The Rule Book (Rule Breakers #1)(69)

“Must have been tough on your family.”

He shrugged. “My parents divorced when I was fifteen,” he said. His voice held a hint of sadness that came as a punch to my stomach.

I nodded. With the number of trust issues he had, it didn’t surprise me. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be. My mom cheated on my dad.”

Oh. I hadn’t seen that coming.

“Now he has a new girlfriend every month. It’s like a revolving door in that house.” He pulled up a picture on his phone of his dad in a power suit, and handed it to me. “Meet Brandon Starr. He wants me to take over his firm. Cut me out of his will until I agree.”

I raised a brow. “It’s not like you’re lacking for money.” Brogan had more money than I would ever know what to do with.

“No, but he thinks it’s the ultimate betrayal that I started my own business. He’s tried to buy out my firm a couple of times since the startup. He’s ruthless.”

“That’s horrible.” I stared at the photo. He looked like an older version of Brogan, with his strong chin and lean build. But his eyes held a darkness that Brogan’s didn’t possess.

He turned to me and his gaze flashed with a sudden remembrance. “I forgot to tell you the good news about the hacker on the Willington account. I was a little distracted last night.” He managed a sheepish grin.

“You found out who was behind it?” I’d almost forgotten the whole thing, it’d been so long.

“Turns out it was Craig’s younger brother. Got ahold of his iPhone and thought it’d be funny to start shit with another country star.” He smiled. “No hacker involved.”

I scoffed, but relief ebbed through me. Thank goodness this was just a joke, even if it was in poor taste. “What a twerp.”

“Craig’s handling it. I taught him how to put a password on his phone.”

“Good idea.”

We walked around the park a couple times and then made our way back to Brogan’s condo. As we rounded the corner to his block, a guy with a professional grade camera stood by a car on the other side of the street and snapped a few photos of us.

“Does that usually happen?” I jutted my chin toward the guy wearing a baseball cap, blue jeans, and a T-shirt.

He frowned. “Goes along with the territory of owning a company. I’m usually not interesting enough to make the tabloids, though.”

I moved a few steps further away from Brogan, not wanting to cause any type of scandal in the media. No one would know who I was, but it was best to be careful.

My mom probably wouldn’t be too pleased if she saw my face on the front cover of the National Inquirer. The thought of her triggered the memory of dancing with Brogan last night, how he’d said he hadn’t seen his own parent in years.

“Do you ever talk to your mom? You said back at the bar you didn’t know her address.”

“I haven’t talked to her since she divorced my dad. She left with her assistant and never looked back.” The matter-of-factness of his statement gutted me. How could anyone do that to their family? Just up and leave.

We made our way back inside the building and waited for the elevator. The expression on my face must have changed, because he stopped and squeezed my hand. “Don’t feel bad for me. It happened, it’s over, it’s a part of my past.”

“Is that why you have so many rules? I find it hard to believe the rules are in place just because you’re young and worried about things that might affect your company.” It made sense. His family history was enough to make even the sanest person go crazy.

He paused and seemed to contemplate it. “Maybe. But I think that rules help me keep boundaries. It’s the stuff I can’t define that scares the shit out of me.”

I smoothed my hand down his arm and looked up at him. “The indefinable is what makes life worth living. People aren’t meant to live by a book.”

“That may work for you, Lainey, but I can’t afford for my business life to get muddled with my personal. The only exception is you. I’m willing to try this, because you’re worth it.”

“Thank you for letting me in.”

He nodded. “I’m not perfect. This is really hard for me, but I’m trying.”

The elevator opened, and we stepped inside. Brogan hit the button for his floor. “Since you’re so determined to try, how about a round four?” I smiled up at him.

The doors closed and Brogan pushed me against the wall. “Now, that I can manage.”





Chapter Twenty-Three


Lainey Taylor Rule of Life #72

Never assume parents always have their kid’s best interests in mind.

The week after Christmas, I returned to work. Brogan and I had been inseparable except for the few days I was at my mom’s house, which I’d spent on her couch watching movies. The doctors said the new chemo meds were effective, and she’d be given her last dose in a couple weeks. She was a fighter and was kicking cancer’s ass.

The past few weeks with Brogan had been a whirlwind of stolen kisses, staying up way too late, and the giddy, sleep-deprived new relationship feeling that washed over me every time I thought of him.

Yellow sunflowers sat on my desk when I entered the building. I smiled, and my heart swelled past capacity. We weren’t in an open relationship in the office, but this was close enough.