Free Good with His Hands by Tanya Michaels Page B

Sean had concluded he couldn’t stand his own company. Being cooped up with the memory of Dani’s stricken expression as she’d ordered him to leave was making him nuts. He called several buddies to see if he could get a poker night going or if anyone wanted to catch the latest spy thriller on the big screen. But all he got were apologies, rain checks and voice-mail recordings. Finally, he stalked out of his town house with no real idea of where he was headed.
    Part of him wanted to go straight back to Dani’s place, to apologize again now that she’d had a few hours to get past her initial shock. But maybe it would be better to approach her at a neutral location, like her office building. She was predisposed to think badly of him right now. If he confronted her at home, she might decide he was a stalker. He’d shredded her opinion of him enough for one day.
    Would she be better off if she’d encountered the real Bryce Grayson yesterday? Bryce wouldn’t have gone home with her, but he wouldn’t have lied to her, either, wouldn’t have put that wounded anger in her eyes. Maybe because Sean was thinking of his brother, or maybe because their shared birthday was tomorrow, he soon found himself rolling up to the security gate at Bryce’s condominium. He punched in the security code, wondering if his brother was even at home.
    Only one way to find out.
    â€œSean?” Bryce swung open his front door, his tone confused.
    Whatever Sean might have said in greeting disappeared when he noticed the crisp white dress shirt his brother wore with black suit pants. An unknotted bowtie hung around his collar. “You always dress like a 007 wannabe on Sunday afternoons?”
    His brother narrowed his eyes, taking in the rumpled T-shirt that had spent all week in the dryer and jeans that were threadbare at the knees. “Criticism from the man who looks like he slept in his clothes?”
    Actually, I slept naked.
In Dani’s arms. Misery clogged his throat, and he swallowed hard. “I need to talk to you.” Just as it would have been unconscionable to let Dani run into his twin without first telling her the truth, he should come clean with his brother.
    â€œI’m leaving in the next fifteen minutes,” Bryce said, checking his watch. “The firm is hosting a table at a charity auction tonight.”
    â€œCan I come in if I promise to make it brief?” Maybe a limited amount of time was best. Fifteen minutes probably wasn’t long enough for Bryce to kill him and convincingly stage it to look like an accident.
    â€œAll right.” Bryce stepped aside, his expression impatient.
    The open floor plan of the loft made it seem huge. Gleaming hardwood stretched from the front door to the exposed brick of the back wall. When their mom had badgered Bryce into letting them use the place for their dad’s surprise birthday party, Tara had been effusive over Bryce’s posh surroundings and view of the Atlanta skyline.
    Frowning at the wall opposite them, Sean noticed the expanse of glossy white was broken only by hooks and nails. The framed pictures and set of shelves that had previously hung there were propped against the baseboard below.
    â€œI’m making room for the painting I’m buying. At the auction,” Bryce said, a pointed reminder that he had somewhere to be.
    How like Bryce. Not only did he know exactly what he planned to bid on, he’d already decided he was going to win. Hell, maybe he would.
He
wasn’t the family screwup.
    Sean took a deep breath. “It’s about a woman.”
    â€œTara?”
    â€œNo, we broke up last month.” Although Sean didn’t speak directly to his brother often, their mom tried to keep everyone updated on family gossip. But she’d been busy preparing for an eleven-night cruise to Hawaii. They wouldn’t be back until the end of the week. “It’s actually a woman who works in