Free A Heart's War (The Broken Men Chronicles Book 5) by Carey Decevito

breath, I willed my heart to slow, my breathing to calm, not to mention my dick to go down.  My eyes stayed on Morgan until she’d reached the end of the drive and turned to wave.  Waving back, I could no longer ignore the truth.  This wasn’t regular attraction I was feeling.  If it was, I would have been able to keep her away.  There was more to Morgan and me, and that more was something I apparently couldn’t control.
    You’re royally fucked now, buddy.

Chapter 16
    I parked the truck in Paxton’s driveway and found myself tackled by a rambunctious six-year-old Jasper.
    “Hey, buddy.”  I ruffled my nephew’s hair as he clung to my waist.
    “Where’s Morgan?”
    “Your dad’s worse than your grandmother,” I grumbled.
    “Mommy Allie says that you two make a great couple.”
    My eyes rolled.  “And she would know,” I said under my breath.
    “Huh?”
    “Never mind.”  I gave the kid a light pat on his back.
    Jasper led me by the hand up the steps, through the front door, and toward the commotion in the kitchen where I knew everyone was congregated.
    As we passed by the den, I spotted Alissa on the phone.  She stood sideways to me and startled, her eyes widening when she saw me standing there in the entranceway to the room.
    The woman was up to something if that blush of hers was anything to go by.  Testing my theory, I crossed my arms and leaned my shoulder onto the wall, my brow arched as I listened in.
    “Uh, huh…yeah…It’s okay,” she said in a hushed tone.  “Listen, maybe next time… Yeah. Well, he’s here.”  Her blush deepened.  My brother was right.  Alissa was cute when she grew shy.  “You sure you don’t want to pop on by?” She paused to listen to the person on the end of the phone.  “Okay…okay, I got it… Like I said, next time.”
    She turned her back to put the phone back on its cradle and took a deep breath.
    “How’s Morgan?” I asked.
    She spun around, her mouth dropped.  “How’d-?”
    “I had my suspicion, but you just confirmed it.”  Pushing off the wall, I moved toward her.  “Listen, I don’t need you playing match-maker, all right?”
    “I thought you liked her?”
    “I do.  I mean, she’s a client, she’s nice and all…” make that sexy and frustrating, and I’m all kinds of wrong for her.   If my rambling continued, I would be providing her with enough ammunition to keep doing what I had just advised her not to.  So I stopped talking.
    “So?”
    I ran my hand through my hair and down my face.  I had to stop this.  “Listen, Allie.  I know you think you’re doing something good here, but I just can’t.”
    “I’m not doing anything.”
    “Right.”  I straightened my stance and my eyes told her to prove my suspicions wrong.
    “I just thought…”
    “It doesn’t matter.  Morgan’s a client.  That’s all it can ever be.”
    “Sure.”  She walked up to me, her eyes softening.  Squeezing my arm with sisterly tenderness, she made to study my face. “Listen, I may not know all that you’ve been through, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s been a tough go for you, and I’m sure my assessment is grossly understated.  But Theo, you shouldn’t let what you’ve been through get in the way of your happiness.  Life’s too short.”
    The woman retracted her hand and snuck past me, heading straight for the commotion in the kitchen.
    I made to follow, only for the boisterous noise of my family to subside and leave us all surrounded with nothing but silence.  I looked at the faces staring back at me.  Alissa looked indifferent and avoided my gaze by mooning over her daughter. Paxton looked between his wife and me with confusion, which was quickly replaced by a sly grin. Mom seemed a little overly cheerful, and Dad was just typical Dad with his stoic and unreadable expression.
    “Cut the crap guys,” I said and pointed at my brother. “I know he told you what he thinks is going