Sheer Luck Read Free Page B

closer and leaned
against the counter, crossing his arms. “I don’t get involved in
your affairs. If you want to start something with her, that’s fine.
None of my business. But you can’t fall for her. Hear me? You have
to keep her away from the curse. I like her. She’s a nice—“
    “I got it.” It wasn’t as if I didn’t know
the consequences of falling in love, hadn’t had it rammed into my
skull from birth. It was exactly why I lived my life the way I did.
No strings, no commitments. Part of me often questioned whether our
family’s bad luck was mostly hysteria, the belief in the supposed
curse so strong it gave it validation. But the facts made that
argument null. History was proof. “You know me. I don’t get
attached.”
    Aiden studied me a long minute, his
gray-blue eyes weary. “All right.” He shoved off the counter and
wrapped me in a brief hug, slapping my back as he pulled away.
“Love you.”
    “Love you, too.”
    After Aiden left, I turned toward the living
room. Across the space of my vast apartment, she stood by the bank
of windows in the same spot I’d vacated a few minutes before. Her
back to me, she faced the view, still in her blue raincoat, purse
clutched in her hands by her chest. I shook my head, wondering why
she looked so right standing there. She’d never been here before.
I’d never had a woman here that wasn’t family. Yet, there was my
mystery woman, looking like she was home.
    I cleared my throat. “Would you like
something to drink?” I moved around the open kitchen and into the
living room, keeping distance between us.
    She turned her head. “No, thank you. You
have an amazing place. It’s so big. I love the view.”
    I glanced around, trying to see it from her
perspective. Because the windows let in a lot of light, I’d been
able to paint the walls a dark green. My leather sectional was
navy, my tables black walnut. The pine hardwood floors ran
throughout the apartment, including the three bedrooms, except in
the kitchen where I had earth-tone granite. My cabinets were white,
the countertop marble. The art on my walls was mainly enlarged
photographs from my visits to Ireland.
    “It’s home.” I shrugged.
    “Do you rent or own?”
    “Own. Since I graduated college. The top
five floors are privately owned. The rest of the building is rental
units.” We O’Learys weren’t rolling in pots of gold, but we were
comfortable. We were good with our money. Our women, not so
much.
    “That explains why Aiden needed a key for
the elevator.”
    I nodded. “Can I take your coat?”
    “Oh.” She breathed a laugh that had me
closing my eyes to savor the sound. “Yes.” She slipped out of the
jacket and passed it to me.
    I was tempted to hang it in the hall closet,
but strangely didn’t want to move that far from her, so I set it on
the coffee table. She placed her purse on top and stared at it, her
expression unreadable. I wanted to touch her so badly my hands
flexed.
    “I didn’t think you were going to come.”
    She smiled, the gesture not quite reaching
her eyes, and met my gaze. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure I would either.
I don’t typically do this kind of thing.”
    If that was true, and I had no doubt it was,
then talking out her anxiety might be a good move. “Don’t do what
sort of thing?”
    Her eyebrows quirked, her expression pure duh . “Go home with strange men. Have one night stands.”
    Her straight-forwardness made me realize she
wasn’t anxious or nervous, just out of her element. I gestured to
the sofa and took a seat a foot away to give her time to
adjust.
    “I’m not strange,” I said to lighten the
mood, and her grin had me biting back a groan. Christ. I don’t
think I’ve ever desired a woman the way I did her. “What made you
decide to come then?” Not that I was sorry she had, but everything
about her had me curious, wanting to probe into that beautiful head
of hers. Such an enigma.
    Taking a deep breath as if to