really considering my proposal. “I have a couple of events scheduled I can’t miss. I have two tests next week. I have to study.”
Not a problem. “I have to work. You’ll prep for your exams while I’m chained to my desk. When I come home, you’re mine.”
I’m really hoping we spend most of our time horizontal.
“Since you work a lot, that should be fine. I also committed to teach a yoga class at a senior center near my place every Sunday at nine a.m. It only takes an hour. That’s a hundred bucks I could use.”
“I’ll pay you for your time.”