Seducing the Playboy (A Hot Nights Series Book) (Entangled Brazen) by Amanda Usen

pocket and pointed at the picture. “Trust me, that’s not brotherly. He likes you.”
    She scowled up at him. “You’re not helping me come to terms with rejection.”
    He gave her another squeeze. “You don’t strike me as a quitter.”
    The deliberate sound of a throat clearing drew her gaze to the other side of the line. “If you two are finished hugging, I need to see Jenna in the office to fill out paperwork.” Roman’s voice was clipped and his gaze was cold.
    “Sure.” She tried to shrug out from beneath Max’s arm, but he held her clamped to his side until Roman turned on his heel and headed down the hall, spine straight as an arrow.
    “Thanks a lot,” she said.
    “Just making my point. Did you see the look on his face? Totally jealous—not brotherly.” He gave her braid a playful tug before he returned to his station.
    “Why are you so interested in Roman’s love life anyway? You looked like you had plenty to keep you busy in the ocean last night.”
    Max’s gray eyes lost their gleam. For a moment, she thought he wasn’t going to answer, but then he shrugged. “If Roman can find someone special, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us.” He blinked and the mischief was back. “Or maybe I just want to see the West Coast playboy go down for the count so I can take his place.”
    She didn’t believe him for a minute.
    Jenna left the line and walked down the hall, feeling like a fog was lifting. She’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, doubting herself and feeling like an idiot for even thinking he would want her. She had too much at stake to risk screwing up again, but…
    What if Max was right? What if Roman wanted her and was just being stubborn? Her footsteps slowed and she leaned against the wall as her thoughts drifted to her favorite memory.
    It had snowed the second Christmas Roman spent with her family, and for once the guys didn’t shut her out of the fun. They bundled up and stomped out to the hill behind the house and spent one of the best hours of her life taking turns sliding down the hill on an old yellow sled.
    Eventually, they started going down in pairs. When Roman climbed on the sled behind her, she didn’t feel the cold at all. His legs straddled hers, and his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. As they scooted forward, inching the sled toward the hill, she was in heaven. The ride down the hill wasn’t half as exciting as being held by Roman, especially when they hit a bump in the ice near the bottom of the hill, and they went flying through the air. She landed under him, laughing. He had a snowflake caught in his eyelashes, and she reached up with her glove to touch it. He must have thought she was going to rub snow in his face, because he pinned her arms above her head, and crushed her into the snow. As soon as his weight came down on her, she froze, staring up at him.
    It had just begun to get dark, but his eyes were bright, hot. His breath smelled faintly of purloined bourbon. Her pulse hammered. She looked at his lips, waiting, hoping. Did he know how badly she wanted him to kiss her? His breath warmed her lips, and she closed her eyes in anticipation.
    Then Cole, already at the bottom of the hill, had pelted Roman with a snowball, and Roman had rolled away from her as if trying to escape flames, not snow. He’d fired a rapid flurry of snowballs back at Cole, and the fight was on, the moment lost.
    She’d always wondered what might have happened if Cole hadn’t thrown that snowball. Was there any chance she could find out now? Even if Roman had only been trying to force a confession out of her last night, the chemistry between them was too potent to be entirely one-sided. Why couldn’t they just have sex? She’d had a crush on him for what felt like forever, and it would be her chance to get him out of her system once and for all. Obviously he wasn’t going to settle down. That was too much to hope for from a player like him, but there was no