The Avoidance of Love (The Daniels' Sisters Book 2) Read Free

refocused, he was smiling in amusement at me. I guess it was obvious that I had checked him out, but I really couldn’t care less. Getting to check him out compensated for the thirty minutes he’d made me wait for him.
    “Mr. Bryce, please, have a seat.” He remained standing for a moment, staring at me as if he was studying me. Finally, he took a seat, pulled it in as close as possible, and leaned in. I’m not sure if he was trying to intimidate me, but if he was, he really didn’t know whom he was playing with. “How can I help you Mr. Bryce?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “Obviously, since you were late, I can’t give you the full consultation that you originally booked, but you are free to leave and make another appointment.” His eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead, no doubt surprised at my curt tone but this was my domain. He quickly recomposed himself and put his smile back on his face.
    “I apologize, Miss Daniels. My previous . . . appointment detained me.” Whatever that appointment was, it seemed to amuse him no end by the grin that appeared on his face. As gorgeous as I’d admit—to me—this man was, something about him irritated me more by the minute.
    “Why don’t we cover as much as we possibly can in the next thirty minutes and we will see if we need to meet again or not?” I pulled out the emails from Mr. Bryce that Coops had printed off for me. He’d bought a very large plot of land in the countryside and wanted to build a modern mansion on the land, along with what looked like a racetrack. How did I miss that? What the fuck?
    “Mr. Bryce, my expertise lies in designing houses. Not race tracks. You might be better off finding another architect to help you. You would need two designers to collaborate and I don’t play well with others.” I put his emails away and stood up to indicate his time was up. It was a shame because his ideas for the actual house seemed interesting, something I would love to sink my teeth into. However, he wanted to incorporate a racetrack on the plot that somehow tied in with the house. The very idea was ridiculous. “Before you leave, ask Mr. Cooper and he will provide you with a list of architects that we recommend.”
    He looked confused, but stood regardless. I escorted him to the door and went to shake his hand. Taking my offered hand, he slowly raised it to his lips. I knew what he was about to do, but I didn’t attempt to take back my hand before it happened. He slowly turned my hand over and grazed his lips across my knuckles before kissing it softly. His lips were a caress that I’d never experienced before. I hoped I managed to smother the gasp trying to escape my mouth.
    The intercom buzzing behind me suddenly whipped me back into reality and I pulled my hand abruptly from his grasp. “Goodbye, Mr. Bryce.” Before he had a chance to say anything, I shut the door in his face.
    I leaned back against the door, scrubbed my hands over my face, and then laughed to myself a little maniacally. It was humorous that the guy had flirted with me like that. I would be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t sorely tempted, but I was too busy to even entertain casual sex at the moment. Things were way too busy. . The smirks he gave me while I was assessing him gave him a slight air of arrogance and confidence that I found less than appealing.
    I didn’t do relationships. The occasional encounter maybe, but they were on my terms and conditions. I think if Lana were here, she’d call me the female one-hit wonder. I never saw the same guy twice. More often than not, it was my choice rather than his, but I’d learned that sex made things messy and I didn’t need the complications. There were more important things to life than filling up your head with foolish notions of romance and intimacy. Patrick Coulson had taught me that lesson quickly.

    “Are you sure you’re ready, Mara?” Patrick sounded as nervous as I was which made me feel better.
    Patrick