Say You're Mine (The Gallaghers Book 1) by Layla Hagen (comprehension books .txt) 📕

“Me? What did she say?”

“It’s a secret.” She laughed throatily. The sound sent a jolt below my belt.

“Tell. Me.”

“So bossy.”

She had no idea how bossy I wanted to get with her. I’d tell her exactly where I wanted her and how I wanted her. I’d map her entire body with my mouth. I was getting hard imagining her reactions, the way she’d open up to me. I’d bring her to the edge, until she begged. Only then would I give her an orgasm before starting all over again.

“Always.”

“You know that saying, ‘I don’t take orders. I barely follow suggestions’?”

That was true. I’d sensed that about her since the day we met.

“You’d enjoy following mine. I promise you that.”

“Oh, Brayden, Brayden, Brayden. What am I going to do with you?”

“You have time to decide until Friday. Right now, why don’t you tell me about your day?”

“Well, I had back-to-back sessions. On my lunch break, I tried to get a reservation at my brothers’ favorite Chinese restaurant to celebrate a huge deal they closed, but they were fully booked until summer. I want to surprise my brothers, so I’ll try again tomorrow.”

“What restaurant? I’ll make it happen.”

“How?”

“I don’t want to sound cocky, but I can make it happen.” I wanted to make her happy, and this was important for her.

“That would be great, honestly. Thanks. I don’t want to miss this chance to celebrate.”

“Consider it done. I’ll get you a table for tomorrow.”

“Oh my God, are you serious? That’s amazing! I’ll text you the name and number. They both really love it. They’ll be so happy. They like surprising me with stuff all the time, so I can’t wait to actually pull it off this time.”

Hearing the excitement in Isabelle’s voice did things to me. I’d have Paul follow up on it tonight. He wasn’t just my driver but also my assistant.

“How do they surprise you?”

“Well, when I moved to New York, they came to help me with the furniture and stuff. They lived in Washington back then. And now they take me out to dinner, or drop by my apartment to check if I need anything. They’re great brothers.”

“Sounds like it. Listening to you makes me miss my family.”

Talking to Isabelle felt honest and raw in a way few things felt around me. People rarely talked to me about personal things. It was always about music or parties or how to capitalize on my image.

“Can I ask you something?” she whispered.

“Go ahead.”

“Sasha said you had a relationship that didn’t end well a few years ago. I didn’t want to ask her about more details because it didn’t feel right, but...”

I sat up straighter, surprised Sasha had mentioned it at all. She wasn’t one to gossip.

“It was when we started as a band. I dated Kate, who, it turned out, only wanted to sell a sex tape of us.”

“Holy shit!”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry. That’s insane.”

That experience only reinforced my belief that relationships weren’t worth it.

“It was a long time ago, but it’s left me with a sour taste in my mouth.”

“No kidding.”

“My parents can’t figure out why I’m still single. They’ve been married for so long that they don’t understand why anyone would want anything else.”

Isabelle laughed. “Mine are the same. They don’t understand why we don’t all fall in love and give them a ton of grandkids. I think it’s a generational thing. And also small-town dynamics are a bit different. They’ve—oh, I didn’t order another glass.” She changed the tone abruptly, clearly speaking to someone else.

“No, the gentleman at the bar sent it,” a female voice said.

My fingers froze on the armrest. I gripped the phone tighter.

“Thank you, but I can’t accept it. Please take it back,” Isabelle said. After a few seconds, she said, “Okay, I’m back.”

“I heard that.” I had no right to ask her this, but I wanted all the rights. All of them. “I know we didn’t talk about us on Saturday, but don’t go out with anyone else until I’m back.”

“I had no intention of doing that.”

I expelled a long breath and relaxed a bit in my chair. The thought of another guy looking at her was enough to drive me crazy. I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t territorial, and I certainly didn’t get jealous.

Until Isabelle.

Chapter EightIsabelle

The rest of the week was a bit of a doozy. On Wednesday morning, I overslept, which meant no call with Brayden. He kept his promise, and the restaurant called me to let me know they’d reserved a table for four. I was so over the moon that if Brayden was in front of me, I’d have given him one hell of a smooch. I couldn’t believe he was so thoughtful.

Dylan and Ian were so happy about our dinner that they didn’t even ask me how I managed to get a reservation so fast. We were out until late, so of course I overslept the next morning as well.

Isabelle: Talk to you this evening? I’m SO sorry.

Brayden: We’re going for drinks with the crew from the talk show, so I’ll probably be dead to the world tomorrow morning. But in the evening, it’ll be just you and me after we get the band business out of the way.

I swallowed hard, staring at the message. “Just you and me.” Oh, Brayden, Brayden. What is this man doing to me?

***

On Friday, I was a little antsy when I arrived at the cottage. I’d drawn up a plan for the band, and I wasn’t sure if they’d be on board with it. But that wasn’t the only reason I was on pins and needles. I was going to see Brayden after a whole week, and there was a slight hiccup in my evening plans.

Getting out of the car, I rolled my shoulders, skimming my palms down my thighs to smooth my dress before knocking at the front door.

The band had landed two hours ago, and Sasha thought it would be good if they saw my plan before filming