Sex, Lies & Her Impossible Boss by Jennifer Rae Page B

told Jess that
Charlie had the hots for her. Like when he told Charlie that Jess seemed to be
pulling away from him.
    Faith looked up at him then and seemed to consider her answer.
She looked away, out to the ocean, and finally after more than a minute of
silence she spoke. ‘No. It wasn’t.’
    He should have felt relief or some kind of triumph. He’d won
the argument. He’d convinced her love wasn’t worth it. But he didn’t feel good.
As he watched all the hope vanish from her heart, he once again felt like the
world’s biggest jerk.
    Taking a breath, Cash moved closer to the bed. She didn’t move
so he sat on the edge and rested his hands on his knees. Love. This was why he
didn’t believe in it. Someone always got their heart broken.
    ‘What about you? Who was she?’
    Cash turned back to Faith, who had now extended her legs out so
her toes were next to him. Her skin, so close he could touch it if he wanted to.
His eyes trailed up her body, past that short school dress and on to her face.
He knew what she was asking.
    ‘She was a girl who worked on our farm as a roustabout. From
the day I met her I couldn’t think of anything else, anyone else. She was
gorgeous and fun and could keep up with the men in the shed. She’d take their
insults and give them right back. She was fearless and exciting and I’d never
met anyone like her.’
    ‘Did you love her?’

FOURTEEN
    Something about the way Faith asked made him keep eye contact. She wanted to know and he wanted to tell her. To tell her that she wasn’t alone.
    ‘I did at the time. As much as a twenty-year-old boy can love someone. We got together fast, it heated up fast. She seemed to like me as much as I liked her. But then...’ Cash paused. He hadn’t thought about Jess in a long time. It was easier in the States but being back home in Australia was bringing it all back. The heartbreak, the betrayal, the fight.
    Faith cocked her head on one side, listening. Interested. ‘But then my brother came home from uni and she chose him.’
    ‘She left you for your brother? Cash, I’m sorry.’
    Cash turned away; he didn’t want her pity.
    ‘It was inevitable. My brother Charlie was the one everyone wanted to be around. He was bigger than me, stronger than me, faster than me. Making people love him came easily to Charlie. He was friendly and easy and open. I was quieter, I kept to myself.’
    ‘It still hurts when they choose someone else.’
    He knew that. Especially since it was the man he’d been competing with his whole life. The one person he could never beat at anything.
    Cash shrugged. ‘You can’t force someone to love you. She left me for him, and they’re still together. Madly in love.’
    ‘Oh, Cash.’ Cash felt her hands on his shoulders. He should have pushed her away but he didn’t. It felt good to have her there. It felt good to talk to someone who knew what it felt like.
    ‘Were you and your brother close before that?’
    ‘Very close. We’re twins.’
    ‘You’re twins? Cash, that must have been awful.’ Her hands curled even closer around his shoulders. Her fingers were small and her palms warm. His shoulders slumped a little, enjoying the way she was starting to rub her thumbs into his muscles. She’d shifted her legs up to get closer to him. Her breath teased the back of his ear, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He held his hands steady; he didn’t want to touch her. Didn’t want to think about their kiss, but it kept coming back to him. The softness of her lips, the way the pad of her thumb caught the side of his lips and how her flesh tasted when he licked it.
    ‘Did you argue?’
    What? Right, Jess and Charlie.
    ‘Yes. We fought. In the pub in the middle of town. Then out on the street.’
    Faith’s fingers continued to curl around him, pressing and rubbing. She moved even closer until he could feel her breasts up against his back. He leaned back a little, enjoying their softness and closing his