Crushed (Crystal Brook Billionaires) Read Free

love with him. Time to build a future I thought I’d never have. Time to finally trust someone enough to let them into my life in a significant way…
    “…and you know that’s the case,” Gwen was saying in between bites of eggs.
    I stared at her. “Huh?”
    She chewed, swallowed, and was probably about to say something else, but the doorbell rang.
    Gwen’s nose crinkled. “Dang, that was fast. And on Saturday too.”
    I dropped my fork on the table and stood. “I’ll get it.”
    “I’ll text Mom and tell her the repair guy is here.”
    I trudged down the hallway and to the front door. Without bothering to look through the peephole, I grabbed the handle and yanked.
    And then lost my breath. The man standing on the front stoop looked familiar — too familiar. With his dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and triangular jaw, he was everything that had been on my mind for the last two and a half months.
    Peter.
    But of course it wasn’t him. It was just some random guy who looked like him. This man was a little taller as well as more broad shouldered. He also looked slightly younger. He wore a black t-shirt and jeans, and his eyes went a little wider upon seeing me.
    “Hi,” he said in a smooth, velvety voice.
    “Hi. Come right in.”
    “Um… all right.”
    The man looked slightly put off but came in when I stepped aside. He glanced around the hallway, a slight smile on his face.
    “I don’t know what the problem is,” I said, shutting the door. “My mom woke me up and said it was broken.”
    His dark eyebrows bunched together. “What was broken?”
    Footsteps sounded, and Gwen popped out of the kitchen. “Hey,” she said before stopping.
    “Hi,” the man answered, still sounding slightly off.
    Gwen stood there and looked at him while he just looked back.
    “Gwen,” I said. “Do you know anything about what’s wrong with the freaking AC?”
    She shook her head. “No.”
    I sighed. “Well, whatever. You wanna see it?” I asked the man while managing to not look directly at him.
    “I can take a look, sure.”
    “Great. It’s right over here.”
    I started walking, leading him down the long hallway to the back of the house where the main unit was near the downstairs guest room.
    “I’m not really the best at this kind of stuff,” he said from behind me.
    I tried not to scoff. His statement seemed like a weird thing for someone to admit while on the job, but whatever. “All right.”
    I stopped at the large vent and waited. The man bent down and peeked through the vent.
    “So is that your twin?” he asked, surprising me with his change of subject.
    “Gwen? No. I’m a year and a half older. But everyone thinks we’re twins.”
    “I’ve seen her around town,” he said, still peering at the vent. “But you don’t look identical, of course. More like fraternal.”
    “Ah.” I wasn’t really interested in small talk. On top of that, I was already considering just climbing the stairs and going back to bed. Gwen, I was sure, would understand and not pressure me to go out and have a “fun day” with her.
    The man scratched his head. “Do you have a screwdriver?”
    “Yeah, my Dad’s got plenty in the garage. You don’t bring that stuff with you?”
    He straightened up and looked at me. A whiff of mint mixed with something else — maybe bergamot — wafted in my direction. Unexpectedly, my stomach flipped.
    “Why would I do that?” he asked.
    I snorted. “I don’t know. Maybe because air and heating is your profession?”
    One of his eyebrows twitched, and he looked even more confused. After a couple seconds, his expression softened, and an amused smile grew across his lips, exposing dimples high on each cheek.
    “I’m not a repairman,” he said. “Is that what you thought I was?”
    I stared at his dimples. “Eh…”
    He chuckled. “I just came here to see if you’ve seen a gray cat anywhere.”
    “Um,” I answered, still unable to form real words.
    “My friend’s cat got